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The EU added a record-breaking 12.8 gigawatts of installed wind capacity last year, according to the European Wind Energy Association. The group says wind has surpassed hydro power, becoming the third-biggest source of generation in the EU. "Wind power accounts for one-third of all new power installations since 2000 in the EU. Conventional power sources such as fuel oil and coal continue to decommission more capacity than they install," EWEA said.

The Coalition for Higher Ambition issued a statement calling on EU officials to "act on the Paris Agreement and ensure that EU climate policies are coherent with its goals." The Coalition for Higher Ambition is an informal group of businesses, investors, NGOs, and others working together to promote leadership on climate change mitigation in the EU.

EU leaders have agreed to a legally binding commitment to reduce the region's greenhouse emissions by 40% by 2030 from 1990 levels. The EU also committed to increase energy efficiency and the share of energy generated from renewables. "We managed to reach a fair decision. It sets Europe on an ambitious yet cost-effective energy path," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

the European Commission (EC) announced it will begin phasing out coal subsidies and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 under a new clean energy package. The new clean energy plan outlines a series of legislative proposals and measures designed to help the EU meet its Paris Agreement climate goals, and why EU officials are optimistic, the green business community remains skeptical.

The European Commission released "Clean Energy for All Europeans," a new clean energy package that lays out plans to help the EU meet its climate targets under the Paris Agreement. The plans outlined in the package include cutting carbon emissions by 40% and increasing energy efficiency by 30% by 2030, phasing out coal subsidies, and more.

The EU is considering placing limits on carbon dioxide emissions from commercial trucks, which account for about 25% of the region's road emissions.

The European Parliament has voted in favor of a new renewable energy target requiring the European Union (EU) to source at least 32% renewable energy by 2030. The Parliament also voted in favor of increasing energy efficiency in the EU by 32.5% by 2030.

A coalition of European energy companies from 26 European Union member nations have jointly pledged to phase out investments in new coal power plants after 2020. Poland and Greece are the only EU nations absent from the pledge.

EUROPEN and 35 other associations representing major consumer goods brands, packaging producers, material producers and extended producer responsibility organizations are calling for a long-term, ambitious EU policy framework that enables and facilitates sustainable resource use from a full life-cycle perspective, incentivizes economies of scale and takes into account value chains at all levels, each with their different functional needs, supply and demand realities.

Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives cropping up almost every day. Now, a group of British companies and universities have won access to a £340 million EU innovation program aimed at changing the way we eat, grow and distribute food. The new project, called EIT Food, has ambitious aims to halve food waste in Europe within a decade and reduce diet-related illness diet by 2030. It has received €400 million (£340m) of EU research funding, matched by €1.2 billion (£1 billion) of funding from industry and other sources over seven years.

China may lead the renewable energy race and is projected to add more renewable energy facilities than the combined efforts from the U.S., EU and Japan through 2035, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The report also projected that the share of hydropower, biomass, wind and solar energy in the world's supply will surpass 30% in two decades. Advances in solar and wind power technology will help increase output in these sectors by 45%.

EU countries will face tougher recycling targets and a ban on burying recyclable waste in landfills under plans presented by the European Commission. The proposals are part of the Commission's Waste Targets Review, which includes updated recycling targets of 70 percent of household waste and 80 percent of packaging waste by 2030.

On Thursday, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced changes to EU financial tools to help circular economy projects and businesses secure funding and support the realization of EU climate goals. The changes open €24 billion (~US$26.4B) in funding for businesses looking to transition to a circular economy model.

European lawmakers are poised to sign off on a law that would allow airlines to avoid paying carbon fees for long-haul flights terminating in Europe. The move disappointed greens, who said lawmakers had secured little beyond vague promises of future action in exchange for the move. "European governments have conceded again to international pressure without getting anything meaningful in return," said transport activist Bill Hemmings

The EU's Plastics Strategy aims to cut out non-recyclable plastics by 2030, while cutting down on single-use plastics and restricting microplastics, all by establishing a new circular economy around the material. The strategy lays out a few key steps to achieve this. The first is to introduce new rules on packaging that improve their recyclability and increase the demand for recycled plastics, thereby making recycling profitable for businesses.

Neonicotinoids are bad news for bees and we've known it for a while. But the situation regarding bee populations and the world's most widely used pesticide has now become so dire that the EU has placed a complete ban on their outdoor use, and it's expected to take effect by the end of the year.

European Union lawmakers endorsed a draft version of carbon market reforms aimed at further reducing greenhouse gas emissions while providing protection for industries requiring intensive energy consumption. The ultimate goal is a 40% emissions reduction by 2030 without loss of industry, and the proposal will go to a plenary vote in February

The European Commission's recent assessment of the Paris Agreement on climate demonstrates that businesses and investors are crucial to implementation of the goals and the transition to a low-carbon economy. 

The European Commission's newly released Roadmap for the EU Strategy on Plastics in a Circular Economy outlines the problems Europe is facing with plastics and four areas on which the Plastics Strategy will focus later this year, including improving the economics, quality and uptake of plastic recycling and reuse. But the Break Free From Plastic Movement says the Commission's plan fails to get to the root of the plastics problem.

Europe is on track to reduce its carbon emissions by 44% by 2050 -- well below the 80% to 95% reduction that experts say is needed to avert catastrophic climate change. That shows the need for long-term planning and more ambitious targets, campaigners say. "This trend shows the nonsense of pursuing only a business-as-usual scenario and underlines the need for coherent long-term policy development," says Adrian Joyce of EuroACE