Tag: European Commission

Commission approves €23 billion Italian State aid scheme to support renewable electricity production

Stuart Mitchell

The European Commission has approved a €23 billion Italian State aid scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy and reaching the renewable energy target set at EU level for 2030. The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025. The Italian measure Italy notified to the Commission, under the CISAF, a €23 billion scheme to…

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Commission approves €1.04 billion Danish State aid scheme to support landowner climate projects

Stuart Mitchell

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €1.04 billion (DKK 7.8 billion) Danish scheme to support landowners committing to voluntarily remove agricultural or forestry land from production to reduce agricultural emissions. The Danish measure Denmark notified the Commission of its plans to support landowners voluntarily ceasing agricultural production on their land to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus deposits into the aquatic environment. The project involves the permanent extensification of farming, meaning that the land will not be tilled and no…

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European Commission issues landmark Decision assigning CO₂ storage obligations to oil and gas producers under NZIA

Stuart Mitchell

The European Commission yesterday published a long-awaited Decision that operationalises Article 23 of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), assigning individual CO₂ storage obligations to 44 oil and gas producers across the European Union (EU). These obligations are individual shares of the Commission’s target for developing 50 million tonnes of operational CO2 storage capacity by 2030. This marks a critical enforcement milestone in the EU’s effort to build out industrial carbon management infrastructure and ensure that fossil fuel producers contribute to long-term decarbonisation.  “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,…

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Campaigners launch ground-breaking legal action against European Commission for failing to deliver promised caged farming ban

Stuart Mitchell

The Citizens’ Committee of the successful End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has recently launched legal action against the European Commission over its failure to deliver its commitment to ban caged farming. Papers have been filed at the Court of Justice in Luxembourg outlining the Committee’s case demonstrating that the Commission has failed to act on its promise to introduce legislation to ban cages in response to a successful ECI – the first to secure a proper commitment. It further explains that ECIs were introduced with the specific…

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European Commission and UN Environment Programme agree to join forces to maintain the global momentum of green transition

Stuart Mitchell

The European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, recently met with the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, in Brussels to discuss the key global developments and milestones in cooperation since their last high-level meeting in 2021. These include the historical outcomes of the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-5.2), progress in the ongoing negotiations on a legally binding international agreement on plastics, as well as the outcomes of recent global environmental processes. The meeting had a special focus on…

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