
Two-speed Europe? Green investment gaps raise concerns
The EU is at risk of falling behind in the global race for green technology, with a top official warning that its manufacturing capacity is not keeping pace with climate goals.
The EU is at risk of falling behind in the global race for green technology, with a top official warning that its manufacturing capacity is not keeping pace with climate goals.
Water is everywhere, and most of the time, Europeans don’t really ponder this essential part of their lives much. But climate change, agriculture, pollution and overuse are putting a strain on water systems on the continent – be it freshwater, oceans or even wastewater.
Austrian Chancellor Nehammer said it was “unthinkable” to expand Schengen at the moment, but this had nothing to do with Bulgaria and Romania. During a first visit to Brussels, Polish opposition leader Tusk vowed to restore Poland-EU relations. The European Commission doubles funding for wind energy to 1.4 billion euros.
In response to the record high temperatures in Europe and elsewhere around the world this summer, social media users accused the European Space Agency (ESA) of having modified its measurement methods to achieve the striking results. They claimed that the agency was now measuring the land surface temperature, which is higher than air temperature. However, this is a misinterpretation of an ESA article about the heatwave. The institution has not made changes to its methodology and had in fact already published land surface temperature data in the past. What’s more, the ESA is not responsible for validating temperature records. That is the role of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which uses other measurements that it receives from weather stations.
The EU pushes for more sustainable travel solutions continent-wide. The plan is to strengthen long-distance and cross-border connections with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy and funding for railway infrastructure. While the demand for rail travel is high, national operators and startups are competing with “unreasonably low prices” for flights, night trains are experiencing a renaissance and experts are calling for a Europe-wide kerosine tax.