Calls are growing in Europe for all plane passengers to pay their fair share, with current EU climate legislation letting the private aviation sector off the hook.
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Fausto Corvino, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Current loopholes in EU climate laws would allow affluent private jet passengers to maintain their polluting lifestyle, while the lower and middle classes are compelled to give up low-cost flights.
With around 700,000 panels, France’s Massangis solar farm generates 56 megawatts (MW) of power. The panels are manufactured by First Solar, a US company.
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Taking advantage of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, outside investors have acquired substantial stakes in what have long been regarded as “sovereign” assets that are critical for the EU’s energy strategy.
The idea of “green growth” is appealing, but it is losing appeal among climate policy researchers.
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Ivan Savin, ESCP Business School e Lewis King, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
According to a survey of almost 800 climate researchers, 73% are sceptical of the idea of green growth. Instead, approaches such as agrowth and degrowth are gaining ground.
In February 2022 in Brussels, demonstrators (wearing masks of Ursula von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron) protest against the European Commission’s decision to classify gas and nuclear energy as “sustainable”.
François Walschaerts/AFP
While EU countries are capable of initiating strong joint actions, a divide is emerging between countries with very different, even antagonistic, decarbonisation strategies.
A stray polar bear is seen outside Oktyabrsky mine on the outskirts of the Russian industrial city of Norilsk in 2019.
Irina Yarinskaya/AFP
The war in Ukraine threatens to turn back the clock on Russia’s climate progress, with some calling on the country to leave the Paris Agreement and roll back environmental regulations.
A woman holds a blood-stained portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a protest at the Russian Consulate in Montreal on Feb. 25, 2022.
Andrej Ivanov /AFP via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used his country’s massive energy reserves effectively for political influence. But with war in Ukraine, nations are looking for ways to cut those ties.