http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2 en-gb http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/greenpeace-reaction-to-envi-23-11-09 European environment ministers met today in Brussels to put the final touches to the EU position going into the Copenhagen climate summit in December. Greenpeace welcomes the statement by the EU Presidency noting that the “EU is moving closer to 30% emission reductions.” However, Greenpeace urges the EU to lead by example and to align its emission reduction target with climate science as soon as possible. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:24:29 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/greenpeace-reaction-to-envi-23-11-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/merkel-sarkozy-throw-down-climate-gauntlet-to-Obama-19-11-09 Greenpeace welcomed this evening’s statements by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on the Copenhagen climate negotiations. Speaking ahead of a EU summit in Brussels, President Sarkozy urged world leaders to deliver “binding rules” and “binding commitments” in Copenhagen in December. Greenpeace fully supports the call to avoid “negative compromises” in Copenhagen. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/merkel-sarkozy-throw-down-climate-gauntlet-to-Obama-19-11-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/barcelona-climate-talks-end-6-10-09 As the last day of climate talks before the Copenhagen summit drew to a close, Greenpeace attached a banner reading “Climate chaos: who is to blame?” to Barcelona’s iconic statue of Christopher Columbus, which stands at the bottom of the famous “Ramblas” street and points to America. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/barcelona-climate-talks-end-6-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/merkel-congress-speech-3-10-09 In an address to a joint session of the United States (US) congress today that preceded an EU-US summit in Washington, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the US to tear down the walls of the 21st century, to commit to the goal of staying below a two degrees Celsius global temperature increase and to make binding commitments in the Copenhagen climate negotiations. The US is currently falling behind the rest of the world in the fight against climate change by refusing to make concrete commitments to cut carbon emissions ahead of the global climate conference taking place in Copenhagen in December. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/merkel-congress-speech-3-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-leaders-summit-30-10-09 At the EU summit today, European leaders backed funding for climate action in developing countries in preparation of global climate talks in Copenhagen in December. But while Europe has put its weight behind global public funding for the developing world of up to €50 billion per year by 2020, it lacked the nerve to commit to the EU’s share of the funding. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-leaders-summit-30-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/legislation-on-vans-28-10-09 After months of delay, the European Commission today presented a bitterly disappointing proposal to reduce CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles. Greenpeace accused the Commission of blatantly ignoring its own decarbonisation strategy. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:27:51 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/legislation-on-vans-28-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/environment-ministers-21-10-09 European environment ministers meeting today in Luxembourg agreed on the EU’s position going into December’s global climate summit in Copenhagen. But the failure to bring commitments on emission cuts in line with scientific requirements means that the EU’s position is not strong enough to unlock the stalled negotiations, said Greenpeace. The meeting of heads of state and government in Brussels next week is the last chance the EU has of giving the global climate negotiations a much-needed boost. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/environment-ministers-21-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/EU-finance-ministers--20-10-09 Talks broke down today at a crucial meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, with ministers failing to reach any agreement on climate funding for developing countries, in preparation of the global meeting in Copenhagen in December. This means that the decision will once again be postponed until the European heads of state and government meet at the EU summit on 29 and 30 October in Brussels. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/EU-finance-ministers--20-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/gm-not-the-answer-15-10-09 Farmers are bringing the issue of genetically modified (GM) crop contamination right to the Commission’s front doorstep today. They are meeting European Commissioner for health, Androulla Vassiliou, and joining Greenpeace in handing over a petition signed by 180,000 people to stop the authorisation of Bayer GM rice. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/gm-not-the-answer-15-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/low-carbon-technologies-07-10-09 The European Commission has proposed increased and coordinated funding to develop a greener energy sector, but has failed to deliver a consistent strategy to achieve this objective, said Greenpeace today following the release of an EU proposal for public and private investment in low carbon technologies. The proposal supports renewables and energy efficiency and an upgrade of the energy system to integrate these technologies in a smart grid network. Yet, it also persists in subsidies for outdated nuclear and coal-based technologies that are designed to operate in centralised and inflexible power grids. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:57:32 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/low-carbon-technologies-07-10-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-bluefin-ban-deferred-21-09-09 Opposition from Mediterranean governments at a meeting of EU national representatives in Brussels today has postponed a decision on whether to place bluefin tuna on an endangered species list and effectively ban its trade. EU environment ministers are now expected to reach a final position by the end of the year. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-bluefin-ban-deferred-21-09-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/emergency-climate-fund-17-9-09 As world leaders prepare to attend the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh next week, EU leaders have called, at an extraordinary Summit tonight, for emergency funding to allow developing countries prepare for climate action. European heads of state and government meeting in Brussels tonight want to see €5-7 billion distributed by rich countries annually before the future Copenhagen climate treaty takes effect in 2013. This funding proposed by the EU is meant to assist developing countries tackle urgent climate challenges. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/emergency-climate-fund-17-9-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/green-jobs-14-09-09 Investment in renewables and energy efficiency would create seven times more green jobs over the next ten years than would be lost in the coal and nuclear sectors in Europe, according to a report launched today by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), and backed by trade unions. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/green-jobs-14-09-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/paying-climate-bill-10-09-09 The European Commission has taken a small step on the road to Copenhagen by for the first time proposing concrete funding for climate action in the developing world. But Greenpeace warns that the proposed figures are desperately inadequate. The proposal also fails to support any viable international financial scheme that would generate the necessary funds under a future global climate deal. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:34:31 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/paying-climate-bill-10-09-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-bluefin-tuna-trade-08-09-09 Greenpeace welcomes the European Commission’s decision today to support a ban on the international trade of North Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/eu-bluefin-tuna-trade-08-09-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/Swedish-boulder-action-10-08-09 Greenpeace activists sailed into Swedish waters today and began placing up to 180 granite rocks (1), each weighing between 0.5 and 3 tonnes, on the seabed in order to prevent bottom trawling in areas listed for European Union protection. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/Swedish-boulder-action-10-08-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/review-EFSA-MON810-flawed-opinion-29-07-09 An opinion by Europe’s food agency advocating the safety of the only genetically modified (GM) crop grown in Europe is fundamentally flawed, according to a Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe report. The report will form the basis of a submission to a public consultation on Monsanto’s MON810 maize that ends on 15 August. The green groups call on the European Commission and EU countries to reject the authorisation of this crop. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/review-EFSA-MON810-flawed-opinion-29-07-09 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/efsa-mon810-opinion-09-06-30 The European Commission and EU member states are set to clash as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is today expected to publish an opinion on the re-authorisation of Monsanto’s MON810 genetically modified (GM) maize, Greenpeace said today. Twelve EU countries have recently expressed their concerns on the safety of the GM maize and six member states have banned the cultivation of the GM crop on their soil. [1] Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/efsa-mon810-opinion-09-06-30 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/envi-council-nuclear-climate-09-06-25 Today, environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg will rubber-stamp a Euratom Directive on Nuclear Safety. The law was meant to improve nuclear safety in Europe by setting EU-wide standards. However, the directive mainly refers to weak principles from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which all EU countries are already bound to as signatories of the Convention on Nuclear Safety. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/envi-council-nuclear-climate-09-06-25 http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/update-lobby-register-09-06-22 Following an EU press briefing earlier today marking the first anniversary of the launch of European Commission lobby register, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) has published updated figures that underline the failure of the Commission's voluntary approach. The ALTER-EU report shows that while overall entries have slowly increased, to-date only 24% of Brussels-based lobbyists have signed up, with many disclosing flawed and misleading data. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:34:09 GMT http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/press-releases2/update-lobby-register-09-06-22