Latest news with #PatrickSeeger
UPI
24-06-2025
- Business
- UPI
EU endorses proposal for environmental deregulation
The European Union endorsed plans to scale back its current ethical supply chain rules. File Photo by Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE June 24 (UPI) -- The European Union is set to amend its current ethical supply chain rules after its ambassadors endorsed a simplification bill from the Council of the EU. "Today we delivered on our promise to simplify EU laws," said EU Minister of Poland Adam Szlapka in a press release Monday. "We are taking a decisive step towards our common goal to create a more favorable business environment to help our companies grow, innovate, and create quality jobs." The bill would impact current environmental laws with the intention of shrinking the regulatory pressures on businesses in order to juice up the EU's economy. Two such green rules are the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. These currently insist that all the companies that do business in the EU and have at least 1,000 employees report their environmental effects. The bill would increase the employee threshold that forces a company to comply up to 5,000 employees. Currently, the CSRD and CSDDD also require companies that make at least approximately $522 million in net turnover to monitor their supply chains for environmental and human rights violations. The bill would raise that starting bar to about $1.7 billion. The release said the regulations were being loosened based on the concept that larger companies "are best equipped to absorb the costs and burdens of due diligence processes." The bill would also limit the obligation required for companies to adopt a transition plan to deal with climate change. It would give the EU Council authority to advise companies on how to create and execute such plans. The Council could then give companies up to two years to implement those plans in order to "further reduce burdens and provide companies with sufficient time for adequate preparations." If adopted, less than 1,000 companies would be affected by the CSRD, down from the nearly 50,000 companies that currently must comply. However, should Omnibus pass, there could be legal challenges. The nonprofit ClientEarth Europe environmental organization posted to X Tuesday that "The Omnibus is fueling legal uncertainty and might breach the law too." "A new legal analysis warns of the risk of future legal challenges if the Omnibus is passed into law," the post continued. "The agreement reached by the EU Council last night heightens these risks by further undermining the [CSDDD].
UPI
28-05-2025
- Business
- UPI
EU says it is on track to meet main 2030 climate and energy goals
The EU was largely on track to meet targets to slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by 2030 and boost the share of energy produced by renewables to 42.5%, the European Commission said Wednesday. File photo by Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE May 28 (UPI) -- The European Union said Wednesday that the 27-country bloc made significant progress in the past 18 months toward a target to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and boost the share of energy produced by renewables to at least 42.5%. An audit of the implementation of National Energy and Climate Plans mandated by European Climate Law showed most member states had "substantially" shown improvement, particularly following new recommendations in December 2023, the European Commission said in a news release. "The commission's assessment shows that the EU is currently on course to reduce net GHG emissions by around 54% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, if member states implement fully existing and planned national measures and EU policies," the commission said. The estimate for the proportion of energy that will come from renewables was 41%. "In the current geopolitical context, this demonstrates that the EU is staying the course on its climate commitments, investing with determination in the clean energy transition and prioritizing the EU's industrial competitiveness and the social dimension," the statement added. The findings from updated plans submitted by 23 of the 27 member states, as of the middle of last month, mark a turnaround for Brussels, which had been warning that the last set of plans from 2023 indicated 2030 climate and energy goals were in danger of slipping. "When we play our cards and instruments in a smart manner, we deliver as a continent," said EU competition and climate chief, Teresa Ribera of Spain. But she warned the bloc must continue to press forward because with climate disasters becoming more frequent unpreparedness "imposes more cost to our economy and creates more social harm." Belgium, Poland and Estonia, which have yet to submit their final NECPs, almost a year away from the June 30 deadline, "must do so without delay," warned the European Commission, which said it was in the process of reviewing Slovakia's submission received last month. The commission acknowledged issues with other goals in the 2030 targets on carbon absorption and energy efficiency with the bloc failing to establish sufficient forests and other areas that act as carbon sinks to absorb the required 310 millions tons of CO2 a year. Member states were also forecast to miss a target to reduce energy consumption by 11.7% by boosting efficiency with current projections showing usage set to come down by just 8.1%. The European Commission said the next phase would focus on channeling public funds into "transformative" investments, fostering private investment and coordinating the effort on a EU level but also regionally to meet the goals. The projected cost to achieve all the targets is an eye-watering $644.5 billion, although the commission said that number had to be weighed against the $486 billion EU nations paid for imported fossil fuels in 2023. However, the whole enterprise pivots on member states remaining committed amid mounting public dissatisfaction with the associated disruption and expense amid a cost of living crisis and a growing squeeze on government budgets, particularly from pressure to up the proportion of national income spent on defense. U.S. President Donald Trump has continued an effort begun in his first 2017-2021 term to pressure NATO's European members -- most of which still spend less than 2.5% of GDP on defense -- to pick up more of the tab by raising that figure to 5%.
