Browse by topic: Standards

Filters:

Commission deals with tar sands problem by ordering impact study

The Commission is postponing a decision on how to assess the climatic impact of non-conventional sources of transport fuel such as tar sands and oil shale. A decision was expected in June, but Brussels has ordered an assessment of the impact of giving high-carbon sources a higher climate rating, which means no final judgement will be made until next year. The postponement came just days after T&E published a study saying reducing greenhouse gas emissions from petrol and diesel production will cost less to administer than the oil industry says.

Commissioners recognise Iluc must be dealt with, but fail to decide how

The EU’s 27 commissioners have recognised that indirect land-use change (Iluc) caused by the EU’s biofuels policy has to be addressed seriously, but at a meeting earlier this month they failed to reach a decision on how to deal with it. The 27 rejected a compromise put forward by the EU's energy and climate directorates, and asked the two departments to work out a more ambitious proposal. T&E has welcomed the call for more ambition, but has criticised this latest delay in finding a solution.

MEPs urged to end EU’s ‘deafening silence’ on traffic noise

The fight against traffic noise is being directed at MEPs, as the European Parliament’s environment committee prepares for a vital vote in July. T&E and two other Brussels-based NGOs have published an internet video highlighting the problem, while a report for T&E published last month showed the benefits of ambitious vehicle noise legislation would outweigh the costs by 30 times.

WTO implications of reporting measures for tar sands under the Fuel Quality Directive

Sketch of a book (default image for publications

To measure progress toward the FQD GHG emissions reduction target, the European Commission is designing reporting measures which will outline default values for the lifecycle GHG emissions of transport fuels derived from different sources, including fuels produced from unconventional feedstocks such as tar sands. Several questions have arisen whether the reporting measures and the inclusion of a default value for tar sands comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and jurisprudence, namely the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and case law.

Lower carbon fossil fuels: big benefits, low administrative costs

Sketch of a book (default image for publications

This is a summary of the report issued by CE Delft in March 2012, investigating into the extra cost that the implementing measures of the Fuel Quality Directive would imply for the oil industry and for the whole supply chain.

Swedish lorry move shows Brussels ‘hasn’t thought this through’

With the battle over whether oversized lorries, known as ‘megatrucks’, should be allowed to cross EU national borders, an extension of the fight is now emerging as Sweden has given the green light for even longer lorries to operate between Göteborg and Malmö. T&E is worried that the Commission’s proposed ‘reinterpretation’ of existing weights and dimensions rules for lorries would effectively leave Europe with no limits at all.

Pages