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First London - now Uber is coming under focus by officials in Paris. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and two of her opponents for re-election next week - David Belliard (Green) and Danielle Simonnet (Left) - are supporting the #TrueCostOfUber campaign to reduce the impact of private hire vehicles (PHVs) like Uber on air pollution and require them to go zero emissions. This campaign is led by clean air group Respire, European NGO federation Transport & Environment and citizens platform Sum of Us. A petition has already collected more than 22,000 signatures in support of the campaign.

Efforts to improve facilities for cyclists in Paris are showing impressive results. The mayor’s office has published new statistics showing that bicycle use in both the centre of Paris and the suburbs rose by 54% in one year following a considerable increase in cycle lanes, many of them separated from motorised traffic.

As more evidence emerges showing the negative impact of Uber on air pollution, traffic and climate change, prominent political figures are publicly demanding that the ride-hailing company goes zero emissions. 

More carmakers say they are slowing down or have stopped production of diesel vehicles than are planning to continue making them, according to the latest research by T&E. It comes after a terrible 2019 for diesels, the worst year since 2001.

“Should I offset my flight, and if so, which offset should I use” is now the question I get asked most frequently. It’s understandable - CO2 emissions per flight mean that flying is by far the most carbon intensive activity anyone can engage in.

“Our most pressing challenge is keeping our planet healthy. This is the greatest responsibility and opportunity of our times ... To make this happen, I will put forward a Green Deal for Europe.” Ursula von der Leyen was in Rooseveltian form in her acceptance speech five months ago. Now in her second week of office, having gone to the Climate Conference in Madrid in her first, von der Leyen is gearing up for a very ambitious first 100 days. Is she living up to the high bar she and her Vice-President Frans Timmermans set themselves? Broadly, yes.

Today EU governments blocked the most progressive piece of financial legislation in the world: new rules for which financial investments can be labelled environmentally sustainable. Green transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) said the decision by national ambassadors to re-open the draft law agreed with MEPs is a victory for the finance lobby and national short-sighted interests and a setback for the transition to a cleaner economy.

EU negotiators working to agree a ‘green finance’ regulation today left with an unexpected Christmas present: new rules for which financial investments can be labelled environmentally sustainable. After much posturing, and against all odds, the compromise struck by Finland, on behalf of EU governments, with the European Parliament and Commission has produced a very strong regulation that will drive the private investments needed for the transition towards a ‘net zero’ economy, Transport & Environment (T&E) said. 

Twelve years ago, the IPCC Fourth Assessment estimated aviation’s total climate impact at two to four times that of its past CO2 emissions alone. This is because aircraft at altitude generate significant additional climate warming – from NOx, the formation of line contrails and cirrus clouds, water vapour, soot, aerosols, black carbon and other factors. When discussing aviation’s inclusion in the EU emissions trading system a year later, the European Parliament called for airlines to surrender additional allowances to cover the non-CO2 impacts. Pressured by airlines and aircraft manufacturers, this proposal was dropped.

A ban on fossil-fuelled cars is now on the EU agenda, following an informal debate by environment ministers that showed significant support for the idea. No decision was ever going to be taken so close to the end of the current European Commission’s mandate, but it will be a live issue for the incoming vice-president responsible for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans. The debate followed a proposal by Denmark that EU members should be free to ban sales of oil-fuelled cars from 2030 or else have an EU-wide strategy to phase out such fossil-run cars.