The European Union has reached a provisional agreement to reduce the scope and stringency of two major ESG regulatory frameworks: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The European Union is at risk of missing a key United Nations deadline for submitting updated climate targets, as internal disagreements among member states delay a final decision on emissions goals for 2040.
The European Ombudsman has formally questioned the European Commission's handling of recent proposals aimed at scaling back corporate sustainability requirements, raising concerns over transparency and procedural compliance.
Lavinia Ioniță Rasmussen, Real Estate Partner at Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP), talked to Property Forum about the firm's growing portfolio in industrial and renewable energy, but also about the new EU rules that will boost investments in green buildings.
Renewable energy use in heating and cooling continues to grow across the EU, reaching 26.2% in 2023—the highest level since records began in 2004 (11.7%).
€1 billion is available for the installation of alternative fuel supply infrastructure for road, sea, air, and inland waterway transport.
In 2022, Romanians were in last place in the European Union in terms of municipal waste production and recycling, according to data published by Eurostat.
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, announced the resumption of budget support for Zambia and launched three programs worth €110 million under Global Gateway. The announcement was made alongside President Hakainde Hichilema and Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane.
The Commission has selected 107 transport infrastructure projects to receive over €6 billion in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU's instrument for strategic investment in transport infrastructure. Over 80% of the funding will support projects that deliver a more efficient, greener, and smarter network of railways, inland waterways, and maritime routes along the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network.
The EU and Norway have established a Green Alliance to strengthen their joint climate action, environmental protection efforts, and cooperation on the clean energy and industrial transition. Both sides reiterate their commitment to their respective 2030 targets of at least 55% greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to 1990, and to achieving climate neutrality at the latest by 2050.
EU countries on Tuesday gave the final approval to the biggest revamp to date of Europe's carbon market, which is set to make it more costly to pollute and sharpen the 27-member bloc's main tool for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The world's first major carbon trading system has since 2005 forced power plants and factories to buy permits when they emit CO2 and has cut emissions from those sectors by 43%.
Existing buildings in the European Union should be converted into zero-emission buildings by 2050 and all new buildings should be zero-emission from 2028.
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), the coalition representing over 5,000 organizations from across the building value chain, has asked Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to back amendments to the Energy Performance of Building Directive.
The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), approved on 28 November, at the EU level, marks the biggest transformation in corporate reporting in the last almost 20 years.
Microsoft has achieved its goal of matching 100% of its annual global electricity consumption with renewable energy, reaching the milestone five years ahead of its 2025 target. The achievement supports the company's commitment to become carbon negative by 2030.
The recent weakening of the CSRD may have some real estate developers cheering the compliance rollbacks, but the consequences could be complicated. A new research survey examines how EU real estate firms are navigating changes to the CSRD, and what that could mean for upcoming SFDR revisions.
Waldevar Energy has begun construction on two utility-scale photovoltaic parks for Doral Energy in Tudor Vladimirescu (Brăila County) and Ștefan Vodă (Călărași County), Romania. The projects will deliver 14 MWp of installed capacity using around 25,000 photovoltaic panels.
Lidl Romania has published its eighth sustainability report for the 2024 financial year, announcing accelerated progress in reducing environmental impact. The retailer has achieved its international 2030 target for transitioning to natural refrigerants, with these now used in 100% of logistics centres and 81.7% of stores, compared to the original goal of 100% of logistics centres and 40% of stores. The company has also increased its green energy usage to 80% of total consumption.
The European Union has reached a provisional agreement to reduce the scope and stringency of two major ESG regulatory frameworks: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
