A renewed push to ditch fossil fuels is long overdue, but thanks to the influence of industry lobby groups, permitting exemptions intended for renewables are being used for new dirty energy projects, such as CO2 pipelines and fossil hydrogen.
COP29 in Baku, which finished last week, was crawling with fossil-fuel lobbyists determined to eke out profits for as long as possible. Shockingly, for a second year running, it is European governments that have facilitated access for a huge number of them.
How do we justly exit the era of fossil fuels when climate summits and EU officials stay surrounded by Big Oil lobbyists?
An investigation by COE reveals oil and gas lobbyists have enjoyed unprecedented access to EU decision-making. As a result, a series of critical decisions on tax, energy-infrastructure, and regulation put fossil-fuel industry profits above millions at risk of energy poverty.
In the countries worst hit by Covid-19, hydrogen and renewable gases are set to receive more money than much-needed intensive care units and new medical equipment (Italy) or the entire national health system (Spain).
At COP24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland, four out of the six newly-announced sponsors are coal and gas companies, including Europe’s largest coking coal producer JSW.
The European commission’s cozy relationships with the fracking industry is a conflict of interest.