In brief | 26 February '25

Bloomberg: EU pitches new Clean Deal as industries struggle to compete

European Commission to outline measures to reduce energy costs.

Politico: Europe’s impossible choice: Which industries should survive the green transition? 

One German aluminum factory decided to go green and close its smelter. The EU faces a similar choice, with Europe’s future at stake.

Bloomberg: Europe’s banks warn of hidden credit risk in sudden ESG retreat

Sheer scale of proposed rollback of the bloc’s ESG rules will make it harder for lenders to analyze credit risk, federation warns.

Bloomberg: Germany’s green power push expected to cut prices 

By End-2026 German renewable build out will ramp up, narrowing the spread, while France won’t invest as fast in clean power sources.

Fuel Cells Works: Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands call for decisive action for a European hydrogen market

Hydrogen Councils stress the need for a harmonised regulatory framework that accelerates the cross-border development of hydrogen technologies and builds an efficient infrastructure for the transport and storage of hydrogen.

Reuters: Germany's E.ON urges new government to fix energy network returns

Along with other grid operators, E.ON has been vocal in its criticism of Germany's grid regulation, saying it was not favourable enough to attract large investments needed to modernise and maintain crucial power networks.

Financial Times: Weather forecasting takes big step forward with Europe’s new AI system

Predictions for up to 15 days ahead expected to improve tracking of extreme events.

Freiburg University: Tree diversity increases carbon sequestration

Forests planted with many different tree species have substantially higher aboveground carbon stocks and greater carbon fluxes than monocultures, shows an international study led by the University of Freiburg.