It is in those circumstances that the High Court (Ireland) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘(1) Does Article 11 of [the EIA Directive] read in the light of the principle of wide access to justice under Article 9(2) of the Aarhus Convention have the effect that, in a case where a project within the meaning of Article 1(2)(a) of [that directive] the subject of an application for development consent (the “primary consent”) cannot be carried out without the developer having first obtained another permission (the “secondary consent”), and where the authority competent for granting the primary consent for such a project retains the ability to assess the project's environmental impact more strictly than was done in the secondary consent, such a secondary consent (if granted prior to the primary consent) is to be treated as forming part of the development consent procedure for purposes other than in relation to the scope of matters to be considered or assessed under [the EIA Directive], either generally or where the secondary consent is a decision adopted under Article 16(1) of [the Habitats Directive] and which authorises a developer to derogate from the applicable species protection measures in order to carry out the project?

I've read my fair share of European Court of Justice rulings on the EIA and Habitats Directives, but I think yesterday's Drumakilla ruling may be the gnarliest I've come across. Can't even begin to understand what the question is!

Avant / Après la métamorphose de la Place du Colonel Fabien dans le 10ème et 19ème arrondissements de Paris. Pour la circulation, l'ancien rond point est devenu un fer à cheval, et l'ouest du rond-point a été piétonnisé et végétalisé. Les travaux furent terminés juste avant les élections.

Making the grid cheaper to use is one of the most equitable and just forms of climate action.

An EV helps the guy who can afford an EV, and a parking spot, and a driveway charger. A grid connected wind turbine helps anyone with a power point

New from us: how Pakistan's solar boom is dampening the impact of the Hormuz crisis on the country. Solar power allowed LNG&diesel imports to fall after the previous gas crisis in 2021-22, with the solar boom set to avoid $7bn in fossil fuel import costs this year.

a live dashboard of Great Britain's power grid showing 81% of demand being met by wind and solar, 8% from gas, 10% from nuclear and 4% from dead trees (excess supply is going to Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands)

The GB power grid is playing an absolute blinder right now

Spring has sprung.

We're about to see what all the Q3'24 onwards additional PV capacity added in European major markets means for the energy system. Always a fun event, the energy system equivalent of flying ant day.

This is the first fossil fuel crisis of the age of electricity, the first time that the clean solutions to replace fossil fuels are readily available and fully economically competitive. This additional tailwind will only help speed up their growth.

Many areas of the world experienced this in gas just a couple of years ago. Europe was writing (state funded) blank cheques like it was going out of fashion, and places like Pakistan couldn't get an LNG shipment as the ability to pay evaporated.

Wonder want happened there? Read below...

We're living in the timeline when hundreds of millions of years of dead matter was compressed by vast amount of rocks which were pushed by tectonic plates to create this concentration of oil and gas in less than 5% of the global land mass which humans now may burn away in less than 500 years.

it's been months now, I don't understand why they can't fix it!

screenshot of a broken URL to a European Commission consultation page highlighting the section info/law/better-regulation/ that needs deleting for the link to work

A fairly niche issue, but for anyone who's fed up of the European Commission's very broken links to consultation pages, the solution lies in deleting the repeated section of the URL: info/law/better-regulation/

baffling!

Recital to the new draft ban, to be discussed by member states today, reads: "Since the SEAC opinion was finalised in December 2022, international developments highlighted the need for the Union to strengthen its defence readiness and defence capacity in response to growing threats. In 2025, the Commission presented a strategy to achieve defence readiness by 2030, through a White Paper for European Defence and the ReArm Europe Plan, with the aim to quickly and significantly increase the Union’s defence investments and defence capabilities. The strategy included, among other things, actions supporting the strategic stockpiling of bullets, including lead bullets, and ensuring sufficient industrial capacity for the timely replenishment of ammunition in case of need. Against this background, and following discussions with the Member States during the decision-making process, the Commission considers it appropriate and necessary to exclude bullets from the scope of the restriction to prevent any potential impact, however small, on the production of lead bullets. Limiting the scope of the restriction to lead gunshot will still ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment from exposure to lead. Based on the Agency’s estimates, the expected lead emission reduction from prohibiting the use of lead bullets for hunting and outdoor sports shooting is 8 232 tonnes over 20 years. This is much less than the expected lead emission reduction from prohibiting the placing on the market and use of lead gunshot, i.e. 558 000 tonnes over 20 years. Excluding bullets from the scope will therefore only have a minimal effect on the overall effectiveness of the restriction."

Incredible scenes: the European Commission has abandoned its proposed ban on the recreational use of lead bullets to "prevent any potential impact, however small" on military production.

Avant / Après la piétonnisation de l'ancien parking Rue de Vaugirard en face du commissariat du 15ème arrondissement de Paris. Une bonne part servait aux policiers et à la fourrière. Maintenant la place sert aux piétons.

so much about the Guardian write-up has annoyed me because it's so scientifically illiterate AND really doesn't do justice to the NGO report, which is fine!

journalists understanding the difference between risks and hazards challenge (impossible)

Commission comes forward with stricter rules on creosote The EU could be set to follow in France’s footsteps by closing a loophole on the resale of wood treated with carcinogenic preservative creosote, as member states prepare to discuss a draft proposal ne...

The EU is now looking to close a fairly gaping loophole in its restriction on creosote that has allowed the resale of treated wood to consumers even though there aren't really any permitted consumer uses for the stuff. France did so back in 2019. www.endseurope.com/article/1948...

There's maybe some sense that this is a good way to upcycle old material, but unfortunately people are contaminating their gardens (and potentially their homes) with hazardous waste

A picture of flower beds made of old railway timbers leaching carcinogenic creosote into the environment, installed in a former warehouse site in south east London

I continue to be amazed by how often old creosote-treated railway sleepers turn up where they shouldn't. Creosote is a pretty nasty carcinogen and the reuse of treated wood for landscaping or interiors is *technically* banned in Europe

NEW ANALYSIS: China's CO2 has now been 'flat or falling' for 21 months

* Down in 2025
* Still below Mar 2024
* Clean energy wave a key factor

If this is China's peak (TBC) it's the climate story of the century so far…

www.carbonbrief.org/...

also not sure how true that is -- the few I've been in were being used for storing people's stuff...

UK supermarkets push for Amazon soy safeguards after traders abandon ban European retailers urge traders to adhere to commitments after Brazilian lawmakers wreck forest protection pact

feels like the sudden abandonment of the amazon soy moratorium - one of the most consequential conservation agreements ever - has largely gone unnoticed

good to see UK and EU supermarkets pressure the big commodity traders to stick to their commitments

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Number of US-style ‘battering ram’ pickup trucks on UK roads has nearly doubled in a decade Exclusive: Campaigners say ‘menacing vehicles’ are putting children at risk owing to their large front blind zones

⚠️Registrations of the most commonly-sold pick-up trucks have nearly doubled in just over a decade!

📈Our new analysis has found a major increase in the number of large, US-style pick-up trucks on UK roads over the past decade - with serious implications for pedestrian safety, particularly children.

Before / After Rue Henri Dubouillon, Paris 20, March 2023 just after the works, and October 2024. It usually takes two leafings for these changes to look a bit nicer, so all the last recent changes will be not at their best by the next election in March 2026 !

EXCLUSIVE: Lawyers close EUDR loopholes in last-minute tweaks EU officials have updated a rushed political agreement on the EU’s anti-deforestation law to fix flaws that could have allowed some of the world’s largest corporations to enjoy exemptions meant for sm...

EU officials have made last-minute changes to a rushed political agreement on #EUDR to close loopholes that could have allowed some of the world’s largest corporations to enjoy exemptions meant for small producers. www.endseurope.com/article/1943...

Funding for carbon capture and storage, Italy demanding review clauses, a climb-down on car CO2 emissions... Time is a circle!

ENDS Europe editorial from 19 Dec 2008 Crisis leaves the climate glass half empty A sombre mood has engulfed 2008 as the devastating impact of the global financial crisis in the last quarter wiped out any earlier optimism. The year had started well for the environmental community. Hot on the heels of the EU leaders’ commitment to meet ambitious climate objectives by 2020, lawmakers started hammering out the details of how to reach those goals. Hopes were raised that a new era was dawning for renewable energy sources and low-carbon technologies. The year closes with a ‘historic’ agreement by the 27 member states and a sizeable majority of the EU’s 785 MEPs on the climate and energy package, but many compromises had to be struck. The hard-fought battle over the third phase of the EU’s emission trading scheme (ETS) ended on a sour note. Full auctioning of carbon allowances will happen later than anticipated, if at all. Derogations and exemptions abound. Ambitious targets to cut CO2 emissions in the bloc remain in place, but member states are allowed to achieve a third of these cuts in non-ETS sectors through projects taking place outside the EU. Some countries may ‘outsource’ an even higher percentage of their emission reductions. A boost for carbon capture and storage (CCS) will come in the form of funding for construction of a dozen pilot plants. New combustion plants with a capacity above 300 megawatts must allow for space to install CCS equipment, but fitting it will not be mandatory. Even the renewables directive, hailed as a success, contains a compromise too far with non-mandatory interim targets. A “review clause” for 2014 was added to appease Italy, which was threatening to block the whole package. Priority access to the grid is, again, non-mandatory. There was also an undeniable climb-down on car CO2 emissions, with the new limit of 130 grams per kilometre not fully applicable until 2015. All in all, the EU only just managed to confirm its leadership…

Some things never change. It's nearly 17 years to the day that the EU agreed its 2020 climate package, including carve-outs for member states to meet their non-ETS emissions cuts through... international offsets.

Avant / Après la "rue jardin" Rue du Docteur Landouzy dans le 13ème arrondissement de Paris. Là j'ai coupé un peu de la hauteur des jeunes arbres pour le cadrage ;)

Transport emissions are set to fall for the second year running. EVs now exceed 50% of new passenger car sales, putting 12% of the vehicle fleet on electric by year-end, up from under 2% five years ago.

for real though, cooling towers are incredible and it's a crying shame that they're nearly all getting demolished when coal power plants are decommissioned