Europe will begin phasing out coal subsidies and cut its energy use by 30% before the end of the next decade, under a major clean energy package announced in Brussels on Wednesday. “Europe is on the brink of a clean energy revolution,” he told a press conference in Brussels. But it still called on MEPs and EU states to pile on the pressure for an increased renewable energy target before the proposals become law. The bloc has pledged to phase out subsidies for food-based energy crops, but a revised renewable energy directive released today only whittles down a cap on such biofuels from 7% in 2020 to 3.8% in 2030. It will more likely make them worse.”Many environmental groups gave similarly one-handed applause to the new package, which treads water on key issues such as renewable energy targets and the pace of decarbonisation.

Source: The Guardian November 30, 2016 11:00 UTC