According to a summary published on Thursday, 10 out of the EU's 27 member states are on track to exceed their national targets for renewable energy, with a further 12 set to meet their goals using domestic sources of renewable energy. However, five member states, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg and Malta, will have to source their renewable energy from outside their countries. Europe's renewable energy directive sets an overall EU target of 20 percent and individual binding national targets. The bloc defines biofuels, biomass, wind, solar energy as well as hydro power as being renewable. In 2007, the most recent year for which there is data available, the renewable share was nine percent, with approximately 63 percent of this coming from biomass and biowaste.
According to a summary published on Thursday, 10 out of the EU's 27 member states are on track to exceed their national targets for renewable energy, with a further 12 set to meet their goals using domestic sources of renewable energy.
However, five member states, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg and Malta, will have to source their renewable energy from outside their countries.
Europe's renewable energy directive sets an overall EU target of 20 percent and individual binding national targets. The bloc defines biofuels, biomass, wind, solar energy as well as hydro power as being renewable.
In 2007, the most recent year for which there is data available, the renewable share was nine percent, with approximately 63 percent of this coming from biomass and biowaste.
Italy will have the biggest shortage of domestically produced renewable energies, the Commission said in a summary of the forecast documents submitted by member states under the renewables directive. The country will have to buy around 1.2 Mtoe from other countries in order to meet its binding target, it stated. Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg and Malta were the other EU countries which expected to fall short of their targets with domestic production only. By contrast, ten member states predict a surplus in 2020, which they could transfer to another member state, the Commission said. This would amount to about 2% of the total renewables required in 2020. Spain and Germany plan the largest absolute amounts of surplus renewable energy on top of their binding commitments. Consequently, Germany expects to hit 18.7% instead of 18%, and Spain 22.7% instead of 20%. In consequence, the EU as a whole is set to reach a 20.3% share of renewable energies in 2020, slightly exceeding its 20% target, the Commission said.
Italy will have the biggest shortage of domestically produced renewable energies, the Commission said in a summary of the forecast documents submitted by member states under the renewables directive. The country will have to buy around 1.2 Mtoe from other countries in order to meet its binding target, it stated.
Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg and Malta were the other EU countries which expected to fall short of their targets with domestic production only.
By contrast, ten member states predict a surplus in 2020, which they could transfer to another member state, the Commission said. This would amount to about 2% of the total renewables required in 2020.
Spain and Germany plan the largest absolute amounts of surplus renewable energy on top of their binding commitments. Consequently, Germany expects to hit 18.7% instead of 18%, and Spain 22.7% instead of 20%.
In consequence, the EU as a whole is set to reach a 20.3% share of renewable energies in 2020, slightly exceeding its 20% target, the Commission said.
When Madrid announced plans to build a centralized nuclear waste repository last year, more than 100 towns surged forward to offer their land. There are now just a few in the running. But what's in it for the winner?The Spanish government has a long list of demands for the 25-hectare-site. It needs to be protected, yet remote, not threatened by earthquakes or floods, not in a nature reserve or near an airport, but close to a railway. The nine communities still being considered are either located close to one of the country's eight operational nuclear power stations, or near one of those which has already been shut down. One advantage of these areas is that they have already undergone geological and environmental assessments. Another is the willingness of the local mayors...
The Spanish government has a long list of demands for the 25-hectare-site.
It needs to be protected, yet remote, not threatened by earthquakes or floods, not in a nature reserve or near an airport, but close to a railway.
The nine communities still being considered are either located close to one of the country's eight operational nuclear power stations, or near one of those which has already been shut down.
One advantage of these areas is that they have already undergone geological and environmental assessments. Another is the willingness of the local mayors...
BP is finally joining the rush for Brazil's deepwater oil reserves with a $7bn (£4.7bn) deal with Devon Energy to buy assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico. Although the deal only gives BP up to 40, 000 barrels per day of actual production, it provides the company its first foothold in the spectacularly promising but technically challenging areas off the Brazilian coast. Under the terms agreed with Devon, BP will also sell the Oklahoma-based company a 50 per cent stake in its Kirby oil sands project in Canada for $500m.
BP is finally joining the rush for Brazil's deepwater oil reserves with a $7bn (£4.7bn) deal with Devon Energy to buy assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico.
Although the deal only gives BP up to 40, 000 barrels per day of actual production, it provides the company its first foothold in the spectacularly promising but technically challenging areas off the Brazilian coast.
Under the terms agreed with Devon, BP will also sell the Oklahoma-based company a 50 per cent stake in its Kirby oil sands project in Canada for $500m.
Supermarket suppliers under fire as one-fifth of workers interviewed for inquiry report being pushed or hit.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it has uncovered significant evidence of abuse among producers supplying Britain's big supermarkets. The inquiry includes reports from meat factory workers who say they have had frozen burgers thrown at them by line managers, and accounts of pregnant women being forced to stand for long periods or perform heavy lifting under threat of the sack. It also contained reports from women with heavy periods and people with bladder problems on production lines being denied toilet breaks and forced to endure the humiliation of bleeding and urinating on themselves. One-fifth of workers interviewed, from across England and Wales, reported being pushed, kicked or having things thrown at them, while a third had experienced or witnessed verbal abuse.
It also contained reports from women with heavy periods and people with bladder problems on production lines being denied toilet breaks and forced to endure the humiliation of bleeding and urinating on themselves.
One-fifth of workers interviewed, from across England and Wales, reported being pushed, kicked or having things thrown at them, while a third had experienced or witnessed verbal abuse.
A US Federal court designed to provide compensation to children injured from vaccines, has declared that evidence supporting an alleged causal link between autism and a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines is 'scientifically unsupportable'. Congress set up the special judicial forum, sometimes called the "vaccine court," in 1986 to address claims over vaccine safety, following pressure from parents and anti-vaccine lobbies who insisted there was a link. Three test cases brought before the court were to pave the way for a class action by thousands of parents of children affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but after reviewing the cases it was deemed there was no convincing evidence. The vaccines and autism theory was popularised by Dr Andrew Wakefield following the publishing of his 1998 Lancet paper, which has subsequently been retracted. Wakefield was the subject of the longest investigation in the history of the UK General Medical Council for misconduct surrounding research for this paper. The GMC found he had been "callous" irresponsible" and "dishonest", was paid by lawyers to prove a link between vaccines and autism, had a patent submitted for his own single measles vaccine and conducted unnecessary and painful invasive procedures on children without the correct ethics approvals.
A US Federal court designed to provide compensation to children injured from vaccines, has declared that evidence supporting an alleged causal link between autism and a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines is 'scientifically unsupportable'.
Congress set up the special judicial forum, sometimes called the "vaccine court," in 1986 to address claims over vaccine safety, following pressure from parents and anti-vaccine lobbies who insisted there was a link.
Three test cases brought before the court were to pave the way for a class action by thousands of parents of children affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but after reviewing the cases it was deemed there was no convincing evidence.
The vaccines and autism theory was popularised by Dr Andrew Wakefield following the publishing of his 1998 Lancet paper, which has subsequently been retracted. Wakefield was the subject of the longest investigation in the history of the UK General Medical Council for misconduct surrounding research for this paper. The GMC found he had been "callous" irresponsible" and "dishonest", was paid by lawyers to prove a link between vaccines and autism, had a patent submitted for his own single measles vaccine and conducted unnecessary and painful invasive procedures on children without the correct ethics approvals.
