A new report from the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) on the implementation of the EU Commission's 2018 code of practice on disinformation reveals "significant weaknesses" linked to the lack of transparency and voluntary approach. ERGA proposes shifting from the current flexible self-regulatory approach to co-regulatory. The code targeted companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter.

The EU will insist on progress on fisheries and level-playing fields, in talks with Britain on their future relationship, parallel to the trade deal, Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said Monday after talks with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Negotiations have stalled as the UK pushes for sectorial, streamlined agreements, while the EU wants a comprehensive deal. June is the deadline for any extension to the December 2020 exit date.

Chinese spies have targeted Belgian biological warfare experts, vaccine-maker GSK, and other high-tech firms in the country, Belgium's intelligence service suspects.

France will not make a decision on holidays until early June - while Germany is warning against a "race to allow tourism first", and some smaller EU states, such as Greece, Denmark and Austria, are considering allowing foreign holidays.

The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK reached 29,427 Tuesday, surpassing Italy (29,029), to become Europe's worst-struck country and the second-worst globally after the US, while prompting calls for a public enquiry into government handling of the crisis. "I really don't like this league table of who's top and who's not, but there's no denying that these are really serious numbers," Cambridge University expert David Spiegelhalter told The Guardian.

MEPs have voiced concern over the definition of "fossil fuel sectors" used by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESA) in their consultation paper on technical standards for environmental, social and governance disclosure for financial market participants. "ESA's definition is in striking contradiction with the disclosure and taxonomy regulations, climate science and commonly used definitions," MEPs said in a letter. ESA's paper defines "fossil fuels" as solid fossil fuels only.

The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to open their mutual borders on 15 May for their residents, prime ministers of the countries said on Wednesday. However, people arriving from any other country to the Baltic three will have to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine. Most member states within the EU's passport-free Schengen zone have closed their borders in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) have said that at least 90,000 healthcare workers worldwide are believed to have been infected with Covid-19, and possibly twice that, amid reports of continuing shortages of protective equipment, the Guardian reports. The disease has killed more than 260 nurses. The ICN urges authorities to keep more accurate records to help prevent the virus from spreading among staff and patients.

Oxford University study says fiscal stimulus for green projects offer higher returns on government spending in the short and long term than traditional incentives on fossil fuels.

The chief of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Wednesday that "the risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach" during a virtual briefing. Previously, the WHO established a list of conditions to lift restrictive measures in place to stop the spread of coronaviruses, such as surveillance control and healthcare preparedness.

Prime minister Edouard Philippe said on Thursday that France does not rule out of re-imposing a lockdown if coronavirus cases increase, Reuters reported. "We have always said that we would rather not have to, if possible, resort [to a new lockdown] but also that, in the event that there was no other option, we would not rule it out," Philippe said. French lockdown will be partially lifted on Monday.

Estonia is marking 75 years since the end of WW2 on European soil on Friday at a vide-meeting of the UN Security Council, which it currently chairs. The event, which is public and live-streamed, will discuss "lessons learned to prevent future atrocities" and "the responsibility of the Security Council", which has failed to stop egregious war crimes in Syria in recent times. US historian Timothy Snyder will also take part.

70 years later, after decades of comparative peace, todays European Union - perhaps the world's greatest experiment in state integration - finds itself at a crossroads.

It's that time of year, time to wrestle with the wallet, brave the shopping malls, or surf online for deals. If you're in a renewable energy state of mind this season, we've got you covered -- here are a handful of gift ideas for you and those special someones on your list.

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday bustle: shopping, decorating, parties, and preparation. Our to-do lists can seem endless, but we carry on because it is that special time of year, a season of giving.

For those clamoring for (and against) the year-end-expiring legislation, and anyone in favor of some tax-code simplification, today the government has offered an early holiday present: proposed reform for some key areas including the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC).

Global private capital renewable energy investments are still above $250 billion for 2013. While the final numbers are not in yet, 3rd quarter global renewable energy investments, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s latest data on deals and projects, notes slightly lower global investment than in 2012 due faltering “political will to decarbonise energy mix.” They further note that the third quarter’s decline in investment will push the year’s overall investment in renewable energy and energy-smart technologies down below 2012's $281 billion. But $250+ billion ain’t shabby.

University of Georgia researchers are working to produce faster-growing sweetgum trees by growing embryogenic sweetgum cultures in bioreactors, computer-operated systems used for growing cells under controlled conditions.

As the renewable energy market shifts and evolves each year, industry experts need to know where the next hot region will be in order to keep up with the changing tides.

As the renewable energy market shifts and evolves each year, industry experts need to know where the next hot region will be in order to keep up with the changing tides.

Bio-energy forest plantations will supplement woody biomass from other sources such as logging residues. In the southern U.S., projections are for an increase of up to 25 million “new” tons of woody biomass demand for bioenergy. To supply this woody biomass demand will require purpose grown plantations of various species including pine, eucalypts, sweetgum, hybrid poplar and cottonwood, amongst others. Forest plantation yields can be 8-15 green tons/acre/year on rotations of 5-12 years. Utilization of this renewable and sustainable biomass resource will be as feedstock “designed” for a large number of bio-energy applications.

The United States broke one record after another for extreme weather in 2013. From deadly floods in Colorado to prolonged drought across the Southwest, Americans saw what unchecked climate change can do to our communities. But we also witnessed another kind of powerful force: real and positive climate action.

European Union leaders intend next month to agree on a timeline for developing energy and climate targets for 2030, delaying a final decision on the polices, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Clean energy assets in the Middle East and North Africa will more than double in capacity by the end of next year, the Dii GmbH industry association said.

The U.K. risks power shortages because utilities may react to Europe’s toughest carbon emissions rules by closing plants without replacing them.

Talks between Germany and Norway about how to boost the trading of electricity from renewable sources are being held up by concerns that the power cable running under the North Sea won’t ever make money.

Greenpeace issued its annual report on the energy efficiency of Internet companies, praising Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and other major providers of online services for improved use of energy resources.

Three G-20 nations saw an increase in clean-energy investments last year even as funding declined globally for the second consecutive year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Technology is catching up with Thomas Edison’s electricity industry, eating away at the utility business model that hasn’t changed much in a century.

Simplifying finance vehicles for renewable energy will lure more investors and lower the costs of capital.

Clean energy investment rose by 9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on surging demand for rooftop solar panels from the U.S. to Japan.

China, the world’s biggest investor in renewable energy, reiterated plans to boost construction of solar and wind power plants along with projects to transmit electricity from the clean sources.

Collection of articles related to hydropower technology from April 2014

The Obama administration is considering cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants by reaching beyond the plants themselves — an unusual approach that could run afoul of anti-pollution laws.

Ohio is debating the sharpest break from a three-decade campaign by 29 U.S. states to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by promoting power from renewable sources.

The U.K. Green Investment Bank aims to boost the capital it commits to carbon-cutting projects to 700 million pounds ($1.2 billion) this year as it chases deals in offshore wind, waste and energy efficiency.

Meeting the world’s energy supply needs by 2035 will require $40 trillion of investment, as demand grows and production and processing facilities have to be replaced, the International Energy Agency said.

Spain set new rates for electricity suppliers that use renewable sources, waste and co-generation based on a “reasonable return,” formally ending a subsidy system dating to the 1990s that had spun out of control.

Shinsei Bank Ltd., a lender for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s clean-energy projects in Japan, plans to provide as much as 200 billion yen (US $2 billion) in loans for renewable developments.

Gevo Inc.’s biofuels plant in Minnesota, which has suffered production delays because of contamination, may break even by the end of 2014 as output of ethanol and isobutanol from agricultural waste increase.

Scotland’s Macallan whisky distillery is set to get most of its heat requirement from a combined heat and power plant part-funded by the government.

Australia is frightening developers away from renewable energy even before the government decides whether to overhaul targets for the industry’s growth.

South African Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said her department wants to address weaknesses in the process of commissioning renewable-power projects.

Investments in new clean-energy capacity will total $1.61 trillion through 2020 even as the expansion of renewables is expected to slow, the International Energy Agency said.

When the world’s largest working advanced digestion plant opened last month, it showed the power- hungry process of treating waste in the $360 billion water industry can be self-sufficient in terms of energy use.

Chevron Corp.’s attempts to turn plants into alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production have failed.

Abengoa SA, a Spanish energy and environment company, plans to issue its first green bond to raise 500 million euros ($642 million) to finance projects.

The threat of climate change is driving China and the U.S. — frequent rivals and the world’s two largest greenhouse-gas emitters — to collaborate on dozens of potential clean-energy breakthroughs.

California and Quebec, which together created the largest carbon market in North America this year, may come away empty-handed as they woo northeastern U.S. states to join their system.

Europe’s concern about its reliance on Russian fossil fuels may spur governments to prioritize alternative energy, the head of Neste Oil Oyj said.