Guidelines to protect wildlife from wind farms

Guidelines have been issued by the EU to protect wildlife from possible effects of windfarms. These guidelines are to be implemented in the EU Natura 2000 network of protected sites. Euroactiv has announced that the new guidelines have been issues specifically to protect vulnerable species and habitats in 26,000 sites accross Europe which comprise the EU Natura 2000 network. These guidelines are in agreement with the EU's Habitats and Birds Directives. It is important to recognise that wind farms are an important contributor to the EU's energy mix therefore manufacturers of wind turbines should be aware of these guidelines.

Some of the potential impacts on birds and bats are collisions, habitat loss, or the alteration of migration or foraging paths because of the turbines.

EU Climate Change commissioner proposes a Carbon Tax

Commissioner Connie Hedegaard proposed a tax on what you burn and threw her weight behind an EU carbon tax. This approach is spelled out in the EU's Energy Taxation Directive. This approach will colour Europe's efforts to stay ahead of the game in international climate negotiations.

On 26 May 2010, Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard presented a communication analysing the options for increasing the EU's emissions reduction target from 20% from 1990 levels by 2020 to 30%. It concluded that the recession had brought down the cost of reducing emissions significantly, and meeting a 30% target would cost just €11bn more than the estimate for 20% envisaged two years ago (EurActiv 27/05/10).

Hedegaard was speaking in a session dedicated to climate change. Hedegaard thinks that energy taxation can provide a lot of positive results. The commissioner argued that a shift from taxing labour to taxing energy would encourage people to stay longer in the job market and find ways to finance Europe's "relatively expensive welfare societies". For instance, this tax could encourage the agriculture sector to explore possibilities like biogas.

Water conservation

According to a study sponsored by the EU, it is possible to reduce water consumption by 40% through a combination of technology and changes in human behaviour. Legislative measures were included in the Commission's 2007 Communication on Water Scarcity and Droughts, which considered a series of e measures such as the inclusion of water efficiency criteria in performance standards for buildings. The potential for water savings in the EU is estimated at 40%. Binding rules could be envisaged to promote water savings in public and private buildings," states the EU executive in its work programme for 2010.

Credits Thanks are due to Helsinki51 for the picture of the watertap.