Latest news with #greenpolicies
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong environment chief says voluntary green measures better given economy
Hong Kong's environment minister has cautioned against using mandatory measures to advance green policies given challenges the city faces arising from geopolitical tensions and economic transition, as he unveiled plans for the next phase of the ban on single-use plastics Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday the government would carry out a trial run with the catering sector in the middle of this year to select suitable replacements before proceeding to the second phase. Phase two will ban the use of all throwaway plastics in restaurants, plastic food containers, six-pack yokes for canned drinks, plastic tablecloths, disposable gloves and plastic-stemmed dental floss. 'Due to geopolitics and the transition of the economy, you can see some sectors have really been affected. This is the reality,' Tse said. 'If you use mandatory measures to push environmental policies, some sectors, enterprises or companies, which have been facing difficulties, could close down because of the moves.' Tse said opting for voluntary measures would make it easier to implement environmental policies during periods of uncertainty, as people could contribute to the extent their situation permitted. Hong Kong has seen a string of business closures recently, with city leader John Lee Ka-chiu urging companies to reform amid what he called a 'transitional period'. The city has also felt the effects of US-China tensions and the tariff war initiated by US President Donald Trump.
Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Bring back tougher green policies or miss emissions deadline, SNP told
The SNP will fail to deliver on Scotland's 'ambitious' net zero targets unless controversial green policies are resurrected and more than £13 billion is invested by the end of the decade. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said that the 2045 target introduced under Nicola Sturgeon was theoretically achievable but would require 'immediate action at pace and scale'. The independent expert body set up to advise UK governments said it was disappointing that the Scottish government had abandoned plans to make homeowners switch to greener domestic heating systems after buying new homes. In March the SNP said previous proposals, put in place under Sturgeon's coalition deal with the Scottish Greens, had been scrapped as they would 'make people poorer'. Other measures, such as targets
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Italy's Meloni warns EU green policies risk 'industrial desertification'
ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Saturday that rigid green policies could devastate Europe's industrial base, and called for a more cautious approach to the ecological transition that protects economic and social stability. Speaking after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Meloni said the European Union's push towards electrification, particularly in the automotive sector, risked undermining the continent's manufacturing strength. "I have often said that in a desert there is nothing green," Meloni told reporters in Rome. "Before anything else, we must fight the desertification of European industry." She said that alternative fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen must play a central role in Europe's green strategy. Meloni criticised the EU's past regulatory approach as too inflexible, saying it had "crushed" sectors like the automotive industry. She also expressed concern that Europe was depending on electric vehicle supply chains dominated by non-European countries, calling this a strategic vulnerability. "I continue to believe it is counterproductive to focus solely on the electric transition, where the supply chains are not controlled by Europe, but by other actors," she said. Meloni urged the European Commission to go further in revising key aspects of the so-called Green Deal, including new emissions calculations that account for the entire production cycle of a vehicle, not just tailpipe emissions. The European Parliament earlier this month voted to soften rules for European automakers, meaning they will not have to comply with EU CO2 emissions targets for cars and vans that could have led to fines of up to 15 billion euros ($17 billion). Following heavy lobbying, the European Commission proposed allowing automakers to meet the targets based on their average emissions over the period 2025-2027, rather than just this year. Italy and Germany — Europe's two largest manufacturing economies — should lead efforts to restore competitiveness, Meloni said, adding that the automotive sector was one area where bilateral cooperation could make a decisive impact.
Reuters
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Italy's Meloni warns EU green policies risk 'industrial desertification'
ROME, May 17 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Saturday that rigid green policies could devastate Europe's industrial base, and called for a more cautious approach to the ecological transition that protects economic and social stability. Speaking after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Meloni said the European Union's push towards electrification, particularly in the automotive sector, risked undermining the continent's manufacturing strength. "I have often said that in a desert there is nothing green," Meloni told reporters in Rome. "Before anything else, we must fight the desertification of European industry." She said that alternative fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen must play a central role in Europe's green strategy. Meloni criticised the EU's past regulatory approach as too inflexible, saying it had "crushed" sectors like the automotive industry. She also expressed concern that Europe was depending on electric vehicle supply chains dominated by non-European countries, calling this a strategic vulnerability. "I continue to believe it is counterproductive to focus solely on the electric transition, where the supply chains are not controlled by Europe, but by other actors," she said. Meloni urged the European Commission to go further in revising key aspects of the so-called Green Deal, including new emissions calculations that account for the entire production cycle of a vehicle, not just tailpipe emissions. The European Parliament earlier this month voted to soften rules for European automakers, meaning they will not have to comply with EU CO2 emissions targets for cars and vans that could have led to fines of up to 15 billion euros ($17 billion). Following heavy lobbying, the European Commission proposed allowing automakers to meet the targets based on their average emissions over the period 2025-2027, rather than just this year. Italy and Germany — Europe's two largest manufacturing economies — should lead efforts to restore competitiveness, Meloni said, adding that the automotive sector was one area where bilateral cooperation could make a decisive impact.
