Beyond Fossil Fuels

Europe is making heat pumps cool again. Across 12 countries, heat pump sales have seen a 16.5% increase compared to last year, with significant rises in Poland, Finland and Belgium. Why? Perhaps an early indication that people affected by higher fossil fuel prices stemming from the war in Iran are making the switch to green and safer technologies. Homeowners with heat pumps (particularly in Southern Europe) can save €460- €1,350 per year through flexible operation. https://lnkd.in/enGHVxkR

As part of the international action days against Czech energy giant #EPH, activists in Lippendorf, Saxony, hung a banner in front of its coal-fired power plant. Their message is clear: no new gas in Lippendorf, because replacing coal with fossil gas isn’t a clean energy transition, it’s just decades more fossil fuel dependency. Extending fossil fuel business and maximising profits isn't a transition that rejects dirty energy and invests in clean, affordable renewables that work for society and climate. https://lnkd.in/eb7T3jze

Imagine two huge energy companies cooked up a plan to make billions of euros off the back of Europe’s second energy crisis in five years. Imagine no more, yesterday’s announcement that TotalEnergies and EPH are embarking on a joint venture is now a reality. Under the alleged purpose of bringing flexible generation, also known as ‘flexgen’, to Europe’s power system, their alliance will effectively create a new fossil gas giant and deepen Europe’s dependence on costly fossil gas. Truly clean flexibility solutions are already available at a much lower cost for consumers and the environment, and that includes energy storage, and smarter grid systems. What good can come from a deal that keeps Europe hooked on gas - while fossil giants make giant profits? EPH, Europe’s n°1 gas power developer, has a proven track record of creative GHG accounting. TotalEnergies, Europe’s n°1 LNG importer, is planning new fossil projects in more countries than any other oil and gas company in the world. This isn’t a deal that reinforces European energy security, nor one that will ease pressure on electricity bills. It’s a bad bet that reinforces company profits with terrible consequences for our climate and economy. https://lnkd.in/eG723sKr

AGM season is here — and with it, a moment of truth for financial institutions.   Steel must move away from fossils, fast, but right now financial institutions are not supporting that change. Access to capital determines whether low-emission technologies scale, or whether fossil-based systems are locked in for decades to come.   This puts banks, pension funds and asset managers at the center of the transition.   This season, we are calling on Standard Chartered, HSBS, BNP Paribas, Groupe Crédit Agricole, Commerzbank, and Deutsche Bank – the most influential banks in Europe – to take action in pushing the steel sector to decarbonise.   Financial institutions must:   ❌ End financial flows to expansionary metallurgical coal producers ✅Actively support the scale-up of renewable energy and fossil-free industrial technologies ✅Use their leverage to demand credible, time-bound transition plans from steel makers   ⏳Investors and financial institutions have a clear choice: continue financing expansion and delay, or align capital with a credible steel transition. Still banking on false solutions https://lnkd.in/eguDPWeK

“For the second time in five years, Europe is being caught asleep at the wheel. From soaring prices at gas stations to flight cancellations over jet fuel shortages, we're learning the hard way – again – that dependence on fossil fuel imports has a price, “ writes Eliška Volencová in the EU Correspondent. 👉 Over 1,700 GW of renewable energy projects across Europe are currently waiting to be connected. That's more than three times the capacity needed to meet the EU's 2030 clean energy goals. 👉 In 2024, €7.2 billion in renewable generation was lost due to grid capacity constraints. Time to modernise, yesterday.

This week fossil fuel phaseout conference in #SantaMarta is putting pressure on Türkiye, From Bartın to Muğla, Bursa to Elbistan, to step up its coal commitments. Outside Elbistan power plant, local communities and civil societies gathered, one voice against coal ahead of #COP31, to demand: 🔺 Cancellation of new coal plant projects and mining permits 🔺A planned, phased shutdown of existing coal-fired power plants 🔺Just transition programs for workers 🔺An end to coal exploration and expansion 🔺Restoration of ecological and public health damages in coal regions 🔺Energy policies grounded in science and public interest These two new units represent the only active coal power plant project in Türkiye. If cancelled, the decision could mark the long-overdue end of new coal in the country. https://lnkd.in/emhTTkik

Exactly one year on from the Iberian blackout, we’re looking back at three key facts. 1️⃣ Renewables were not to blame. Despite being labeled as the blackout’s source in the first few days, that narrative was not able to hold for long, because grid failure triggered the outage. The balance between electricity supply and demand was disrupted, causing frequency or voltage to move outside safe limits and triggering automatic shutdowns to protect the system. 2️⃣ Interconnection and clean flexibility are the solution. Investment in our grids will make our power system more resilient, modern and flexible, so that means improving interconnection and scaling up clean flex solutions such as batteries, heat pumps, EV smart charging & demand response and long-duration energy storage. 3️⃣ Blaming renewables distracts from Europe’s real vulnerabilities. Fossil fuels are structurally built into our energy system, and renewables are reconstructing that structure. Therefore they're more visible and more prone to criticism. But the weakness of fossil fuel dependency has been laid bare several times in the last five years, and now, countries that invested in renewables such as Spain and Portugal are much better shielded from energy shocks than some of their neighbours. How many more crises before the need for a renewables-based energy system becomes absolute, for everyone?

The EU’s electricity transition is picking up serious speed. Ember finds that between 2021 and 2025, wind and solar generation across the EU grew by 54%, a clear sign that the power transition isn't just underway, but accelerating. Right now, solar is the star of the show, with generation more than doubling in just four years. Renewables are scaling fast, delivering more of Europe’s electricity, and proving that clean power isn't just a utopic future promise but a present reality. Which begs the question: when wind and solar are growing this quickly, why are some still pushing for more gas? We don't need more fossil gas when renewable alternatives are already here, scaling fast, and doing the job. Read more via Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026: https://lnkd.in/eecempub

What do metallurgical and thermal coal have in common? That’s absolutely right, they’re both still coal. While the disastrous effects of prolonged thermal coal usage are now well documented, metallurgical coal is just as dirty and polluting. It’s treated as different to the rest of the coal family, but because of its alleged necessity, it’s so far evaded much phaseout discussion. We now know climate-friendlier alternatives exist, with research from Agora predicting a possible 2040s phaseout with the use of green hydrogen and clean electricity. Australia, co-host of #COP31, is its biggest exporter - a fact that makes it difficult for it to credibly claim climate leadership. Exporting ‘met’ coal and supporting expansion plans is more like climate cosplay. Published by Urgewald and signed by Reclaim Finance - NGO, BankTrack, Market Forces, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), Just Shift, Coal Action Network, People's Climate Assembly and Currie Country Social Change, our letter is calling on Australia to address its met coal loophole and commit to fossil fuel phaseout at #SantaMarta. https://lnkd.in/ePsbq98a

ArcelorMittal's 2025 Sustainability Report is out and highlighting a year defined by "climate action." But it's sadly not the same kind of climate action we talk about, because the biggest steel producer in Europe is continues to undermine the EU Emissions Trading System. In its new report, ArcelorMittal is calling for slower timelines and more “flexibility” in the ETS cap. In other words, it's advocating to slow down progress in European industry transition. This feeds into a wider problem: an increasingly stop-start approach to the transition, where the pace shifts with every crisis and push from corporate interests. It might frame this as pragmatism, but behind the scenes the company is pushing to rewrite rules in its favour. Rules that favour profits over actual long-term solutions for industry. By pushing for weaker ETS rules, the company is reinforcing the slowest direction of travel, leveraging political divisions while continuing to present itself as supportive of the transition. The EU must set the pace, and it needs to be steady, and fast.