Today, world’s leading standardisation body International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) met in Tokyo to discuss the key findings of the joint study conducted by APPLiA-led Microplastic Consortium to assess the release of microplastic particles and fibres in household washing processes. 

Today’s plenary vote backing the quick phaseout of F-gas refrigerants for some applications will significantly limit the number of heat pumps available in certain market segments, pushing consumers back to fossil fuels with severe consequences for health and the planet. 

Heat pumps are at the centre of the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan to ditch Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, with a target to deploy 60 million heat pumps by 2030. The proposed bans on F-gas would not only endanger the bloc’s objective, but also jeopardise Europe’s broader climate and energy security goals.

To succeed in its bid to stamp out greenwashing and help EU consumers make well-informed purchasing decisions, the proposed Substantiating Green Claims initiative unveiled today by the European Commission should avoid falling into the paradox of halting business investments in sustainability. 

The long-awaited Right to Repair initiative put forth today by the European Commission is the missing piece of the jigsaw to a consistent legislative framework for consumers and manufacturers, as Europe strives to reach its Green Deal objectives.

The proposed Net-Zero Industry Act, unveiled today by the European Commission fails to reflect the true market reality in Europe, by treating unequally strategic net-zero solutions whose deployment would be instrumental to ramp up European production capacities for renewable energy technologies.

The proposed Critical Raw Materials Act presented by the European Commission promises to advance open strategic autonomy but it does not specify where “open” ends and where “autonomy” begins.

The EU Single Market is the bedrock of the European economy and one of the greatest achievements of European integration. 30 years on from its foundation, regulatory barriers and obstacles to cross-border trade make its potential still far from being exhausted.

The EU’s proposed Electricity Market Design tabled by the European Commission offers great potential to address the current energy crisis by stimulating the development of a market for demand-side management with opportunities for consumers to participate in it.