#vat-on-energy

#vat-on-energy

Stegra has agreed in principle on €1.4 billion in new financing to complete the construction of what would be the world's first large-scale green steel plant, located in Boden in northern Sweden.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is calling for UK-built vehicles, components and batteries to be granted equivalent status to EU-made products under the proposed 'Made in Europe' framework, arguing that the current draft risks undermining a deeply integrated cross-border industry.

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will be widened by 40 per cent, bringing an additional 3,000 firms under its umbrella. The scheme will exempt qualifying businesses from the indirect costs of three legacy green levies: the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market.

The French government has temporarily authorised the sale of diesel fuel with lower cold-weather resistance to prevent shortages amid rising prices at the pump.

At a meeting at the Paris headquarters of the intergovernmental body dedicated to global energy security, Wright referred to the "destructive illusion" of the IEA's commitment to massively reducing greenhouse gas emissions sourced from fossil fuels. The US, one of 45 member and associate countries of the IEA that represent 75% of the world's energy demand, is threatening to withdraw from the body if it does not quit its energy transition goals in the next year.

Austria's government has agreed on a list of everyday foods that will be taxed at a lower VAT rate from July, in a move it said should reduce prices for households and slightly dampen inflation. According to ORF, the Council of Ministers approved the product range on Wednesday after intensive discussions. The reduced VAT rate of 4.9 percent, down from ten percent, is set to apply from July 1st. The government also set an upper cost limit of 400 million for the measure, ORF reported.

Solar and wind power provided more electricity than coal and gas last year, leading a global trend, said think tank Ember. Solar and wind power outperformed fossil fuels in the European Union for the first time last year, a new high watermark on Europe's transition to green and autonomous energy. The two sources of energy generated 30 percent of EU electricity, compared with 29 percent for coal and gas, Ember, a global energy think tank, said on Thursday in its European Electricity Review.

Many planned projects have been delayed or scrapped. Adrian Odenweller and Falko Ueckerdt at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany tracked 190 projects globally that were due to begin operating in 2023. The researchers found that only 7% of these had begun operations as scheduled.

The environmental impacts of meat consumption could be rapidly and cheaply reduced if governments applied full VAT on products such as beef, pork, lamb and chicken, a study has shown. Depending on how the additional tax revenues were redistributed, such a change could cost households as little as 26 (23) a year, while cutting ecological destruction by between 3% and 6%, the paper found.

While the previous law required most newly installed heating systems to use at least 65% renewable energy, often with a heat pump, the reformed legislation will allow households to keep using oil and gas. It also removes a mandate for expert consultation when installing a new heating system.