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EU

EU-funded project to stall wildlife cybercrime

by Staff Correspondent June 19, 2019

The TrickyScribe: Funded by Internal Security Fund of the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, the two-year “Disrupting and dismantling wildlife cybercriminals and their networks in the European Union” project will help train customs, police and other enforcement officers across the EU to detect and deter wildlife trafficking.

The project will also engage with delivery and online technology companies, to ensure wildlife traffickers do not misuse their services. “The skyrocketing volume of parcel deliveries, linked to the growth of e-commerce, represents a significant challenge for those enforcing the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, who will benefit from the support provided through this project,” said Emilie Van der Henst, the WWF-TRAFFIC Project Coordinator.

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Internet provides wildlife traffickers access to a vast international marketplace—one without borders that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, where wildlife cybercriminals exploit the anonymity afforded to them online. Detecting and disrupting wildlife cybercrime is a critical component to ensure the survival of endangered and threatened wild animals.

8-000-plus specimens in 6 weeks

A International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) report published in 2018, Disrupt: Wildlife Cybercrime, identified 3,312 advertisements spread across online marketplaces and social media platforms in France and Germany, cataloguing 8,244 endangered and threatened specimens—everything from ivory tusks and trinkets to rhino horn products, fur and skins from big cats, live birds and reptiles—worth almost 2 million EUR over a six week period.

“This project will enable IFAW to continue our pioneering approach into online wildlife crime in the EU, working with our partners to create a network of experts to defeat a criminal network,” said Tania McCrea-Steele, IFAW’s Global Wildlife Cybercrime Project Lead.

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The wildlife cybercrime project will initially focus on Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, identifying information on trends and developing tools, which will be of use to the other EU Member States. Alongside improved detection of wildlife trafficking, the project will work with online companies to remove accounts and advertisements of those offering wildlife illegally and make it harder for them to reach their customers online.

“We aim to throw a big spanner in the operations of wildlife cybercriminals and make their activities a high-risk, low-profit form of criminality,” said Emilie van der Henst, the WWF/TRAFFIC Project Coordinator.

Swanky illegal global trade

Illicit trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth close to USD 20 billion per year, making it one of the largest illegal global trade, after other transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and illegal logging, according to a 2017 Global Financial Integrity report.

In 2015, a United Nations (UN) resolution recognized the broader impacts of wildlife crime, which include corruption, money laundering, the undermining of good governance, the rule of law and the well-being of local communities and called upon nations to take appropriate action. In 2016, the EU adopted the Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and Member States made environmental crime one of their 10 priorities in their efforts to address serious international and organized crime for the period 2018–21.

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June 19, 2019

Business & Commerce

EU invites energy infrastructure proposals, to infuse €750 Mn

by Staff Correspondent March 23, 2019

written by Staff Correspondent

The TrickyScribe: In the wake of a renewed push for renewables development, the EU has decided to provide €750 million in funding for clean energy infrastructure. The CEF will accept proposals that support the development of trans-European projects until June 13, 2019. Under its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the bloc has opened another call for applications to build cross-border energy infrastructure projects. It has already agreed to provide a grant of €323 million to synchronize the regional grid in the Baltic States.

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In particular, it is looking for projects of common interest (PCI) that can make a significant impact on two or more EU countries, while improving competitiveness and energy security. Aside from construction-related projects, the CEF will also consider offering funds for research studies, according to the announcement. The EU launched the CEF in 2014 to financially support energy infrastructure projects until 2020, with a total volume of €5.35 billion. Hitherto, the facility has allocated grants of €3.4 billion to PCI applicants.

In mid-2018, the European Commission proposed increasing the CEF’s 2021-2027 budget to €42.3 billion. Of this, €8.7 billion was to be earmarked for energy projects, while transport initiatives could receive up to €30.6 billion. The remaining €3 billion would be allocated to the digitalization of the continent’s energy infrastructure.

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The EC estimates that upgrades to gas and electricity networks — which are needed to ensure a successful energy transition — could cost around €200 billion through 2030. While these measures are necessary, not all of them are commercially viable, and the market alone would only be able to handle about half of them. “Therefore, the EU is helping to build and fund new energy infrastructure projects all over Europe, as part of its Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) strategy,” the commission writes.

At a recent PCI event in Brussels, the EU also revealed that the CEF has provided another grant of €323 million to synchronize the Baltic States’ grid. The grants — which were signed in the presence of several key officials, including Miguel Arias Cañete, the EC commissioner for climate action and energy — will be used to reinforce the Baltic grid. The region was long seen as an “energy island,” the EU says, but in recent years it has established interconnections with Poland (LitPol Link), Sweden (NordBalt) and Finland. However, for historical reasons, the Baltic grid is still synchronized with the networks of Russia and Belarus.

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“The synchronization of the Baltic States’ electricity grid with the continental European network (CEN) is an essential political priority for the achievement of the Energy Union,” the EC statement reads. A unified grid with a fully integrated energy market, cross-border energy trading, interconnector capacity and smart grid functionality could help deal with grid fluctuations and reduce the curtailment of variable renewable energy resources. The EU has been working on the project since 2015.

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March 23, 2019

Business & Commerce

EU to eliminate MIPs for Chinese solar products

by Editor's Desk August 25, 2018

written by Editor's Desk

The TrickyScribe: European Commission has decided not to re-examine the existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for crystalline solar PV cells and modules imported from China. In a meeting in Brussels, the majority of EU member states have decided not to re-apply the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for crystalline solar PV modules and cells. As such, the undertaking on the minimum import price (MIP) is likely to end on September 3.

While it remains silent the majority of EU member states have reportedly approved the proposal. According to the information available, the undertaking on MIPs and duties is expected to expire on this date.

EU Prosun, which had requested a re-examination of the existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures in Brussels, said several companies have already explored the possibility of appealing against the decision, before the European Court in Luxembourg. If the European association is to be believed, European Commission refuses to make a fair assessment of the requested expiry review.

“The Commission’s decision comes as no surprise after the associations of importers for years have told the tale that the anti-dumping measures would hinder the growth in photovoltaic installations in Europe,” said Milan Nitzschke, President of EU Prosun. “Photovoltaics are already the cheapest power source in Europe and it will not be cheaper if the current anti-dumping measures will be removed.” He expects a huge loss for European PV manufacturers and the entire value chain.

Another two European associations, SolarPower Europe and SAFE, which was founded in Germany to campaign for a phasing out of existing MIPs, have called on the European Commission to stick to the planned date of September 3 as the end date, over the past months. James Watson, CEO, SolarPower Europe, told mediapersons: “SolarPower Europe has fought hard for the removal of these duties as we see them as a major barrier to the growth of solar in Europe. We are pleased that the Commission will follow its plan to eliminate the measures on September 3, while at the same time we must now have a strong industrial policy put in place for solar manufacturing to grow in Europe.”

In July, Taiwan-based TrendForce said that if the MIP does expire, Vietnamese and Thai suppliers will fill the gap left in the Indian market by Chinese exporters, which will again concentrate on the EU market. In this scenario, competition would be intensified, it said, thus driving down module prices, and potentially stimulating growth of non-subsidy PV projects. “Taiwanese and Malaysian suppliers,” meanwhile, “will face competition from Chinese counterparts in Europe and from third-party suppliers in India.”

Last week, it further reported that “significant” price movements in solar PV cells were observed, in reaction to the impending MIP decision, among other factors. In December 2013, the MIP Undertaking came into force. It included minimum import prices and import volumes for Chinese imports of crystalline solar cells and solar modules.

The agreement was negotiated as a compromise between the EU and China; and came into force instead of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. In the fall of 2015, EU Prosun then applied for a first expiry review of the Undertaking at the European Commission.

Finally, in March, the majority of EU member states decided to extend existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for Chinese photovoltaic products by 18 months. As a result, a gradual reduction in the minimum import price, which was initially issued separately for monocrystalline and multicrystalline products, was also decided.

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August 25, 2018

Business & Commerce Climate Change

German cities to offer daily green rides for free

by Staff Correspondent February 15, 2018

written by Staff Correspondent

No plans circulated, German civic bodies scratching their heads!

Crumbling under pressure mounted by the European Union to rein in air pollution, the German government is now considering a plan that aims at making public transportation free in five of its most polluted cities. Bonn, Essen, Reutlingen, Mannheim and Herrenberg are earmarked for this ambitious project.

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German government on Tuesday proposed the free public transportation scheme to encourage people to leave their cars at home, thereby reducing nitrogen dioxide emissions and particulate matter.

The letter in this sequence, written jointly by German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt and chancellery office, chief, Peter Altmaier, was sent to European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella in Brussels.

Appeasement of German Automakers?

German government’s idea to test free public transportation was also seen as one of Berlin’s latest attempts to conform to environmental standards and appease German carmakers as it also proposed instating “low emission zones” for large transporter vehicles, increasing the number of electric-powered taxis and boosting incentives for electric cars in general.

Pollution Watch

It is not that Germany has been totally negligent when it comes to curtailing pollutants and thereby pollution. It was already in the right direction as far as the stats indicate. The pace, however, was not satisfactory. With this pilot project achieving desired results, Germany aspires to breathe air cleaner than ever before.

According to European Environment Agency, emissions have reduced to almost half between 1990 and 2015. Interestingly, the pollution due to commercial, institutional and household activities has reduced drastically but vehicular pollution has remained somewhat the same. The recent German move aims at restricting the same.

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No rollout dates

The letter to this effect has left Germany’s civic bodies, including those selected for the free public transport, scratching their heads cluelessly.

Bonn local body sources revealed that the free public transport is not in the planning phase yet. There aren’t any rollout dates or further information so as to how much the federal government will give the city to subsidize free public transportation, Bonn municipality sources pleading anonymity said.

Dicey road to free rides

Some questions need to be answered first when it comes to making ticketless rides a reality. The first one would be accommodating the anticipated increase in passengers that would involve beefing up the existing public transportation fleets with more buses and streetcars. Of course, the eco-friendly ones!

Quote Unquote

Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) sources told The TrickyScribe that they were “critical” of the German government’s plans, particularly when it comes to how much it will cost.

Almost half of the money that goes into Germany’s municipal public transportation companies comes from ticket sales, close to $14.8 billion a year, according to the VDV insider.

Not mincing words, the VDV spokesperson said in the end that taxpayers will have to fund the “green” free rides.

Bonn Mayor Ashok Sridharan said he was timely aware of the government’s intentions over the weekend. Sridharan, in a statement, said he was happy Bonn was selected as one of the “lead cities.”

Extending support on his part, Sridharan said: “We also have one or two ideas that we can also propose since we’ve been working on this topic for some time.”

Dodging driving bans

Federal Administrative Court, Leipzig, will on come Thursday consider whether driving bans for diesel cars are legal. Should the court back such bans, it would likely be a game changer for air quality in Germany’s smoggiest cities, but also deal a hard blow to the German auto industry.

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February 15, 2018