Opportunity Green

22 Nov 2024

🦋 Hello Bluesky! A quick intro to Opportunity Green... We use legal, policy, and economic expertise to fill in the gaps in global climate action. This means strategically targeting the sectors which are not on a 1.5-aligned emissions trajectory. But what does this look like in practice? 🤔 🧵👇

🌍🐄 Tackling methane emissions could be one of our most powerful tools to slow global heating. So why is agricultural methane still being overlooked? Watch our video to understand why agricultural methane matters and what’s holding progress back. 👇 #ClimateSky #Methane #GreenSky

opportunitygreen.orgUK’s agricultural methane regulatory gap and associated legal risksAgriculture causes half of UK methane emissions, yet lacks binding rules. Read our briefing on the regulatory gaps exposing the UK to rising legal risks.

🔍 Learn more: opportunitygreen.org/agriculture/... At Opportunity Green, we’re exploring how stronger legal and policy frameworks can help close this gap. 📲 Stay tuned for more on our work on agriculture and methane.

opportunitygreen.orgAutomakers’ role in driving steel decarbonisationSteel drives 30-40% of EV material emissions. Explore how EU regulations, greenwashing risks and supply chain law can accelerate green steel in auto manufacturing.

🚗 Beyond the tailpipe: automakers’ role in driving steel decarbonisation. Steel accounts for 30–40% of vehicle material emissions. How can automakers use their purchasing power to drive demand for green steel, and how can law and regulation help accelerate decarbonisation? Read our latest insight👇

opportunitygreen.orgPositive Climate Stories in September 2026From EU anti-greenwashing laws to Germany's fossil fuel roadmap, read the top positive climate and sustainability news stories from September 2026.

Positive Climate Stories from September 🚢 Cleaner fuels for shipping 🇩🇪 Germany’s first fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap 🇪🇺 Tougher rules on greenwashing in the EU 👗 New fees for ultra-fast fashion in France ☀️ Renewables supplying 80% of Australia’s main grid Read the full roundup👇 #ClimateSky

opportunitygreen.orgClimate Heroes #1: Paul Dickinson on climate, AI and optimismCDP co-founder Paul Dickinson discusses AI’s energy impact, climate optimism, and why solutions are within reach. Watch the first Climate Heroes interview.

🌱📺 Introducing ‘Climate Heroes’ – our new series featuring people who inspire us in the climate space. We’re kicking things off with Paul Dickinson, talking climate, AI and optimism. Watch the first episode below 👇 – and stay tuned for more Climate Heroes! #ClimateSky #ClimateHeroes

⚖️🇪🇺 BREAKING: The EU General Court has ruled on our challenge to the EU Taxonomy’s aviation and shipping criteria. The good news: the Court found part of the shipping criteria unlawful. But our core concern remains unresolved. 👇🧵 #ClimateSky #GreenSky #EUTaxonomy

That risks locking in fossil fuel use for decades, directing green finance towards high-emitting activities and creating risks of greenwashing and stranded assets.

opportunitygreen.orgEU Taxonomy ruling on aviation and shippingWhat does the EU Taxonomy court ruling mean for aviation and shipping? Our FAQ explains why the criteria were challenged, what the Court decided and what could happen next.

Together with @dryade-ngo.bsky.social, @fossielvrijnl.bsky.social and @protectourwinters.at, and supported by @claw-climatelaw.bsky.social, we are carefully reviewing the judgment and considering our next steps, including whether to appeal. Read our FAQ below to learn more👇

It also sends a strong signal beyond the shipping sector: gas is not a clean transition fuel. Its climate impacts, including highly damaging methane emissions, cannot simply be ignored.

However, the Court did not reject the aviation criteria and other elements of the shipping criteria, meaning fossil-fuelled planes and ships can still be labelled as sustainable investments under the EU Taxonomy.

The ruling finds that the European Commission had failed to set a quantifiable limit for methane slippage from ships. This is particularly significant for fossil LNG-powered vessels, where unburned methane can escape into the atmosphere. The Commission must now address this gap.

✈️ €10.9bn in free carbon allowances went to European airlines between 2013 and 2025. How much did they spend on decarbonisation? Just €1bn. So where did the rest go? 🧵

A narrative we’re likely to hear emerge from airlines, as the likelihood of a scope extension grows. The evidence suggests free allowances have contributed to profits and shareholder payouts rather than driving the lower ticket prices and sustainable investment the policy was intended to deliver.

opportunitygreen.orgHow EU free allowances drove airline profits, not progressEuropean airlines received €10.9bn in free carbon allowances that padded profits rather than driving green investment. Read our report calling for EU ETS reform.

⏰ The EU has a chance to change course. As proposals to extend aviation ETS coverage move through the European Parliament and Council, we’re calling for: 💶 No free allowances for airlines. 🌍 ETS coverage for all flights departing Europe. 💨 A fee for airlines that fail to address contrail impacts.

✈️ €10.9bn in free carbon allowances went to European airlines between 2013 and 2025. How much did they spend on decarbonisation? Just €1bn. So where did the rest go? 🧵

Yet they spent just €1bn on decarbonisation, including sustainable aviation fuel and ground-equipment electrification. At the same time, these six airline groups generated €21bn in profits.

And their operations were associated with an estimated €320bn in accumulated climate costs. The numbers raise a fundamental question: What were free allowances actually achieving? Our analysis challenges an old industry narrative that airlines need free allowances to remain competitive.

✈️ €10.9bn in free carbon allowances went to European airlines between 2013 and 2025. How much did they spend on decarbonisation? Just €1bn. So where did the rest go? 🧵

For more than a decade, airlines have received billions in free carbon allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The argument: protect competitiveness while giving airlines an incentive to invest in greener operations. But did it actually work?

New analysis from Opportunity Green and CE Delft finds that between 2013 and 2025, European airlines received €10.9bn in free allowances. Six of the continent’s largest airline groups – Lufthansa Group, Ryanair, easyJet, IAG, Air France-KLM and Wizz Air – received €6bn of that total.

✈️ Contrails may have caused more than HALF of aviation's climate warming to date. In July, the European Commission proposed the EU's first-ever measure to reduce them. Sounds like a breakthrough, right? Look closer. 🔍👇 🧵1/5 #EUETS #Contrails #ClimateSky #GreenSky

Introduce an avoidable fee from 2028: airlines pay UNLESS they act. Requirements would tighten over time: ➡️ Forecasting: 2028 ➡️ Proven avoidance on the most warming routes: 2030 ➡️ Fuel-based measures: 2032 🧵 4/5

opportunitygreen.orgContrails in the EU ETS: a proposal with good intentions but no teethThe EU’s new contrail policy rewards airlines for forecasting non-CO2 impacts without requiring avoidance. Here is why the proposal falls short and how to fix it.

The window for action is now. ⏰ The Council wants a position by mid-December, while Parliament's draft report lands this autumn. The coming months will decide whether this measure gets fixed, or hollowed out. We unpack the proposal and what a real fix looks like 👇 🧵 5/5

Under the proposal, airlines receive free ETS allowances for forecasting contrails and asking flight planners to “consider” them. ➡️ But forecasting isn’t avoidance. An airline can claim the full reward without changing a single flight path. 🧵 2/5

And nobody pays for the climate impact of the contrails they create – even though the Commission's own memorandum admits they're at least as significant as CO₂. Meaningful action is deferred beyond 2033. Our alternative? 💡 🧵 3/5

opportunitygreen.orgPositive Climate Stories in August 2026 - Opportunity GreenFrom falling deforestation in the Amazon to cleaner air helping London children’s lungs grow, discover the top positive climate stories of August 2026.

7 Sept

💚 Positive Climate Stories from August From falling deforestation in the Amazon and cleaner air helping London children’s lungs grow, to Nepal’s tiger population more than tripling in 17 years, there were plenty of reasons for hope. Read the full article👇 opportunitygreen.org/organisation...

opportunitygreen.orgThe barriers to 100% renewable data centresWith AI data centre demand growing, one would expect a push towards 100% renewable data centres. However, this is not the reality.

18 Aug

Data centres should be one of the easiest industries to decarbonise. So why aren’t all new centres powered by renewables? Grid constraints, 24/7 demand and cost/speed are key barriers. Europe needs infrastructure and policy to close the gap. Read our latest insight 👇 #ClimateSky #Datacentres

opportunitygreen.orgPositive Climate Stories in July 2026 - Opportunity GreenFrom tighter rules on data centres to solar generating a quarter of the EU's electricity, discover the top positive climate stories of July 2026.

11 Aug

💚Positive Climate News from July Between heatwaves and devastating fires, the impacts of climate change were impossible to ignore. But amid the challenges, there were also reasons for hope – from tighter data centre rules to solar generating a quarter of the EU’s electricity, and more.👇 #GoodNews

Opportunity Green reposted

Climate Adaptation and Restoration Team

@clubadaptation.bsky.social

9 Aug

Letter: EU carbon pricing rules need to cover all aviation emissions-There is still time for the EU to provide a hint of relief from Europe’s climate-worsened summer of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, but… www.ft.com/content/4868... James Kershaw @opportunitygreen.org

ft.comLetter: EU carbon pricing rules need to cover all aviation emissionsFrom James Kershaw, Scientific Manager, Opportunity Green, London EC4, UK

opportunitygreen.org5 simple fixes for Sail & Rail travel across the Irish Sea - Opportunity GreenFive ways that governments and travel operators could help travellers make the switch to rail and sail from London to Dublin.

London–Dublin is one of Europe's busiest city air routes with 91 flights a day. But a cheaper, greener option already exists – Sail & Rail, from £40/€47. So why doesn't anyone use it? We asked people who do in our latest blog: opportunitygreen.org/shipping/ins... 🧵1/6

A return Dublin–London flight emits ~108kg CO₂ per passenger, or roughly 5 weeks of electricity for an Irish home. And that's before contrails. The low-carbon option already exists. It just needs to be easier to choose. 🧵5/6

Here are our 5 simple fixes: 1️⃣ Tell people Sail & Rail exists 2️⃣ Line up train, ferry and bus timetables 3️⃣ Make it easier to book 4️⃣ Be clear on passenger rights 5️⃣ Prioritise foot and cycle passengers 🔗 Read the full blog to find out more: opportunitygreen.org/shipping/ins...

Lucy travels to Rosslare – she books by phone, not online, because it hasn't worked for her before: "It's not easy to find information about this way of travelling. Rail and Sail tickets are fantastically good value – but very few people know about them." 🧵3/6

New polling from Opportunity Green via Ireland Thinks shows 2 in 5 people in Ireland would consider Sail & Rail – but 1 in 7 have never heard of it. You can't choose an option you don't know exists. 🧵4/6

Meghan travels this way regularly between London and Belfast: "On a few occasions, a delay on the train has meant missing my ferry connection, and vice versa. If operators teamed up and connected their timetables, it would be much better." 🧵2/6

⚖️ France’s public money is fuelling some of the travel industry’s biggest emitters completely unchecked. Through its Export Credit Agency (ECA), the French government provides billions in support for the construction of highly polluting aircraft and mega-cruise ships. 🧵👇 #ClimateSky #LawSky

We are calling on BAE to assess and account for the impacts of both its future and ongoing projects. As a public service provider, BAE has a legal responsibility to support the transition away from fossil fuels. 🧵5/6

This is an opportunity to redirect critical investments towards the industries of the future, including high-speed rail, renewable energy and public transport, where France has many national champions BAE can support. Watch this space for updates. 🧵6/6

BAE is France’s ECA, a state-backed company that helps French companies win major international contracts by guaranteeing them against financial and political risks. Yet, while banks and investors face increasing scrutiny, ECAs have largely remained a major climate blind spot. 🧵3/6

BAE has yet to carry out a single impact assessment for the aviation and cruise industries, despite claiming to assess the environmental and social impacts of the projects it supports. 🧵4/6

Together with @notreaffaireatous.bsky.social, we have sent a legal letter asking Bpifrance Assurance Export (BAE) to assess and account for the climate, environmental and social impacts of the financial support it provides to the aviation and cruise industries. 🧵2/6

✈️ After exempting international flights from the ETS for more than a decade, the European Commission released their long-awaited ETS proposal on Friday. So, does this exemption still stand? Partly...🧵👇 #ClimateSky #GreenSky #ETS

💰Some of the world's biggest aviation markets are exempt – like the US and China – leaving the most polluting long-haul flights with no incentive to decarbonise. 🌍 Flights to destinations like North Africa are included, despite representing far less aviation traffic to and from Europe. 🧵4/5

❓What does this mean? The Commission has allowed geopolitical considerations to outweigh climate impact and economic fairness. 📢 We call on the Parliament and the Council to rectify this inequity during the legislative process and extend the ETS to all departing flights. 🧵5/5

The good news: more international flights would finally be brought under the EU ETS, incentivising more of the aviation industry to decarbonise. But the progress comes with a major caveat. 🧵2/5

@staygroundednet.bsky.social

The Commission proposes extending the ETS only to flights departing for destinations within a 5,000 km radius of Frankfurt – and only from 2029. The result? 🤔👇 🧵3/5

Opportunity Green reposted

Stay Grounded

14 July

Want to legally challenge airport expansion? ⚖️ Our new toolkit with @opportunitygreen.org maps potential routes in the EU on air quality, biodiversity, climate, and noise - plus examples and resources. Another tool for the fight for #RedLinesForAirports 🙌 ➡️ stay-grounded.org/project/tool...