Kira Taylor

Slow progress towards agreeing EU climate targets In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at the struggle to agree on the European Union’s 2035 and 2040 climate targets, plus the EU considers bringing forward its ban on Russian fossil fuel imports

I had a great chat with @kirataylor.bsky.social about the EU’s 2040 climate target, a topic that is far from straightforward.

It has sparked intense debate among EU countries, and its escalation to the European Council only adds to the complexity.

Listen to it 👇
foresightmedia.com/story/sBylsH...

The Jolt Rundown - 19th September, 2025 Sam and Kira go over the biggest talking points in the energy transition this week, including the European Union fudging its climate target deadlines and the world’s progress towards electrification

This week’s overview of climate & energy stories on the Jolt Rundown includes:
- The EU’s struggle to agree on its 2035 and 2040 climate targets
- A rather flat lead-up to COP30
- Some good news for renewables

@smorgan.bsky.social and I unpacked all this and more
foresightmedia.com/story/sHTveg...

The Jolt Rundown - 12th September, 2025 Sam and Kira go over the biggest talking points in the energy transition this week, including European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s annual speech and energy independence in action

What does this week’s State of the Union address tell us about the future of EU climate and energy policy?

Sam Morgan and I unpacked the key takeaways - along with some good news on renewables - on today’s episode of The Jolt Rundown.
foresightmedia.com/story/shy9mN...

It was a pleasure to dissect the energy and climate bits in Ursula von der Leyen's State of the EU speech with @kirataylor.bsky.social.
My main points 🧵

Climate and energy overshadowed in State of the EU address In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at what yesterday’s State of the European Union speech reveals about the future of EU climate and energy policy, plus new statistics on solar in Central Euro...

ICYMI, today's episode of The Jolt mentioned some interesting new research:

📊 New stats from @ember-energy.org about solar's surge in Central Europe
💰A new BloombergNEF report on investment in renewables

Listen here: foresightmedia.com/story/sYDIUj...

Climate and energy overshadowed in State of the EU address In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at what yesterday’s State of the European Union speech reveals about the future of EU climate and energy policy, plus new statistics on solar in Central Euro...

❗ Amid a tense geopolitical and trade situation, climate and energy took a less prominent role in the State of the EU than previously. But there were still concrete pointers and hints as to what to expect. Elisabetta Cornago joined me on The Jolt to dig into them
foresightmedia.com/story/sYDIUj...

Europe’s slow progress on wind energy In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at the state of the European wind sector, plus President Donald Trump’s shadow looms over solar’s US prospects

Europe is installing more wind energy - but not fast enough. Despite progress, statistics from WindEurope indicate that the rollout is insufficient to meet EU energy goals.

I spoke to Giuseppe Costanzo from WindEurope about what Europe needs to do to catch up:
foresightmedia.com/story/sxjTx6...

Europe’s slow progress on wind energy In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at the state of the European wind sector, plus President Donald Trump’s shadow looms over solar’s US prospects

Trump's shadow over the US solar industry and the push for emissions reduction rules for cars to remain in place in Europe - catch up on the top climate and energy news headlines on today's episode of The Jolt:
foresightmedia.com/story/sxjTx6...

Beyond wind: How CfDs could spur more clean energy In today’s episode of The Jolt, Sam looks into how contracts for difference can support energy technologies other than wind, plus Equinor comes to the rescue as Ørsted struggles under Donald Trump’s t...

Back at the mic for @foresight-ce.bsky.social’s first daily news podcast after the summer break 🎙️

Today:
- EU countries consider stricter rules on gas origins as they look to end Russian supplies
- Equinor to help Ørsted as the company struggles under Trump

foresightmedia.com/story/s7AvgP...

Heading back to Brussels for more energy and climate reporting after some time off hiking!

I'm available for commissions for articles and moderations on energy, climate & environment, plus training on communicating these topics

✍️ Get in touch to say hi or discuss how we can work together!

Trade pressures play on Europe’s energy transition The geopolitical environment weighs on every area of the economy. As discussions over trade wars, competitiveness and industrial strategy, Europe’s efforts to decarbonise face obstacles from all sides

The world of trade is growing ever more complex, and Europe increasingly finds itself caught between China and the United States. I took a look at how this impacts Europe's energy transition for @foresight-ce.bsky.social

foresightmedia.com/story/sVXg4i...

The Jolt Rundown - 1st August, 2025 Sam and Kira go over the week’s biggest talking points, including the controversy surrounding the EU-US trade deal plus big banking energy transition news

Hanging up the microphone for a few weeks' holiday in the mountains, hopefully far away from any mentions of simplification, competitiveness and tariffs!

Here's @smorgan.bsky.social and my rundown of this week's news. We'll be back soon to dive into more stories
foresightmedia.com/story/s35iu5...

What did we learn about the relationship between the EU and China on energy and climate at the recent summit between the two?

Belinda Schäpe joined me on The Jolt to discuss their statement on climate change, potential collaboration on the global energy transition and underlying trade tensions. 👇

Last week, the International Court of Justice gave a landmark ruling on states' obligations when it comes to the climate crisis. Sébastien Duyck from the Center for International Environmental Law joined me on The Jolt to discuss what was said and the implications of this. Listen here 👇

Financing emissions cuts for 2040 Channelling finance towards sustainability is key to the energy transition. Vincent Kaufmann joins Kira to discuss what is needed to drive green investment and why the 2040 target is so important for ...

7. Financing emissions cuts for 2040 - with Vincent Kaufmann from the Ethos Foundation on the importance of the target for driving financial flows: foresightmedia.com/story/szD9cl...

Criteria for international carbon credits One of the most controversial aspects of the European Commission’s proposed 2040 target was the inclusion of international carbon credits. Lambert Schneider joins Kira to discuss the safeguards requir...

6. Criteria for international carbon credits - with Lambert Schneider from the Oeko-Institut on the controversial inclusion of international carbon credits and how to maintain environmental integrity:
foresightmedia.com/story/smDkME...

Systems change for 2040 The European economy needs to undergo a significant shift to achieve the European Commission’s envisioned 90% reduction in emissions by 2040. Peter Schniering from Future Cleantech Architects joins Ki...

5. Systems change for 2040 - with Peter Schniering from Future Cleantech Architects on the systems change required to meet the emissions reduction:
foresightmedia.com/story/su3JhH...

What carbon-intensive industry needs to reach 2040 Carbon-intesive sectors will need to undergo a major shift to reach the European Commission’s envisioned 90% emissions cut by 2040. Adolfo Aiello from steel industry group Eurofer joins Kira to discus...

4. What carbon-intensive industry needs to reach 2040 -with Adolfo Aiello from The European Steel Association (EUROFER) on enabling conditions and the need for flexibilities:
foresightmedia.com/story/si1tQs...

Negotiating a strong 2040 target The Commission’s proposed 2040 target is now in the hands of the European Parliament and EU countries, who must reach an agreement on the goal quickly to meet international deadlines. Lena Schilling, ...

3. Negotiating a strong 2040 target - with Lena Schilling, The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament negotiator for the file in the European Parliament, on the political context: foresightmedia.com/story/sRJZVg...

The EU’s ‘flexible’ 2040 target The European Commission has tabled its proposal for the EU’s 2040 emissions reduction target, complete with flexibilities to help countries achieve it. Benjamin Görlach from think tank Agora Energiewe...

2. The EU’s ‘flexible’ 2040 target - with Benjamin Görlach from Agora Energiewende on his initial reaction to the proposal, particularly the flexibilities:
foresightmedia.com/story/sjQd6O...

Why the EU needs an ambitious 2040 target The European Union is set to propose its emissions reduction target for 2040 today, which should provide a signal to businesses on how to decarbonise and help maintain the EU’s role as a world leader ...

Plus catch up on all of the previous episodes on the @foresight-ce.bsky.social app:

1. Why the EU needs an ambitious 2040 target - with Davide Faranda from CNRS on the need to reduce CO2 emissions at a safe and fast rate to limit global warming: foresightmedia.com/story/s8J0BD...

Over the last few weeks, I've spoken to experts to dig into the details of the Commission's proposal for a 90% emissions reduction by 2040

For the series finale, @smorgan.bsky.social joined me to discuss what we've learnt and what happens next. Listen here: foresightmedia.com/story/sTA2kS...

The clock is ticking to agree on the 2040 target as international deadlines loom. The Greens in the European Parliament want to fast-track the process, but there will be challenges. This episode, we have the Greens’ negotiator, Lena Schilling.

By @kirataylor.bsky.social

Listen now: buff.ly/zqL4wiA

In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks into the legal safeguards for the ocean and whether actions to protect it should be mandatory.

Listen Now: foresightmedia.com/story/ssW7RV...

@kirataylor.bsky.social
@smorgan.bsky.social

What does the Green Claims Directive saga reveal about the state of EU politics? And what repercussions could it have on other elements of EU green policy?

Sam Morgan and I delve into all this and more on today's episode of The Jolt Rundown.

Benefits of a blue economy In today’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at what benefits the blue economy could yield, plus the World Economic Forum finds that the global energy transition has accelerated

Thanks to Anna-Marie Laura from the Ocean Conservancy and Andrea Tinagli from the Union for the Mediterranean for joining me. Listen here:

foresightmedia.com/story/sTGNHq...

Looking at the state of the climate, it's clear that action is needed, but there are also big economic and social benefits.

For today's episode of The Jolt, I looked at the positive impacts of the blue economy and how funding initiatives can help them get off the ground.

Sam and Kira return to go over the week’s biggest talking points, including Spain’s power blackout culprits and everything green transport, plus the United Kingdom plans to go gas-free

Listen now: foresightmedia.com/story/snzngA...

@kirataylor.bsky.social
@smorgan.bsky.social

Update on what’s going on with the potential scrapping of the Green Claims Directive. | Kira Taylor Update on what’s going on with the potential scrapping of the Green Claims Directive. First a quick reminder: the legislation was tabled by the European Commission in 2023 to help prevent greenwashi...

Update on what's going on with the potential scrapping of the EU's Green Claims Directive: www.linkedin.com/posts/kira-t...

Tackling transport emissions in the Arctic In Wednesday’s episode of The Jolt, Kira looks at how moving away from using heavy fuel oil in the Arctic could help prevent sea level rise, plus Spain’s government concludes its blackout investigatio...

Transitioning Arctic shipping away from heavy fuel oil will help limit snow and ice melt. I spoke to Sian Prior about this challenge and Espen Larsen-Hakkebo whose company is using electric vessels about how these work for today's episode of The Jolt foresightmedia.com/story/s5iEQg...