Zeus: Europe forfeits climate leadership mantle in surprise EU vote

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Zeus: Europe forfeits climate leadership mantle in surprise EU vote

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By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(David Callaway is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Callaway Climate Insights. He is the former president of the World Editors Forum, Editor-in-Chief of USA Today and MarketWatch, and CEO of TheStreet Inc.)

SAN FRANCISCO (Callaway Climate Insights) — It’s difficult in this day and age, with 24/7 headlines and data-based voting, for political bodies to truly surprise their constituents in key votes. But European Union politicians surprised even themselves Wednesday by soundly rejecting new climate rules designed to lead the world in reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Three major pieces of climate legislation designed to slash emissions by 55% by 2030 were rejected in a plenary vote by the European Commission in Strasbourg, after it had agreed only a month ago to vote in favor of speeding up its climate action plan. Plans now dead, weakened, or at least delayed include an enhancement of Europe’s carbon offset market, border taxes on imports from external polluters, and a social climate fund to use money raised from taxes and fees to help low-income citizens battle global warming.

Energy shortages in Europe caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as global inflation and rocky markets have . . . .

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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