Tag: sustainability

SPECIAL REPORT / Though civilian airlines are pressing for quieter, more efficient aircraft, noise output is low on the list of priorities for the sector’s military wing, but there are indications that may be changing.

SPECIAL REPORT / When trade unionists began raising concerns about the health impact of pollution on airfield ground and service crews, including possible links to cancer, the Copenhagen Airport moved to restrict aircraft engine use and shift towards greener service vehicles.

SPECIAL REPORT / With time running short to agree a post-2020 international deal to tackle climate change, a new report warns that inaction puts the world at risk of greater climate volatility.

SPECIAL REPORT / The European Parliament needs more science and less emotion in making decisions on chemicals, pesticides and other contentious legislation, an MEP said on Tuesday (11 June), arguing that lawmakers were influenced by "scaremongering" and environmental lobbying in recent votes.

The European Environment Agency today (5 June) predicted a rise in extreme weather events due to climate change as floods caused deaths and widespread property damage in Central Europe.

Growing market requirements for ‘green procurement’ is driving sustainability, but the success of voluntary corporate sustainability initiatives depends on the attitude and enthusiasm of businesses to live up to higher standards, says Tony Calton.

Big companies should report their impact on the environment in addition to their earnings under a UN plan to boost economic growth and ease poverty by 2030, according to recommendations by a panel of world leaders including British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The European Union agreed early today (30 May) to put an end to decades of over-fishing and rebuild dwindling stocks by 2020, as part of a deal to overhaul of fisheries policy.

The European Union should embrace new renewable solutions such as gas fermentation technologies to advance towards a low-carbon economy, argues Jennifer Holmgren.

While cheap energy prices in industrialised countries can be seen as a short-term reprieve for industries under competitive pressure from low-cost countries, they have negative consequences in the long run, writes Karl Aiginger. He argues that a new industrial policy should support Europe's competitive advantage in clean technology.

If European Union countries implemented existing waste-management regulations, they could create some 400,000 jobs and save diminishing resources, a senior Commission environment official said.

Short-term economic concerns appear to have edged the environment out of the picture ahead of next week’s EU summit dedicated to energy issues, writes Brook Riley.

The European Parliament wants to reinforce the principle of discrimination in the EU’s draft biofuels directive, setting Europe on a collision course with its obligations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), writes Fredrik Erixon.

The European Union adopted a new strategy yesterday (6 May) aimed at promoting green infrastructure, and putting natural processes at the heart of its spatial planning.

Putting people and cargo onto the rails may be one way to reduce roadway air pollution, a key goal of the EU’s rail transport policy, but doing so creates another hazard for those living close to railways – noise.

British judges ruled yesterday (1 May) that the British government has breached EU air quality rules and asked the European Court of Justice for guidance on what action needs to be taken, delaying immediate improvements to air pollution.

Europe is on the brink of a landmark ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, which have increasingly been linked to serious declines in bee numbers. Despite intense secret lobbying by British ministers and chemical companies against the ban, revealed in documents obtained by the British newspaper, the Observer, a vote in Brussels today (29 April) is expected to lead to the suspension of the nerve agents.

Set up initially as an intergovernmental forum to promote cooperation among Arctic states, the Council is failing to adequately accommodate rising interest from outside the region and needs reform, argues, Roderick Kefferpütz.

The British government, influenced by mining company Rio Tinto, attempted to undermine an EU law that aims to bring greater transparency to the oil, gas, mining and logging sectors despite the government's public declarations that it supports more disclosure, the European lawmaker who led the negotiations said on Wednesday (10 April).

The EU has adopted new laws aimed at increasing the transparency of government income from the oil and gas industry, in a move poverty campaigner and U2 frontman Bono called a "game-changing breakthrough" on corruption in resource-rich developing countries.

The mining industry in Greenland can expect major changes, after general elections last month (12 March) brought a new government reluctant to hand out new oil drilling licenses.

Business associations in Europe and other advanced countries are seeking to put their imprint on a future global development framework, calling for a strong private-sector role in lifting poor nations out of poverty.

Several European ministers are blocking the EU’s proposal to curb the use of conventional biofuels, while some dispute claims the demand for crop-based oils drives deforestation and food insecurity in other parts of the world.