Various authors
‘If European governments do not act now, expect further waves of infection’
More than 300 scientists mostly from EU countries published on Saturday (19 December) in the prestigious general medical journal The Lancet a proposal for a joint European strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. EURACTIV re-publishes the full text.
Time to step up: 5 years on from Paris
It is high time that European and national leaders formally commit to stronger EU 2030 decarbonisation objectives and start working for a climate neutral Europe by 2050, together with our cities and regions, write the heads of four city networks.
The UK, the EU and fisheries: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Just as Europeans aren’t asking for the sacrifice of British businesses in order to maintain access to the EU single market, we cannot accept the sacrifice of our fishermen, write Pierre Karleskind, Nathalie Loiseau and 57 other MEPs.
Central and Eastern European leaders must back the Green Transition
Leaders should take advantage of the recovery fund to bring the climate goals of their citizens to fruition and use experience from the past to shape a green future, writes NGO members across Central and Eastern Europe countries.
Energy performance in buildings is key to meeting 2030 emissions target
Ursula von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans have pledged to kick-start a Renovation Wave across Europe. This is a management challenge with three aspects that have to be met, write building industry CEOs.
A Financial Transaction Tax deal worth fighting for
The German EU presidency programme mentions the financial transactions tax as one of the measures to fund the EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now is the time to make good on this promise, writes a group of 70 MEPs.
Towards a truly green vision for Europe’s energy system
The EU can reach climate neutrality as early as 2040, according to a group of environmental NGOs which have mapped out a scenario to move the bloc towards a 100% renewable energy system by then.
Next Generation EU? Then it’s time to listen to youth
The recovery plan from the COVID-19 crisis must be in line with climate commitments, ensure no-one is left behind in the green transition, and create space for the voice of youth, write young climate activists.
Four key issues the EU’s recovery plan must address to tackle the economic and climate crisis
The signals from climate science could not be clearer: we no longer have the luxury for any delay in transforming our economies towards carbon neutrality, argue researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
To expose China’s secrecy, demand reciprocal access to Tibet
In 2018, both houses of Congress passed the bipartisan Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. That is a common-sense response to China’s intransigence, and it’s something European countries should adopt, write a group of parliamentarians from across Europe.
European Call: 3 solutions for climate and jobs
The European Green Deal is the best way to make the real changes Europe needs to be able to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, writes a group of 700 elected representatives and citizens from all sectors of civil society.
Green Deal – and electrification – should be the backbone of EU recovery plan
The Green Deal is Europe’s growth strategy. Making it the backbone of the recovery plan is not only necessary in a climate perspective, but also from an economic point of view – in order to create growth and work opportunities that are sustainable in the long run, argue Nordic energy CEOs and top executives.
Europe’s recovery plans must pass five sustainability tests
Faced with the emergency of the COVID-19 crisis, there is a great temptation for recovery plans to prop up yesterday’s economy instead of “building back better”. Instead, recovery plans and any economic stimulus must pass five tests, argue European sustainability...
Sweden’s forest crimes
Sweden presents itself as a global torchbearer on the environment, but its forest policy is wreaking havoc. The EU must act to stop it, say five European NGOs.
Youth spell out five demands to tackle climate breakdown
Climate change is threatening the future of younger generations, but decision makers are still not taking it seriously. To get them started, youth organisations have joined forces with partners across Europe to come up with a set of five demands for how to solve the crisis.
Time to rebalance EU-China relations and demand unfettered access to Tibet
The US recently adopted the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, promoting access to Tibetan areas for American diplomats, journalists and ordinary citizens, just as their Chinese counterparts enjoy in America. It is now up to Europe to consider ways of rebalancing its relationship with China, write a cross-party group of parliamentarians.
Climate change – A people’s case
A Saami reindeer herder in Sweden's Arctic Circle and a livestock farmer in the Romanian Carpathians are both living proof that climate change is impacting Europe's water resources and endangering our fundamental rights, write a cross-party group of MEPs.
EU to the rescue: Priorities for a positive multilateralism
We are a long way from 2015. That year, the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate - promising to end extreme poverty, address corrosive inequality, boost peace and prosperity, and stop climate change, write leaders of five European think tanks.
We want peasants
This week in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is expected to take a position on the follow-up to a draft Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons Working in Rural Areas. Five years after the start of the negotiations, we are at a turning point, argues a group of European academics.
EU must get serious about tackling Islamophobia
The European Commission is appointing its new coordinator on anti-Muslim hatred. This is a key opportunity to re-assess this role and ensure the coordinator has a clear human rights based mandate and meaningful resources to tackle racism and discrimination against Muslim communities in Europe, which have been lacking so far.
Covenant of Mayors: A key instrument for the future EU budget
In order for the Covenant of Mayors to continue its success and further embed itself in EU policies, it has to become a key instrument for the future EU budget, write the local and regional leaders of the group's board.
Bioenergy at the centre of EU renewable energy policy
Bioenergy has to be an essential part of the EU energy mix for at least the next 30 years. Without it, the commitment to a 1.5°C global warming target will be very hard, if not impossible to achieve, argue a group of scientists.
Substantial bioenergy resources are available to tackle climate change
Claims that a "critical flaw" has been discovered in carbon accounting are somewhat exaggerated, and substantial bioenergy resources - subject to well-understood checks and balances- are available to tackle climate change, argue a group of scientists.