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Poto?nik: More legislative power, but no money for environment
Compared to other policy areas, environment still remains the Cinderella of the European budget, where allocations amount to just over €2 billion compared to research which gets more than €50 billion for the FP7. Negotiations on the next EU budget 2014-2020 will be crucial, said Commissioner Janez Poto?nik in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.
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Water rights lawyer: Expecting more from the EU
More than one billion people don’t have safe drinking water and more than two billion lack toilets, according to the UN. Access to reliable water and sanitation are now human rights, and the UN’s special rapporteur says the European Union could be doing more – at home and abroad – to uphold these rights.
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Why firms should invest in sustainability
Unilever, the European consumer products company, recently announced the first annual results of its Sustainable Living Plan aimed at improving efficiency in the full cycle of its product line – from production through consumption. Jan Zijderveld talks about how the plan – launched in 2010 – has changed the firm’s outlook.
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EEB chief: A mixed forecast for the Earth Summit
Jeremy Wates, who heads one of the leading conservation groups in Brussels, says the lack of appetite for binding sustainable development commitments and stronger world environmental governments would contribute to a disappointing Earth Summit.
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Danish minister: Green growth without prophesying
Danish Environment Minister Ida Auken has an ambitious agenda for her country's EU presidency, including global leadership on sustainable development. The Socialist politician says she sees no conflict between environmental regulation and spurring economic growth in Europe.
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Rio must get it right
The Rio+20 summit cannot afford weak results and must kick off the global transition to a sustainable growth model for the 21st century, writes Connie Hedegaard.
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Negotiate a world carbon price signal, now
Every country in the world should each make a commitment to introduce a carbon price aligned with a scientifically-validated international standard, say Stéphane Dion and Éloi Laurent.
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Europe needs to nurture a new generation of farmers
The Common Agricultural Policy's reform needs to be decoupled from strict, technical standards that will be unappealing to younger generations if we are to have a sustainable farm policy, writes Staffan Nilsson.
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Resource-efficiency: Europe can set a global example
The European Commission's roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe proposes a decent way forward to transform the Union into a sustainable economy, writes Bas de Leeuw from the World Resources Forum.
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Rio+20: Dancing to the tune of the green economy
The Rio Earth Summit in May 2012 will try to set a global vision on greening the economy, with France leading European calls to establish a brand new World Environmental Organisation (WEO).
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Sustainable Consumption and Production
Amid concerns that growing resource scarcity and rising raw material costs are dampening prospects for Europe's economic growth, the EU is looking for ways to decrease the environmental impact of industrial activity, product manufacturing and consumption patterns.
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Rio+20: Scientists call for action on population
The Rio+20 Earth summit must take decisive action on population and consumption regardless of political taboos or it will struggle to tackle the alarming decline of the global environment, the world's leading scientific academies have warned.
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EU faces big obstacles on the road to Rio+20
SPECIAL REPORT / Europe faces an uphill battle to convince world leaders to buy its plan for strengthening global environmental governance at an important sustainable development conference later this week.
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Footing the world’s bill for a green transition
SPECIAL REPORT / World Bank President Lewis Preston called on rich donors to back a $5-billion (€4 billion) fund to help the world’s poorest nations protect their environment and make economic development more sustainable.
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Firms want politicians to ‘take responsibility’ at Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / Conservationists who fear that the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro will fail to produce binding commitments to environmental sustainability may have some unsuspecting allies – big corporations.
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Life after Rio: ‘No excuse to do less’
SPECIAL REPORT / Disappointed over the failure of the Rio summit to produce ambitious commitments on sustainable growth, conservationists say Europe must now redouble efforts to tackle its own environmental challenges.
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Global carbon emissions rise is far bigger than previous estimates
Carbon dioxide emissions have risen by even more than previously thought, according to new data analysed by the Guardian newspaper, casting doubt on whether the world can avoid dangerous climate change.
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Chemical giants push for global green ‘standards’ at Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / Rattled in Europe by the REACH regulation and carbon dioxide emission curbs, international chemical companies are at the Rio Earth Summit determined to push for a global approach to environmental policy – but with a light regulatory touch.
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Activists hail success of Twitter storm against fossil fuel subsidies
High-profile support for #endfossilfuelsubsidies campaign helps it to top trending topic in US and second place globally.
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OECD countries want new measures for growth in Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / One of the questions that world leaders will discuss while gathering at the UN summit in Rio this week is whether future national development should be measured in terms other than the economic.
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Was there an Earth Summit?
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) plays an important role in sketching out solutions, but at the moment other lobbyists and the big players in conventional energy have more influence, says Karlheinz Knickel.
