Rural areas in Europe face particular challenges: lower median income than big cities, lack of social and cultural life, lack of internet infrastructure, and depopulation. By mid-2021, the European Commission wants to articulate a new long-term vision for rural areas, saying they have a special role to play in the transition to a green and sustainable Europe.
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Can Europe buck the trend of deprivation in rural areas?
Rural communities make up 45% of EU territory, but face persistent problems caused by social isolation, which are increasingly compounded by climate change. In the Netherlands, a small municipality has decided to take the matter into its own hands. Rural life …
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Dutch MEP: We have to close the gap between rural and urban areas
Innovation in agriculture and beyond is vital to close the widening gap that leads to polarisation and tension between rural and urban areas, says Jan Huitema MEP. Rural development plans must be made with the local community and not just in Brussels offices, he argues.
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Scientists look at triggering rainfall, saving water to tackle droughts
Over the past fifty years, droughts have become increasingly common in Europe. Climate change is not only reducing the amount of water available, but also affecting how clean it is, with floods bringing soil and other elements into the water supply chain.
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‘From grass to glass’: how dairy can go green
Polluting emissions have long been a concern in the dairy industry, with methane released from cow belches and flatulence fueling global warming, causing floods and droughts, which in turn impacts on production.
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The importance of local governments in the transition to a Circular Economy: the example of Fryslân and Leeuwarden
When the European Commission launched its new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) last March, the world was a different place. Now, as Covid-19 is badly damaging the European economy, calls for a green recovery have become even stronger, boosting the …