Sustainable Development
EU’s trade deals can put an end to deforestation
The EU must take an aggressive “stick and carrot” approach to trade deals in order to put an end to deforestation and avert a next pandemic, writes Fazlun Khalid.
EU climate transition needs mineral miners, not coal miners
The European Union needs to transform its coal-mining regions into the source of minerals for clean technology, such as cobalt and rare earths, if it is to meet its climate goals and curb import reliance, a senior official said on Monday.
Let’s not forget biodiversity
Halting biodiversity loss and restoring nature are essential to Europe’s economic recovery, writes Michel Derdevet. The EU’s aspiration for global leadership on this depends on its ability to lead by example and intensify its actions on the ground, he argues.
From 10% to 30×30 – no time to waste for marine biodiversity
The EU's new Biodiversity Strategy will increase the EU’s network of marine protected areas, writes Virgilius Sinkevicius
EU unable to curb biodiversity loss on farmlands, auditors say
The EU's decade-long policy effort to reverse the biodiversity loss has not come to fruition, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) warned in a report published on Friday (5 June).
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.
Brussels bares teeth with launch of new biodiversity plan
The European Commission is getting tough on biodiversity with a new set of “nature restoration targets” announced for publication next year, which the EU executive says will be strictly enforced.
Forests are crucial for building resilience in a post COVID-19 world
The Commission's new Biodiversity Strategy shows how forests are crucial for building resilience in a post COVID-19 world, writes Giulia Bondi.
Coronavirus waste: Burn it or dump it?
Masks, gloves, and other contaminated garbage from hospitals and households, which have been piling up by the thousands of tons as Spain battled through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, have undermined recycling chains and overwhelmed processing plants.
COVID crisis reinforces need for governments to go green
As the world's largest single market, the EU is an influential leader for setting global sustainability reporting standards. While we’ve seen significant growth in the number of organisations reporting sustainability impacts, more needs to be done to improve the disclosures, writes Tim Mohin.
Football’s ‘mini cities’ offer prime green testing ground
Stadiums are a great environment in which to trial sustainability measures because of the number of people who regularly attend sporting and entertainment events, according to those involved in their day-to-day running.
Hungary’s Conservative green policy works
A new climate and nature protection action plan demonstrates the efficiency of Hungary’s Conservative Green Policy, argues Judit Varga.
FIFA commits to carbon-neutral 2022 football World Cup
FIFA aims reach carbon neutrality at the next World Cup, to be hosted by Qatar in 2022, in spite of the numerous environmental challenges linked to the location of the event, according to a recently released sustainability strategy.
Sinkevicius: Dealing with PFAS chemicals in revised tap water rules was a ‘great move’
The inclusion of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the EU's Drinking Water Directive was a step forward that showed the EU's commitment to address these chemicals, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV.
LEAK: EU’s new circular economy plan aims to halve waste by 2030
The European Commission will aim to “absolutely decouple” economic growth from natural resource use in a draft circular economy action plan due to be unveiled in March.
Finland’s paperworkers start three-week-long strike
Some 9,000 workers at Finnish paper mills will start a three-week strike on Monday (27 January) after wage talks broke down, their labor union said in a statement, the latest in a series of labor conflicts to hit Finland.
Rome airport tests pioneering eco-friendly tarmac
Rome’s Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment as it uses a waste plastic.
Just Transition Fund won’t come ‘at the expense’ of Cohesion, EU’s Ferreira claims
The creation of a Just Transition Fund to help poorer EU regions move towards a climate-neutral economy cannot come at the expense of the bloc's Cohesion Policy, the EU's regional policy Commissioner has said.
Business strategies for cost-saving circular economy solutions
Circular economy principles offer compelling strategic and operational benefits for the manufacturing industry. These include substantial cost savings, which companies should take advantage of, writes Rafael Go.
Hoffenheim on tree-planting mission in Uganda
Football club 1899 Hoffenheim is planting trees in Uganda to help protect the environment. In the past, sustainability in football meant switching off the stadium lights in the evening, but many clubs are now breaking new ground.
Boosting circular economy requires joint effort, experts warn
If Europe wants to transition towards a circular economy model, the practices have to be mainstreamed and all actors should be involved in the process, experts warned during an event hosted by EURACTIV.
Europe must uphold key EU law protecting freshwater fishes
Europe is no exception to the decline in freshwater biodiversity, due to many threats such as agricultural pollution, or the overwhelming development of hydropower, writes Dr Steven Weiss. Dr Steven Weiss is an associate professor at the Institute of Biology,...
EEA chief: ‘We need systemic-type environmental policies’
You can never reach a decarbonised economy by making the combustion engine perform better and become more efficient, says Hans Bruyninck. Breakthrough technologies, not incremental efficiency gains, will bring Europe to its 2050 objectives, he argues.