Sustainable Development
‘The other COP’: EU must be a champion for nature at UN biodiversity convention
With biodiversity in drastic decline, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh is a crucial moment. As the international community negotiates a new global biodiversity framework, the EU must become a leader for nature conservation, both globally and at home, argues Ester Asin.
Europe’s first marine turbine helps reduce Ouessant Island’s carbon footprint
A marine turbine submerged 55 metres deep in the Fromveur passage, a strait off Western French coast known for its strong current, has produced 15% of the electricity needed by Ouessant Island since mid-October. EURACTIV France reports.
Forests and Frankfurters: Why Germans’ love of meat is causing destruction in Latin America
Farming is the world’s biggest driver of deforestation, and beef and soya production are the prime culprits, writes Nicole Polster.
Seychelles issues the world’s first ‘Blue Bond’
For the first time, a state – Seychelles – has issued a 'Blue Bond', which will finance the protection of marine ecosystems and the development of sustainable fishing. EURACTIV France’s media partner, the Journal de l’environnement reports.
Healthy rivers and lakes are not ‘nice-to-haves’, they are essential to our existence
Healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands are our life support system, but EU member states are trying to destroy the law that protects them and the window to save them is closing, warns Andreas Baumüller.
Steel industry moulds EU carbon market to its advantage
By authorising the steel industry to burn blast furnace gases until 2026, the European Commission has backtracked on its earlier position. EURACTIV France reports.
Swiss researchers chart path to zero-emission cement
The construction sector can cut polluting emissions up to 80% by applying efficiency measures along the whole value chain, according to new research. If combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, emissions could even be brought down to zero by 2050, they argue.
60% of living species declined due to human activity, warns WWF
The ways in which humans feed, fuel and finance modern societies is pushing the planet’s natural systems to the brink, threatening the very foundation on which the world economy is based, according to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018, published on Tuesday (30 October).
Big brands pledge to turn tide on global plastic waste
Big brands - from Coca Cola to Kellogg - pledged on Monday (29 October) to cut all plastic waste from their operations in what the United Nations called the most ambitious effort yet to fight plastic pollution.
MEPs crank up crusade against single-use plastics
MEPs moved on Wednesday (24 October) to ban widely-used, throw-away plastics such as straws, bags and cotton buds, putting the burden on manufacturers to recycle more in an effort to clear up ocean pollution.
In breach of REACH: Europe’s chemical dieselgate
The European Union cannot keep turning a blind eye to the flood of illegal chemicals, write MEPs Bart Staes and Sven Giegold.
Ecologist parties are a hit in Europe
In Belgium, Luxembourg and Bavaria, the Greens have been the big winners at the weekend’s elections by attracting new voters. EURACTIV France’s media partner Ouest-France reports.
EU farm ministers raise Baltic fish quotas, angering environmentalists
European Union ministers agreed on Monday (15 October) to sharply boost catch quotas for western Baltic cod as part of new fishing regulations for next year that angered environmentalists.
32% of chemicals non-compliant with EU rules
A third of chemicals do not comply with European Union rules due to insufficient toxicological data. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.
Banned plastics: European Parliament’s list grows longer
MEPs in the environment committee are extending the ban on single-use plastics. They are also targeting takeaway packaging, bottles and cigarette butts. EURACTIV France’s media partner, the Journal de l’environnement reports.
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.
European forests cannot further curb global warming, French study warns
European countries should not heavily rely on their forests to curb climate change. However, they should instead ensure that forests are protected from climate change, underlined a study published in Nature on Wednesday (10 October). EURACTIV France reports.
Inclusion of Paris Agreement in CETA at risk
France wants to make compliance with the Paris Agreement on climate a precondition to signing European trade agreements. However, this is an issue where France is struggling to get the other 27 EU members to agree. EURACTIV France reports.
Half of Europe not on track with waste recycling
Fourteen EU member states have to step up efforts to reach the target of recycling 50% of municipal waste in 2020 - an objective set by the framework directive in 2008. EURACTIV France’s media partner, the Journal de l’environnement, reports.
European leaders urged to act on soil sustainability
Soils play a key role in regulating the earth's climate, sustaining agriculture and preserving biodiversity. Yet they have fallen down the EU policy agenda even though tools exist to reverse that trend, according to a new report published today (26 September).
Pension fund chief: We are seeing a strong movement towards green financing
Investors increasingly have to take into account the legal risks associated with global warming and more and more of them are adopting a socially responsible approach, Phillippe Desfossé told EURACTIV France as Climate Week opens in New York.
Putting agriculture at the heart of Africa’s rising
Farming accounts for around 60% of all jobs in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments, the African Union and the EU are keen to promote the industrialization of the African farming sector. But rapid population growth, the effects of climate change and lack of access to finance are among the threats to the future growth of African agriculture and its capacity to feed its people.
‘Cashew means future’ in Swahili
Cashew nuts: They are not only meant to make you happy but also to strengthen the heart. On average, every European consumes an average of one kilo of this nut per year. EURACTIV Germany reports.