About: Biodiversity
Pressure mounting on EU to end ivory trade
Amid growing calls for an outright ban, the European Union has come under increasing pressure to help protect African elephants by ending the trade of ivory within its borders.
Romanian national parks and forest at risk
Romania hosts the largest remains of natural and old growth forests in the whole of the EU. However, they are not on the safe side yet, writes Luc Bas.
Today’s diets are eating away at our future food supplies, but we can change this
Thousands of overlooked yet beneficial crop species are threatened unless we learn to conserve, farm and consume them, writes Juan Lucas Restrepo.
Will the newly elected MEPs tackle one of the most serious threats to our planet?
The importance of nature to human life is often forgotten, even though we depend on it for fresh water, productive agriculture and many more economic activities. Encouragingly, it seems that there is a growing awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity amongst the general public, writes Janice Weatherley-Singh.
Bas Eickhout: EU carbon market needs alignment with 2050 goal
The next European Commission will have to reopen the Emissions Trading Scheme directive if it is serious about reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, argues Bas Eickhout, warning the next Commission chief will need to find a broader majority in the European Parliament than his predecessor.
Climate progress is key to reinvigorate European project
If the EU is to regain trust and achieve a renewed social contract, the most progressive response to the climate crisis must be at the core of its new mission, writes Martin Porter.
EU clean water laws under attack from industry lobbyists
Industry lobbies are mounting a push to roll back EU clean water regulations, even though less than half of the continent’s rivers, wetlands and lakes are in a healthy state. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Today, the EU has used up nature’s budget for the year
Did you think Europe was doing relatively well, environmentally speaking? EU Overshoot Day is your reality check. The EU elections and the response of EU leaders will be crucial to turn the tide, writes Ester Asin.
EU nations are living far beyond the Earth’s means, WWF warns
The European Union's 28 countries consume the Earth's resources much faster than they can be renewed, and none of them has sustainable consumption policies, a report released on Thursday said, as EU leaders meet to discuss priorities for the next five years.
Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth’s natural life
A landmark UN report published yesterday (6 May) reveals 1 million species are at risk of extinction, with agriculture and fishing the primary causes of the deterioration, which also threatens humankind. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Private sector is part of the solution in bioeconomy, experts say
The private sector has a key role to play in promoting bioeconomy in the agrifood sector, high-level experts have told EURACTIV.com. However, they said the risk of depriving the food production system of organic resources must be weighed up.
The bioeconomy in the post-2020 CAP
Over 18 million people across the EU were employed in the bioeconomy in 2015 – mainly in the agriculture, food and beverage sectors, according to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
Groundwater: Nitrate pollution will continue to be an issue across generations
For years, the EU Commission has warned Germany about illegally high levels of nitrate in groundwater. The European Court of Justice even ruled on the issue in June. Now, the German government is working on a new Fertiliser Regulation. However, the groundwater is expected to remain contaminated for many more years. EURACTIV Germany reports.
German action plan for insect protection: Farmers want greater say
With insects declining at an alarming rate, the German environment ministry wants an action plan to protect them before the end of the year. But farmers are feeling ignored in the process and are calling for more environmental protection incentives. EURACTIV Germany reports.
New treaty bans commercial fishing in the Arctic for 16 years
The European Union and nine other countries, including the US and Russia, approved an international agreement on Thursday (14 February) that will prohibit commercial vessels from fishing in the Arctic in order to preserve the region's fragile ecosystem.
Citizens are fed up with industrial agriculture
Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was a big issue at this year's Green Week in Berlin. With all the billions of euros available, the agro-ecological transition is more than possible, especially if subsidies to agribusiness and factory farms were stopped, write Harriet Bradley and Trees Robijns.
The EU and mako sharks: From sinner to saviour?
The EU should match its rhetoric on sustainable fisheries by leading global efforts to preserve mako sharks, argues Staci McLennan.
EU must prioritise nature in its next long-term budget
The future of Europe is at stake as European leaders meet this week. Now is the opportunity to safeguard European biodiversity, writes Luc Bas.
The Sustainable Blue Economy: EU’s actions must match its words
As global leaders met at the world’s first Sustainable Blue Economy conference this week, the EU must face the sobering reality of the state of our ocean and stand by its commitments to sustainably protect and effectively manage Europe’s seas before it’s too late, writes Dr Samantha Burgess.
‘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.
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.
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).
Governments lack policies to support food sector in low carbon transition – report
Unlike the energy sector, agriculture does not benefit from public policies geared towards a low carbon transition, which means farming is still a significant contributor to climate change due to meat over-consumption, a new report published on 16 October revealed.