David's background is in philosophy and economics. He joined the Institute in the mid-1980s to establish a programme of work on agricultural and rural environmental issues. He became Deputy Director in 1992, Director in 1998 and active Senior Fellow in 2016. As well as being an authority on European agricultural policy and the environment, David's specialist areas include EU strategies for climate, natural resources, and public investment. He has an active interest in sustainable development and the growing implications of building a bio-economy. Current external commitments include membership of the Commission's high-level group on the competitiveness of the car industry in Europe. Please contact David's personal assistant via the email address above.
Open letter after open letter, scientists are warning us that we are running out of time: the more we wait, the more likely it is that damage will become irreversible. The more we procrastinate, the more painful the decisions we'll have to make.
The newly elected European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen has pledged a Green Deal for Europe in her first 100 days in office. Last year, we asked sustainability experts from all over Europe for policy recommendations. Here is what a Green Deal that's aligned with SDGs should look like.
A new IEEP paper for UK NGOs looks at the risks and opportunities for environmental policy of possible Brexit outcomes. Crashing out without a deal would pose significant risks, while the Withdrawal Agreement has valuable elements which mitigate some environmental downsides of Brexit.
Two documents, central to Brexit and its aftermath, have been endorsed by the UK government and the European Council (for the EU27). In principle, one of these, the Agreement, will enter into force at the time of the UK’s departure from the EU. Taken together, they have potentially significant implications for the environment and environmental policy.
The Brexit negotiations enter what should be the final stages at the end of 2018, with an outline agreement on the future relationship. A new IEEP paper sets out what is needed to avoid the risk of environmental standards being lowered for competitive advantage.