Our Policy Calendar is collated by IEEP researchers and partners. It will keep you up to date about key events and dates in the coming year that will be of particular relevance to environmental policy.
Anthropogenic climate change is a product of our patterns of behaviour and the choices we make; whether as consumers or, in the case of farmers, as land managers and producers. This session convened by IEEP at COP24 of the UNFCCC identified the common threads that could help in changing our behaviour and in the transformation of the agricultural sector. Read more and download presentations here.
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.
IEEP’s new, dedicated programme to tackle global policy challenges for the environment and SDGs is launched today. This milestone is marked by the publication of a Think2030 paper calling for improved policy coherence between the EU’s external and internal policies to deliver Agenda 2030 and its SDGs. To celebrate the occasion, please join us today at COP24 side event in Katowice!
Following French president Emmanuel Macron’s decision to rethink a carbon tax on vehicle fuel in the face of widespread protests, Celine Charveriat and Emma Watkins consider what lessons policymakers should learn from the gilets jaunes affair.
On 7 December (10:30-14:30), IEEP will be convening a discussion at COP24 of the UNFCCC on the role of agriculture in delivering net zero emissions by 2050. IEEP is collaborating with CCCA, FEEDBACK, AGRICORD, IIED, SNV, Joanneum Reasearch, IFFA, and the FAO’s Forest and Farm Facility to deliver a wider ranging discussion on agriculture’s role in climate action.
Just days before the next round of international climate negotiations in Katowice, Poland the European Commission outlined its vision for a clean, carbon neutral Europe by mid-century.This is a first but crucial step in launching the discussion on the EU’s contribution to the worldwide effort towards keeping the global temperature increase well below 2 degrees C and potentially limit it to 1.5 degrees.
Half a degree may not sound that much but it can be a matter of life or death in the context of climate change. This is one of the headline messages of the recent IPCC special report, “Global warming of 1.5 °C”, which is based on the assessment of the latest scientific literature. The report confirms the urgency to act in order to avoid often irreversible consequences for human well-being, ecosystems and sustainable development. But what does this mean for agriculture in general and for the EU farming sector in particular? What kind of challenges would the sector face in a 1.5 °C or 2 °C world? And how can the farming sector contribute to keeping global temperature increase below 1.5°C?
The IPCC Special Report on 1.5C has confirmed that much more concerted action to combat climate change is required if we are to avoid the worst effects of global warming. The report underscores that solutions are available, but they must be employed without delay.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The thirteenth edition of Pathways to 2030 features Sirpa Pietikäinen, Honorary Chair of IEEP and MEP of Finland, discusses the ambition and goals required to achieve a more sustainable Europe.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The twelvth edition of Pathways to 2030 features Domingo Jiménez Beltrán, Member of IEEP's Strategic Advisory Board who discusses the concept of Connected Self-Sufficiency in the EU.
This IEEP blog reflects on the future role of the bioeconomy in society.
It considers what the 2018 EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy revision needs to achieve to promote an equitable, environmentally responsible bioeconomy that delivers economic benefits and empowers rural actors.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The eleventh edition of Pathways to 2030 features Christian Hey, Member of IEEP's Strategic Advisory Board. In the face of a 6th mass exitinction of species, Hey argues for an integrated modernisation strategy called sustainable intensification, which creates incentives for a more selective use of pesticides and radical reduction of nutrient surpluses beyond the requirements of the Nitrates Directive.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The tenth edition of Pathways to 2030 features Nick Molho, Executive Director of the Aldersgate Group. The next European Commission must adopt a more positive stance on the value of regulations. Far from being a drag on the economy, well-designed environmental regulations can increase business investment in innovation and skills and drive competitiveness, he argues.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The ninth edition of Pathways to 2030 features Ms Brenda King, Chief Executive for African and Caribbean Diversity and member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), who discusses the shortcomings of implementing and assessing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Europe and possible solutions.
Although the EU has an aspirational goal of an 80-95% GHG emissions cut for 2050, compared to 1990 levels, currently planned measures and intermediate goals are not in-line even with the low end of this aim. Additionally, the EU would have to over perform if 1.5 degrees were the aim, as developing economies cannot realistically be expected to reduce emissions as quickly.
Leading up to IEEP's Think 2030 conference, experts express their views on Europe's most pressing sustainability issues in the Think 2030 blog series, Pathways to 2030.
The eighth edition of Pathways to 2030 features Gustavo Becerra, Erik Gerritsen and Marianne Kettunen, policy analysts for IEEP, who discuss lessons learnt from the EU current biodiversity policy framework and its challenges for the next decade.
Current policies are not enough to deliver the Paris Agreement ambition to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. Preparation of a European strategy on long-term decarbonisation of the economy is a critical opportunity for a step change. To seize it, we need a strategy which considers the economy as a whole, and draws the lessons for early action and investment in each sector.
