While Europe is experiencing another record hot summer, climate litigation is moving forward in the EU and US. The European General Court has just accepted the first EU wide climate change case, presented by plaintiffs as the People’s Climate Case and was published in the European Union Official Journal today. This is an important initial step in the proceeding which is part of a wave of climate litigation composed of similar suits made against the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, and the US.
New inequality data and metrics reveal inequities of income, wealth, gender, education, health and environmental protection - highlighting the need to go Beyond GDP.
This briefing provides an overview of key issues at stake in the meeting and progress made on the implementation of SDGs by the EU and globally in the run up to the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) to be held at United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York 16 - 18 July 2018. It has been produced to support to the European Parliament delegation prior to the Forum.
Implementation of SDGs is up for review again at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) from 16 – 18 July in New York. The meeting provides a window of opportunity to influence the implementation of the SDGs in the EU It is also a chance to ensure that environmental considerations are placed more in the heart of the agenda and taken into account during the following HLPFs, especially in terms of the 4-year stocktake in 2019.
In the run-up to the meeting, a new IEEP briefing reviews the current state of SDG implementation and identifies how it could be improved.
We are at a unique moment where a new picture of cooperation on the global climate scene is taking shape. The Talanoa Dialogue gathers contributions from a wide range of stakeholders, but is this a new path to global decision making or just a branding exercise?
Today, the Commission starts putting some flesh on the bones of its plans for EU spending after 2020. Their communication earlier in May set out some broad principles, which we commented on here. Over the next week or so, they will be publishing detailed legislative proposals for the different programmes; and regional affairs Commissioner Corina Crețu set the ball rolling by announcing proposals for cohesion spending.
The Commission has set out its initial proposals for the next “Multi-Annual Financial Framework” – the planning period for the EU budget which sets the priorities for spending, and shares out EU money between programmes and Member States. We’ve been examining what’s at stake for the environment, sustainable development, and Europe’s future.
Pollinators are increasingly under threat by human activity. IEEP surveyed national and regional initiatives that help pollinators in ten EU Member States, outlining strategies, successes and gaps.
The final report of an IEEP-led study for the Pacific Community entitled ‘Towards greener taxes and subsidies in Pacific Island Countries and Territories’.
The EU contributes to halting the global loss of biodiversity through conservation efforts within its own territory as well as at the global level. IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen explores the EU’s external biodiversity policy, arguing the need for a more coherent framework and effective implementation – and making the policy integral to EU’s action on SDGs at the global level.
European countries have developed a wide range of policies to encourage climate mitigation through land use “sinks”; but as the land use sector is brought fully into the EU’s climate targets, policies will need to be more ambitious, and more focused on results.
Moving the CAP towards a focus on performance is a positive step towards aligning agriculture payments more seriously with the delivery of environmental and climate outcomes. But is there a need to ensure that the environmental priorities identified are sufficiently ambitious and that Member States are held accountable?
IEEP's new paper, "Ideas for defining environmental objectives and monitoring systems for a results-oriented CAP post 2020", suggests a way forward.
A new evaluation of the Common Agriculture Policy’s Pillar 1 greening measures for the European Commission, led by IEEP on behalf of Alliance Environnement, found that overall the greening measures have led to only small changes in management practices, except in a few specific areas.
The EU contributes to halting the global loss of biodiversity through conservation efforts within its own territory as well as at the global level. IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen explores the EU’s external biodiversity policy, arguing the need for a more coherent framework and effective implementation – and making the policy integral to EU’s action on SDGs at the global level.
A newly published study for the European Commission by IEEP and partners investigates civil society’s role in improving the effectiveness of environmental taxes to reduce pollution and better manage natural resources.
Circular economy policies are proliferating and increasingly linked with other policy areas, including climate change. As seen at COP23, the circular economy can be better exploited to decarbonise the economy.
Martin Nesbit, head of climate and governance and David Baldock, senior fellow at IEEP spoke at an evidence session of the House of Lords' Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee on 28 November.
