The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our health, social and economic well-being. To avert future crises from spiralling out of control, strategies to prevent pandemics need to be in place before the next outbreak occurs. Until now, this has not been the case.
The COVID-19 crisis has led to major changes in Europeans’ consumption habits, but our planet’s resources are not infinite, and the way we consume them today is not sustainable.
A recent virtual seminar co-hosted by IEEP and the Mission of Canada to the EU discussed the future of biodiversity conservation in the COVID-19 context. The seminar was part of a series of events the Mission of Canada to the EU is organising on shared ‘green’ policy priorities on the Canada and EU agendas.
The Horizon Europe mission on Soil Health and Food has set the ambitious target for 75% of soils in the EU to be healthy – within just 10 years. Here are five recommendations for achieving this.
This briefing paper shows that not enough progress is being made on the SDGs to achieve the targets of Agenda 2030 by its deadline. To make matters worse, the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to reverse existing positive trends.
A deal on the budget and recovery plan is welcome – but will it deliver the promised 30% for the climate? Senior Fellow Martin Nesbit draws some lessons from IEEP’s new report for the European Parliament on climate mainstreaming.
The revised multiannual financial framework (MFF) and the recovery package announced by the European Commission include €55 billion of new funding for the cohesion policy, sending an important signal when the entire EU project is at risk due to clashing visions of what European solidarity means in the post-COVID-19 context.
The COVID crisis has been a concrete lesson on the interdependency between the different elements of sustainability. The response needs to be equally all-inclusive, with Sustainable Development Goals providing a suitable framework.
This policy brief reflects on the challenges of a carbon border adjustment mechanism in the post-COVID-19 economy and explores the role environmental product standards can play to complement the mechanism.
The COVID-19 crisis is bringing new elements to the discussions around the future EU multiannual financial framework – and the negotiations need to reflect the urgency of the crisis.
According to the legal scholar Edith Brown Weiss, every generation needs to pass on the Earth and its natural resources in no worse conditions than it received them, by preserving the diversity of natural resources, maintaining the quality of the environment, and ensuring non-discriminatory access among generations to the Earth and its resources.
This policy report produced by IEEP for the FEPS foundation analyses how to achieve sustainability and equity between the people, regions, countries and generations of Europe in a post-COVID-19 era.
Faced with the emergency of the COVID-19 crisis, there is a great temptation for recovery plans to prop up yesterday’s economy instead of “building back better”. Instead, recovery plans and any economic stimulus must pass five tests, argue European sustainability think tanks.
Aiming to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, governments across Europe are advising people to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary – but just how important is access to the outdoors for one's mental and physical well-being?