Our work supports the EU's objective of halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services by 2020. This includes assessing the costs and socio-economic benefits of conserving biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, and developing evidence-based polices that help implement and finance EU biodiversity conservation measures.
IEEP has extensive experience of biodiversity-related policy analysis in agricultural, freshwater and marine ecosystems and has pioneered measures to tackle invasive alien species and the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.
We primarily work on policy analysis and development projects for the European Commission, but also contribute to the biodiversity conservation work of national governments, NGOs and other international governmental organisations.
The EU has a relatively well-established biodiversity conservation policy framework, now formalised in the 2010 EU Biodiversity Strategy, at the heart of which are the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive, which have created the Natura 2000 network – the largest network of protected areas in the world. These Directives include legislative measures that require Member States to conserve and restore EU threatened habitats and species, both within Natura 2000 sites but also where necessary in the wider environment. The Biodiversity Strategy also includes targets that aim to restore ecosystems and their services, support the biodiversity conservation measures in agricultural, forest and marine ecosystems, address alien invasive species and reduce the EU’s external impacts on global biodiversity.
Despite this impressive framework ecosystems continue to be degraded and biodiversity is still being lost. This is due to slow, incomplete or inappropriate implementation, including weak enforcement, a lack of funding, and some important policy gaps.
A fundamental problem continues to be the undervaluation of biodiversity and its limited capture in economic systems. Therefore a key area of our work is demonstrating the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services to clearly show that biodiversity is worthy of protection, for its own sake and for its contribution to human well-being. This understanding is the basis for the development of policies that aim to support the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, for example through better regulations, cost-effective public funding (such as agri-environment schemes and other EU funds) and innovative market-based instruments (such as payments for ecosystem services and biodiversity offsets).
Highlights
This new report reveals the scepticism of sustainability experts regarding the implementation status of the European Green Deal in the short term, but some cautious optimism post-2024. Based on insights from over 300 experts, the Green Deal Barometer provides recommendations for taking forward the implementation in the current crisis.
On 29 and 30 June 2022, IEEP and IDDRI welcomed members of the Think2030 platform at Sciences Po, Paris to discuss the implementation status of the European Green Deal. This report is a summary of a two-day discussion among national and EU-level policymakers, experts, representatives of civil society and the private sector on how to make the Green Deal a reality.
When Ursula von der Leyen presented one of the most ambitious political projects to date in EU history, aiming at making Europe the first climate-neutral continent, nobody could imagine that just a few months later, an unprecedented pandemic would lock down the whole EU. Yet, and despite strong pushes to derail the European Green Deal agenda as an immediate reply to the crisis, the Green Deal stayed afloat and was even slightly boosted through the national recovery and resilient plans.
The long-awaited proposal for an EU nature restoration regulation was finally presented on 22 June by the European Commission, highlighting an ambitious legislative framework to restore degraded ecosystems in the EU.
Next week, join 200+ experts for the third edition of the Think2030 conference, co-organised by IEEP and IDDRI at Sciences Po in Paris.
After several delays, the highly anticipated proposal for an EU law on nature restoration is now out. The adoption of this proposal would mark a historic turning point for EU nature conservation. As it enters the EU legislative process, this is a critical moment to ensure its ambition remains high and that its key components are not watered down.
The Interinstitutional Agreement for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) set the ambition to provide a minimum of EU annual spending to biodiversity objectives, starting with 7.5% in 2024 and at least 10% in 2026 and 2027. From 2022, the European Commission must report annually on spending for the biodiversity objective.
The European Commission held a public consultation to collect views on the implementation of the EU Pollinators Initiative and gather suggestions on how to strengthen the current framework on wild pollinators to meet its long-term objective to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030.
Two years after publication of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, we take stock of the implementation of its targets and commitments, and of the progress that has been made since.
IEEP is looking for an experienced policy analyst to join the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services team, to lead and contribute to research and engagement on biodiversity policy and mainstreaming.
The Think2030 conference is back for its third edition! This in-person event, co-organised by IEEP and IDDRI, will centre the discussion on European Green Deal implementation by 2024 and beyond.
What’s next for the Green Deal? Contribute to the second edition of the European Green Deal Barometer, IEEP’s annual consultation on the implementation status of the Green Deal.
This briefing reviews existing evidence on the impact of environmental degradation on European food availability in the long run, if food systems are to remain as they are. It focuses on climate change, biodiversity loss and soil degradation.
To reduce the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food security, many European actors propose to increase production in the EU, regardless of the associated environmental costs. This blog post intends to refocus the debate on more fundamental concerns highlighted by the food crisis.
Rural areas are impacted by climate change and biodiversity losses. It affects their surrounding ecosystems, their economy, and the well-being of rural populations. Supporting the sustainable transition of these areas is crucial, and the new EU Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas could play a pivotal role.
This event co-organised by IBMA Global, IBMA France and IEEP will highlight the opportunities that biocontrol can offer in order to reach the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
The new EU Soil strategy offers a policy framework to achieve good soil health in Europe by 2050. To reach this goal, there is a strong need to ensure an effective legal framework for soils coherent with other key EU policies such as the proposal for a nature restoration law, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) regulation.
This study and its accompanying analysis explore the climate mitigation potential of restoring the habitats protected under the EU Habitats Directive. As part of this, the feasibility of ranking these habitats based on the climate mitigation benefits of their restoration is evaluated.
IEEP is looking for a contractor to develop and carry out a stakeholder consultation survey on the implementation of the European Green Deal. More information can be found in the download document.
EU bioenergy and its use of biomass have several impacts on the biophysical system. This report provides a meta-review of the use of biomass within biophysical limits in the context of the EU Green Deal.
