The European Union’s imprint on both the global environment and on environmental policy beyond its borders has been sizeable. This influence will likely remain in the years ahead, although its role as a driver of progress is challenged as major economic players and new international political dynamics emerge.
How should EU’s role evolve in a changing world? How can the EU and its Member States best support the delivery of global commitments, such as the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How should their implementation be held to account? What can Europe offer – and learn – through efforts on global dialogue and diplomacy? How can its own policies align better to global imperatives?
IEEP’s work on Global Challenges and SDGs focuses on the global dimension and external impacts of EU policies, both positive and negative. We support the development of environmental and environment-related policies with global implications as well as feed into relevant international processes and discussions. In particular, we aim to ensure that the EU will deliver on its commitments to the global climate and 2030 SDG agendas, both in terms of its internal and external policies.
Highlights
Never has a research and innovation framework design exercise been so important to the future of Europe. With a headline budget of €100bn, the Commission is currently engaging with citizens, researchers, policymakers, innovators and others to debate and shape the strategic priorities for Horizon Europe - EU’s future research and innovation framework programme.
As we enter a new political cycle for the EU, it is worth pondering whether environmental risks and scarcities feature high enough on Europe’s security agenda.
A new IEEP briefing provides a timely review of the EU’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ahead of the July UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and the September SDG Summit. It assesses the progress made, highlights some shortcomings of the EU SDG reporting and provides recommendations for future action.
This IEEP briefing provides a review of the European Union’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ahead of July's UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and September's SDG Summit.
Eurostat has just published its annual report on EU progress towards the SDGs. While the report paints a rather positive picture of progress, this should be put into perspective due to some gaps in the methodology.
UN SDSN and Bertelsmann Stiftung have just published their annual Sustainable Development Report. The latest edition includes recommendations for SDG implementation. According to the results, the EU and its Member States need to significantly step up their efforts to achieve the goals by 2030.
IEEP and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) are launching a participative process to develop a SDG report in the fall of 2019, and present an up-to-date, quantitative view of the major SDG achievement gaps of the EU and its Member States. The report will complement Eurostat's annual report on the progress of implementing the SDGs.
This policy brief intends to inform business and biodiversity professionals about innovative examples in the EU and Mexico that can help to transform the economics of nature conservation, resulting in increased finance for biodiversity.
Today we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity aiming at increasing understanding of the diversity of life on the planet and awareness of its importance for human development. IEEP takes the opportunity to share some key positive lessons from recent EU biodiversity action and identify key remaining challenges towards 2030.
What are the global implications of the EU circular economy and how are they interlinked with trade? That is the question IEEP and partners are exploring this year under the auspices of the upcoming Finnish EU Presidency.
IEEP has published a new report that presents success stories relating to habitats and species that are the focus of the EU nature directives and provides key lessons on effective approaches that can be shared to achieve better overall results. The study focuses on supporting EU action through better knowledge and evidence, and provides an important contribution to the current discussions on the EU and global biodiversity policy regime for the post-2020 era.
IEEP has published a new report that presents success stories relating to habitats and species that are the focus of the EU nature directives and provides key lessons on effective approaches that can be shared to achieve better overall results. The study focuses on supporting EU action through better knowledge and evidence, and provides an important contribution to the current discussions on the EU and global biodiversity policy regime for the post-2020 era.
With the 2030 benchmark in the horizon, the EU needs to step up the contribution of its trade policy to biodiversity and sustainable development. IEEP identifies concrete opportunities how improving the integration of protected areas into EU trade agreements will help to support global biodiversity conservation as well as multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Environment and ecosystems underpin security, both in terms of human and national security. As part of the 2030 Sustainability Agenda, IEEP and partners call for a more holistic security regime for the EU, going beyond military preparedness or response and with due links to sectoral activities that impact the environmental quality and ecosystem resilience.
Environment and ecosystems underpin security, both in terms of human and national security. A new policy paper by IEEP and partners, launched during the Planetary Security Conference in Den Haag (19 – 20 Feb), calls for a more holistic and greener security regime for the EU.
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.
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!
The EU risks missing out on the opportunity to take a leadership role in the implementation of SDGs domestically and globally. This paper maps the action needed to step up the delivery of the 2030 Sustainability Agenda by the EU at the global level. The paper is part of the Think2030 initiative launched by IEEP and partners in 2018.
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.
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.
