Céline Charveriat discusses US withdrawal from Paris Accord and breaking Antarctic ice shelf.
The transition to a circular economy is a priority for Europe and an opportunity for many businesses. There is need for scrutiny amongst policy makers to ensure that ecological and socio-economic objectives are met.
After five years of discussion, a landmark moment has been reached whereby the indirect land use change (ILUC) impacts of biofuels almost certainly will be addressed in EU law.
The UK is exploring opportunities to develop a high value bioeconomy based initially on waste. IEEP is helping to identify international best practice examples in order to maximise the environmental and economic benefits of this new Government initiative.
The EU’s commitment to GHG reductions of “at least” 40% by 2030 are a useful contribution to international climate negotiations. But does the package of energy targets offered by the European Council at the same time put us on the right track to long-term decarbonisation goals? IEEP’s Martin Nesbit offers a personal perspective on what needs to be done, and how the governance arrangements need to be tightened.
Using wastes and residues for biofuels has many advantages. But ensuring sustainability and including safeguards in EU legislation are critical issues.
Biochar has the potential to both mitigate greenhouse gases, and to act as an adaptation measure in terms of responding to the impacts of climate change. Based on its compatibility with the appropriate soil properties, it could increase the resilience of soil to erosion.
This short paper highlights the challenges that the EU faces in delivering a resource efficient society and argues that achieving this would require action across a range of policy areas.