EU Environment Policy

Latest news on the environment policies of the European Union.

Censure for EU Commission over endocrine disruptors — 13 May 2016, 00:11 CET

Euro-MPs signed a motion of censure on the European Commission Thursday for failing to comply with its legal obligation to publish scientific criteria for defining endocrine disruptors.

German 2012 energy law involved state aid: EU Court — 10 May 2016, 16:44 CET

The European Court of Justice's General Court confirmed Tuesday that a 2012 German law on renewable energy involved State aid, dismissing Germany's action against the Commission.

EU CO2 emissions from energy use edge up in 2015 — 04 May 2016, 01:06 CET

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion increased by 0.7% in the European Union in 2015 compared with the previous year, according to figures from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

EU policy for the Arctic unveiled — 28 April 2016, 15:58 CET

The EU set out Wednesday a strategy for integrating policies on the Arctic region, focusing on climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development and international cooperation.

'Historic day for climate action': EU signs Paris climate deal — 24 April 2016, 00:23 CET

The EU signed the global Paris climate agreement in a high-level ceremony in New York Friday. The agreement was concluded in December 2015 at the UN climate change conference in Paris.

EU issues country warnings against illegal fishing — 24 April 2016, 00:27 CET

The European Union issued new warnings on illegal fishing to Kiribati, Sierra Leone and Trinidad and Tobago Thursday. At the same time, it lifted its red card against Sri Lanka.

MEPs back restrictions on glyphosate herbicide — 14 April 2016, 17:30 CET

Members of the European Parliament called Wednesday for a ban on all uses of glyphosate-based herbicides in private and public green areas, including spraying in and around public parks, playgrounds and gardens.

Circular economy: New Regulation to boost use of organic and waste-based fertilisers — 17 March 2016, 13:36 CET

The European Commission presented on 17 March the first deliverable of the Circular Economy Package with new rules on organic and waste-based fertilisers in the EU.

Assessing illicit drugs in wastewater: advances in wastewater-based drug epidemiology — 15 March 2016, 22:49 CET

Assessing illicit drugs in wastewater: advances in wastewater-based drug epidemiology reviews a new approach to estimating drug use in populations, based on the detection and quantification of drugs and their metabolic products in community wastewater. Strengths of the wastewater-based approach include avoiding the problems associated with questionnaire-based research, better identification of the drugs being used and being able to provide near-real-time results, with the power to identify trends in drug use patterns, over time and geographically. Novel uses of the approach are explored, such as the early detection of new psychoactive substances on the drug market. The report also looks at the limitations to the approach and how these can be overcome for this new tool to take its place in the drug epidemiologist’s toolkit.

EU implementation of the Paris Agreement: next steps — 03 March 2016, 22:13 CET

The European Commission presented on 2 March an assessment of the implications for the European Union of the new global climate agreement adopted in Paris in December 2015. The assessment looks at the next steps in the process and how the Paris Agreement will be implemented in the EU. The assessment is also accompanied by a proposal for the European Union to sign the Paris Agreement.

EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking — 26 February 2016, 15:53 CET

The European Commission adopted on 26 February an EU Action Plan to crack down on wildlife trafficking within the EU and strengthen the EU's role in the global fight against these illegal activities.

New rules for safer and cleaner cars — 27 January 2016, 16:09 CET

The European Commission legislative proposals on 27 January to ensure car manufacturers comply strictly with all EU safety, environmental and production requirements.

Transparency and monitoring of EU fleets fishing internationally — 10 December 2015, 18:06 CET

The European Commission proposed on 10 December a new system to grant and manage fishing authorisations, allowing authorities to better monitor both EU vessels fishing outside Union waters and international vessels fishing in our own waters. The new Regulation will apply to all EU vessels fishing outside EU waters, wherever they operate and irrespective of the legal framework under which the fishing takes place. These vessels will not be able to fish in third country waters or in the high sea unless they have been previously authorised by their flag Member State, i.e. the state under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed. To obtain authorisation, they will have to show that they comply with a set of criteria that the EU considers essential – for instance that they have an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number and a valid fishing license, and have not been found guilty of infringements. The flag Member State, under the supervision of the European Commission, will have to check the vessel's information thoroughly before granting authorisation and will enter this information into an official register.

EU action plan for a Circular Economy — 02 December 2015, 16:44 CET

The European Commission adopted on 2 December a revised Circular Economy Package to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy which will boost global competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs.

EU Climate Policy Explained — 30 November 2015, 23:21 CET

The EU has been the region of the world where the most climate policies have been implemented, and where practical policy experimentation in the field of the environment and climate change has been taking place at a rapid pace over the last twenty-five years. This has led to considerable success in reducing pollution, decoupling emissions from economic growth and fostering global technological leadership. The objective of the book is to explain the EU's climate policies in an accessible way, to demonstrate the step-by-step approach that has been used to develop these policies, and the ways in which they have been tested and further improved in the light of experience. The book shows that there is no single policy instrument that can bring down greenhouse gas emissions, but the challenge has been to put a jigsaw of policy instruments together that is coherent, delivers emissions reductions, and is cost-effective. The book differs from existing books by the fact it covers the EU's emissions trading system, the energy sector and other economic sectors, including their development in the context of international climate policy. Set against the backdrop of the 2015 UN Climate Change conference in Paris, this accessible book will be of great relevance to students, scholars and policy makers alike.

Essential EU Climate Law — 05 November 2015, 15:54 CET

This new textbook on EU climate law provides a comprehensive account of essential EU climate mitigation law. In addition, the contents cover a number of important and topical issues related to the EU’s efforts to tackle climate change. Written by some of the key thinkers on EU climate law from the University of Groningen, each chapter addresses the relevant directives and regulations as well as their implementation issues, explaining how this affects current policy and academic debate. The chapters therefore not only describe but also critically reflect upon EU climate law.

Monitoring drinking water for better protection of public health — 29 October 2015, 13:59 CET

New EU rules to improve the monitoring of drinking water across Europe came into force on 28 October, improving access to wholesome and clean drinking water in Europe.

European Environment Agency: Trends and projections in Europe 2015 — 22 October 2015, 23:30 CET

The European Union is on track towards meeting and overachieving its 2020 target for reducing greenhouse emissions by 20%, according to a report published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

EU fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing — 01 October 2015, 13:53 CET

The European Commission warned Comoros and Taiwan with yellow cards on 1 October as they risk being identified uncooperative in the fight against illegal fishing. Ghana and Papua New Guinea significantly reformed their fisheries governance system.

AirBase - the European Air quality dataBase — 29 September 2015, 19:09 CET

AirBase is the public air quality database system of the European Environment Agency (EEA). It contains air quality monitoring data and information submitted by the participating countries throughout Europe. The air quality database consists of multi-annual time series of air quality measurement data and their statistics for a representative selection of stations and for a number of pollutants. It also contains meta-information on the involved monitoring networks, their stations and their measurements. The database covers geographically all countries from the European Union, the EEA member countries and some EEA potential candidate countries. The EU Member States are bound to report under the Council Decision 97/101/EC, a reciprocal Exchange of Information (EoI) on ambient air quality. Whereas, the EEA member countries and cooporating countries, which include EU (potential) candidate countires and the EFTA states, either committed themselves to report to the EEA following this EU-legislation, or develop the appropriate measuring and reporting infrastructure following EEA's EuroAirnet programme critiria. All data reported within EuroAirnet context is included in the database.

EU air pollutant emissions standards — 29 September 2015, 19:11 CET

Factsheet about how pollutant emissions are regulated at EU level, and moves to develop a new Real Driving Emission (RDE) test procedure.

Council conclusions on the EU mandate for Paris 2015 — 18 September 2015, 20:16 CET

The Environment Council of 18 September 2015 adopted conclusions establishing the EU's position for the UN climate change conference in Paris later this year.

Proposal to revise the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) — 16 July 2015, 00:04 CET

The European Commission presented on 15 July proposals to deliver a new deal for energy consumers, to launch a redesign of the European electricity market, to update energy efficiency labelling and to revise the EU Emissions Trading System.

Reform of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) — 08 July 2015, 23:28 CET

The EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) was set up to reduce gas emissions and fight climate change, but it is not working as efficiently as it could be. An informal deal agreed between the European Parliament and EU Member States to reform the scheme will tackle the imbalances of supply and demand of emission allowances, which is holding back investment in green technologies. What is the reform is all about?

EU Urban Agenda: consultation results — 03 June 2015, 22:37 CET

The European Commission unveiled the results of the public consultation on the EU Urban Agenda during the 2nd European CITIES Forum on 2 June in Brussels. The consultation shows that Europe can help cities address common challenges and, in turn, contribute to the Commission's priorities such as a resilient Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy.