The leaders of Europe met in the Romanian town of Sibiu this week and agreed on ten points regarding the future of Europe. Climate change featured only tenth as a priority though. Reacting to the outcome the co-leading candidate of the European Green Party, Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller was very critical of this. She said:“The seriousness of the…
An international group of chemical and health NGOs have come together to publicly express deep regret and disapproval of the EU delegation’s behaviour and actions at the COP9 of the Stockholm convention. Whilst governments agreed to a global ban on Perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA) – an extremely persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic chemical – a large number of unjustified 5 years exemptions were included….
The future of Europe is environmentally and socially sustainable, write Kélig Puyet and Ariel Brunner. It is within reach if political leaders take action now – as environment and social organisations, representing millions of Europeans, we stand together to deliver this message to national and EU leaders meeting in Sibiu on 9 May to discuss…
Following the extensive damage caused by tropical cyclone Kenneth in northern Mozambique and Comoros, the EU is providing initial €1.5 million to help the people affected by the heavy rainfall and destruction that the new cyclone left in its trail. Announcing the donation Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said: “Mozambique is facing…
A new report from Amazon Watch is said to show that European companies have “played a direct role in financing firms that fuel the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon” under the country’s new president Jair Bolsonaro. The report details a series of prominent European corporate buyers and investors that reportedly have business ties to what campaigners…
Concerns have been growing about the health risks of mineral wool (also known as Man-made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF), or by the brand name Rockwool). A report was published last year that summarised these concerns in terms of health risks to homeowners and those working to install, remove or dispose of mineral wool as an insulation…
In the final plenary session of this legislature, Members of the European Parliament passed the EU’s General Food Law reform Making the publication of toxicity data mandatory, the approved reform is a massive transparency win that will enable much greater scrutiny of the European Union’s food safety decisions. Reaction to the move was swift and came from Martin Pigeon,…
The 16-year old Swede, who inspired the worldwide “School Strike For Climate” movement, addressed MEPs in an Environment Committee meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday. In her opening statement, Greta Thunberg called for “permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” to combat the breakdown of the climate and eco systems. This includes reducing CO2…
A respected international academic has questioned the legality of removing parliamentary passes for ExxonMobil employees. It comes after the Greens/EFA group in parliament claimed that ExxonMobil refused to attend a recent parliamentary hearing on the company’s alleged role in funding climate change denial. The group sent a letter to Parliament’s President Antonio Tajani and the…
MEPs and African, Caribbean and Pacific MPs discussed the future of the partnership and agreed to enhance support for education and the fight against climate change. During the 37th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), which took place from 18 to 20 March in Bucharest, Members of the European Parliament and their counterparts from 78…
