Photo by Anil Sharma on Unsplash The quality of the maps used to assess deforestation has been assessed for the first time. It also assesses tree planting (reforestation/agroforestry), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removal monitoring. The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) study supports cocoa companies who rely on these sources to meet regulatory compliance and…
Reports
Damning Report by ECA on NGO Funding
Photo by Eduard Delputte on Unsplash EU funding granted to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) suffers from a lack of transparency, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Despite improvements, information on EU funding awarded to NGOs that are active in the bloc’s internal policies remains inaccurate and incomplete. The European Commission…
Space Debris: Is It a Crisis?
The European Space Agency (ESA) has today published its annual space environment report. The Earth is surrounded by spacecraft carrying out important work to study our planet’s changing climate, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions. But some of their orbits are getting crowded and increasingly churning with deadly,…
End the EU’s Patchwork of Animal Welfare Laws
Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash A new report reveals that animal welfare issues are treated very differently by each of the EU’s 27 Member States. The authors, Eurogroup for Animals, say it shows that the EU must update and modernise the animal welfare legislation as soon as possible. This, it says, it needed to…
EU-UK Relations Improve
Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash Both the EU and UK want closer ties, says a survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The survey looked at both EU-UK and EU/UK-US relations. It comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty, highlighted by the looming trade war sparked by new trade tariffs by…
Fighting Human Trafficking
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash The Commission has outlined how it will step up its fight to combat human trafficking. It has published its 5th report on the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), providing an analysis of data from 2021-2022. The total number of registered victims in the EU showed an increase of 41%…
The Future of News
Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash If you’re a journalist, the coming year could spell depressing news, according to a new survey by a UK national newspaper. It produces dispiriting news for those working in some sectors although if, like British PM Sir Keir Starmer’s late father, you are a toolmaker, there…
Trump Returns to the White House
Donald Trump’s return to the US White House is widely seen as a good thing for peace in the world, American influence, and dialogue between leading powers, says a new study. But it also says this feeling is not shared by some of Washington’s closest allies, including citizens from the United Kingdom, the EU and…
China Accused of Discrimination Against EU
Photo by CDC on Unsplash A key report published on Tuesday (14 January highlights what it calls continued discrimination against EU medical devices in China’s public procurement market. The report will feed into the EU Commission’s assessment on what measures should be taken to restore the EU-China level playing field in this area. The EC…
Avian Flu Increase Reported in Europe
Photo by Vitalii Khodzinskyi on Unsplash New outbreaks of avian influenza in wild and domestic birds have been reported in Europe, it has emerged. However, there continues to be no evidence of human-to-human spread of the disease. These are the main findings of an avian influenza monitoring report, produced by the European Centre for Disease…