Industrial animal farming is increasingly damaging the climate and biodiversity, according to the ‘Meat Atlas’ just released by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Friends of the Earth Europe. The livestock industry is responsible for up to 21% of global greenhouse-gas emissions/ This figure is likely to escalate if the global meat and dairy consumption trends continue. The Meat Atlas…
Reports
Impact of Open Source Software on EU Economy
The Commission has published the results of a study analysing the economic impact of Open Source Software and Hardware on the European economy. It is estimated that companies located in the EU invested around €1 billion in Open Source Software in 2018, which brought about a positive impact on the European economy of between €65…
Rule of Law in the EU
The S&D Group in the European parliament said it welcomes the latest annual assessment on the rule of law in the EU but expresses concerns that the report will fail to improve the situation in the Member States without clear and specific recommendation to EU governments. Domènec Ruiz Devesa, S&D MEP who led the Parliament’s work…
EUA Open Science Survey
The European University Association (EUA) has released the findings of the latest edition of its Open Science Survey. The report provides hard data and evidence-based recommendations for institutions, researchers, research funders and policy makers on the transition towards Open Science. With more than 270 responses from 36 European countries, the survey report focuses on the…
Private jets: can the super-rich supercharge zero emission aviation?
CO2 emissions from private jets in Europe increased by nearly a third (31%) between 2005 and 2019, rising faster than commercial aviation emissions, finds a new report from campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). The report, Private jets: can the super-rich supercharge zero emission aviation?, reveals the climate impact of private jets across Europe. It finds that private jetsare 10 times more carbon intensive than…
EU Must Show Tough Love to the Sahel
The European Union must apply a “tough love” approach to the Sahel, linking continued financial support for Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to the implementation of long-promised governance reforms to prevent a further destabilisation of the fragile region, a new Friends of Europe report says. In “Crossing the Wilderness: Europe and the Sahel”,…
Pandemic Impact on the Self-Employed
The SMEunited report published last week outlines the socio-economic impact of the pandemic and of the containment measures on the labour market and on households. Particular focus is put on the negative consequences faced by self-employed. They have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis. National Recovery and Resilience Plans should provide targeted measures to allow…
European Space Programmes: how to capitalise on investment
The European Union has not done enough to harness the full potential of its space programmes, according to a special report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). While the satellite-based programmes Galileo and Copernicus in particular provide valuable services and data, more efforts are needed to capitalise on the significant investment made…
EU Energy Future Needs to Take account of NGO Concerns
Fossil fuel industry lobbyists are expected to retain a stranglehold on Europe’s energy future, with a formal role in EU decisions on energy infrastructure development and funding, a new report claims. The European Commission has proposed to keep an obscure body advocating for vested gas industry interests – the European Network of Transmission System Operators…
How to Create the Perfect Green Flight
Eurocontrol has released a new study that sets out what actions need to be taken in order to make every air journey as close to a ‘perfect green flight’ as possible. The paper examines why it isn’t possible to fly a perfect green flight today, which measures have the greatest potential to improve the sustainability…