Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

Our March newsletter is here 📨 Key policy reports this month: 🔸Political actions for a well-being economy 🔸Crop diversification and its role in enhancing agricultural productivity, ecosystem services and resilience in EU farming systems 🔸Policies that tackle desertification.    Good news 🎉 Our European Green Deal Barometer survey is still open, make sure to fill it in here https://lnkd.in/ekR4uCbT Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more targeted news https://lnkd.in/eDBmG-5u

Green Trade Network (GTN) is organising the first edition of #GreenTradeDay🔁 - Anchoring trade policy in a just ecological transition   Since 2022, the Green Trade Network (GTN), coordinated by Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), has brought together a community of experts working to find solutions to harness trade policy as an essential tool in tackling the triple planetary crisis.   #GreenTradeDay will take stock of Europe’s progress in aligning trade policy with the European Green Deal and explore how trade can become a true accelerator of a fair, inclusive, and sustainable transition.   Speakers include: 🔹 Laurence Tubiana, European Climate Foundation 🔹 Jacob Werksman, EU Environment and Climate 🔹 Ely Sandler, Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education 🔹Carolyn Deere Birkbeck; Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) 🔹David Kleimann, ODI Global 🔹 Markus Gehring, University of Cambridge …alongside leading experts from academia, industry, think tanks, and EU institutions.   🗓️ Wednesday, 9 April ⏰ 9 AM - 12:30 PM CET 📌 Brussles | Online   More on the event https://lnkd.in/e_YvxTr5

🚮 #FoodWaste accounts for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions produced by humankind, making it comparable to road transport pollution.   ⚠️ One-third of globally produced food is wasted, translating into 1.3 billion tonnes of wasted resources per year. Most food waste occurs primarily in the retail sector and food services (including bars, supermarkets, events, and mass-catering establishments). The retail sector alone generates 13% of global food waste, making retailers key partners in mitigating food waste, particularly in Western economies.   💡 Find out more about the current food waste externalities, how to internalise them with retailers and read about the recommendations on what areas should be targeted to combat food waste for further research funding. 📑 https://lnkd.in/eVjQFhkD   ✍ Get in touch with Chiara Antonelli at cantonelli@ieep.eu to continue the conversation and to discover possible collaborations. #ZeroWasteDay #BeatWastePollution.    ℹ️ Find out more about #ESAD ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eiXiYZbU

⏰ #Think2030 Dialogue Poland is here! Today, we will explore how we keep the balance between ensuring energy security and maintaining climate commitments, reinforcing the importance of international cooperation and economic stability. 🗣️ With: • Urszula Zielińska, Deputy Minister, Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment • Niels Frederik Malskær, Senior Energy Advisor, Embassy of Denmark in Poland • Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe • Bartek Czyczerski, CEO, Business & Science Poland • Antoine Oger, Interim Executive Director, IEEP • Aleksander Sniegocki, CEO, Instytut Reform 🗨️ Our 4 #Science4Policy sessions will look at: ✔ European #CleanIndustrialDeal between competitiveness and #EnergyTransition ✔ #ResilientAgriculture in Poland and the EU: navigating challenges and opportunities in 2025   ✔ Perspectives on implementation of the #ETS2 ✔ How to deal with the external dimensions of the #EUGreenDeal in a new geopolitical context? Full agenda ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ecPmbWNg ✍ We will also disclose the first preliminary results of the 5th edition of the #GreenDealBarometer. The survey is still open; make sure to complete it 👇 https://lnkd.in/e7kHramr 🙏 This event is co-organised with Instytut Reform, in collaboration with Instytut Zielonej Gospodarki and under the patronage of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment. #Energy #EnergySecurity #ClimateTargets #Competitiveness #Trade  

#Think2030 Dialogue Poland is nearly here Why is a sustainable and secure Europe at the heart of our discussions, and what does it mean for Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union? Hear from our Interim Executive Director Antoine Oger and Aleksander Sniegocki, CEO Instytut Reform as they share their insights. The event also features four #Science4Policy sessions on: ✔ European #CleanIndustrialDeal between competitiveness and energy transition ✔ #ResilientAgriculture in Poland and the EU: navigating challenges and opportunities in 2025    ✔ Perspectives on implementation of the #ETS2 ✔ The external dimensions of the #EUGreenDeal in a new geopolitical context For more information, visit ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/ej9VP2w9 #Poland25eu

🌅 The European Environment Agency's climate risk assessment recalled the risks that climate change (and unsustainable land use and water management) represents to ecosystems, societies, and economic sectors. ⚠️ If decisive action is not taken now, most of those identified climate risks could reach critical or catastrophic levels by the end of this century. We discussed these risks and the strategies to address them with the business sector in our conference with the participation of the European Environment Agency and Cerac - Climate Risk Assessment Center, the support of the Environmental Defense Fund, and the contribution of Sweco. ✍ Take a look at the main takeaways of the two thematic sessions on Nature-Based Solutions deployment and the transition to sustainable and resilient agriculture ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/e6rNmwxk 🙏 Thanks to all the participants and speakers; Leena Yla-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency for her keynote on #EUCRA relevance for private sector businesses; Luc Bas, Director of CERAC and Chair of IEEP Strategic Advisory Council, who highlighted the national implementation effort in Belgium following the EUCRA report; and Mercedes Sanchez Varela from our Board for moderating the discussion. Thanks to the IEEP team Antoine Oger, Melanie Muro, Evelyn Underwood, Mattia Bonfanti, and Suzanna Walton. #ClimateChange #SustainableAgricgulture #Biodiversity #NatureBasedSolutions #Transition #ClimateRisks #Business

It's #WorldWaterDay 💧 Which are the EU policies addressing #desertification and its impacts? 🏜️ In the EU, efforts to address desertification have traditionally been plagued by the absence of a centralised strategy. Our latest TERRASAFE EU brief written by Dr. Hermann Kam and Melanie Muro provides a broad analysis of the current policies, with a particular interest in efforts since the publication of the European Court of Auditors key report on combatting desertification in 2018. The research also highlights gaps and opportunities for stronger action at the EU level moving forward. 📑 https://lnkd.in/eN6Qa5Ua #Desertification #Terrasafe #EU #LandDegradation

On International #ForestDay we celebrate the fundamental role of forests in ensuring food security, nutrition, and livelihoods 🌳 ⚠️ The dangers of being able to reap the benefits of forests are multifaceted. One of them is the conversion of forests to agricultural land, and the EU's connected high exposure to deforestation through its imports of commodities, such as palm oil and cocoa. 🤝 The time for strategic preparation for the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) is now. After an attempt to water down the robustness of the Regulation last year, ultimately, a delay of one year in the entry into application of the EUDR (to the end of 2025) was agreed upon. Moving forward, the delayed action against deforestation must be countered by using the time for:  1️⃣ Strengthening dedicated dialogues and partnerships with producer countries 2️⃣ Creating an evidence-based benchmarking system 3️⃣ Mitigating risks for smallholder producers and trade disruptions 4️⃣ Implementing financial and technical assistance 5️⃣ Ensuring the preparedness of EU competent authorities 📑 Read this brief by Nora Hiller and Eline Blot on the potential impact of the EU Deforestation-free supply chains Regulation on smallholder farms ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/e6F9fP-R #Deforestation #EUDR #EUGreenDeal #UNForests #ClimateAction #FoodSecurity #Farming

🌱 European protein diversification - turning challenges into new opportunities 👨🌾 Yesterday, IEEP released a report on how protein diversification can support the agriculture sector in a lively discussion with the European Commission, farmers, NGOs, scientists, and food industry players.  Our report, presented by Tijn van Vugt at the event "European protein diversification: Growing opportunities for European farmers", shows that protein diversification holds significant promise to address climate targets, environmental, planetary resources, health, and animal welfare. However, the socio-economic impacts of European protein diversification on farmers remain largely under-explored. The report concludes that the European agricultural sector seems to be still unprepared to diversify its production in line with a dietary shift towards healthier and more sustainable plant-rich food consumption. 💡 The key policy recommendations to better prepare and support farmers willing to diversify their business towards new plant-based opportunities ⤵️ 1️⃣ Develop an EU strategy for protein diversification, including food and feed   2️⃣ De-risk farmers' efforts to diversify into plant-based production   3️⃣ Support value chains through public procurement and fair pricing   4️⃣ Create innovation clusters for plant-based food   5️⃣ Make sustainable and healthy foods the easy option by ensuring an equitable playing field between animal-sourced and plant-based foods  🙏 A big thank you to the speakers Laurent Mercier (DG Agri) and Christian Holzleitner (DG Clima) from the European Commission; Simon Kraemer from EARA | European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture; Stacy Pyett from Wageningen University & Research and Claire Pedersen from Nestlé. 📖 Read the report: https://lnkd.in/eTR_KaX6 🙋♀️ What’s your take on the future of protein diversification in Europe? Get in touch with Elisabet Nadeu at enadeu@ieep.eu to continue the conversation! #SustainableFarming #AlternativeProtein #RegenerativeAgriculture #AgriFood #FoodSystem #ClimateTargets

🐝 While pollinators are essential for crop production, their contributions extend far beyond pollination itself 👨🌾 In collaboration with the European Landowners' Organization we are organising a science-policy event in the context of the European project #Safeguard to explore the crucial yet often overlooked role of pollinators in agriculture. This event will highlight the economic, environmental, and social benefits of pollinators in agricultural landscapes, offering insights into how farming practices can support both pollinators and stakeholders across the agri-food value chain. 📅 2 April 2025 from 9:00 to 14:00 CET 📍 Brussels (Residence Palace) – hybrid ℹ️ https://lnkd.in/eWck3ycr More on the Safeguard project 👉 https://lnkd.in/eqeU-GV3 #SustainableFarming #Agriculture #Pollinators #CropProduction #Agrifood