Soils Archives

As French senators prepare to examine the country's climate and resilience bill, members of the Senate's Economic Affairs Committee published a report on Wednesday (12 May), calling for a more ambitious policy to achieve a net-zero goal on land artificialisation. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Commission on Wednesday (12 May) announced a set of measures to tackle soil pollution in the pipeline but without envisaging a dedicated and legally binding framework.

Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU.

In a recently published Parliament survey, agriculture, food and fisheries have emerged as a major area of disagreement between Brussels and the EU capitals.

The French senate is set to debate an inquiry committee report on soil pollution on Wednesday (13 January) after residents of the Ormes district in the Paris Commune of Romainville opposed a housing project on a very polluted plot of land, . EURACTIV France reports.
 

On the back of a recent European Commission-funded report which called for nuance in the livestock vs environment debate, EURACTIV took a look at the importance of EU grasslands and the role of livestock in maintaining them.

With soil health high on the EU policy agenda, EURACTIV spoke with US-based farmer Trey Hill, whose innovative approach to farming explores the potential of no-till agriculture, a practice that can contribute to the EU’s sustainability goals although some dismiss it as "technologically backward".

Diversifying food production is key to strengthening the resilience of European agriculture and creating realistic business models for farmers in the coming years, according to EU's agri-boss Janusz Wojciechowski.

A UK farming technology company has teamed up with leading space industry engineers and soil biologists to create a new tool to accurately assess biodiversity and soil health on farms.

Policies aimed at integrating environment and climate concerns into Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy have not delivered, according to a report released by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Did you think Europe was doing relatively well, environmentally speaking? EU Overshoot Day is your reality check. The EU elections and the response of EU leaders will be crucial to turn the tide, writes Ester Asin.

The farming sector is often blasted for its contribution to climate change. But it also has unique potential to capture and store carbon, write Imke Lübbeke and Andreas Baumüller.

The Commission, Council and Parliament have agreed to facilitate the use of organic fertilisers, for which there has been no regulatory framework so far. Fertilisers will also have to contain less heavy metal in the future.

Soils play a key role in regulating the earth's climate, sustaining agriculture and preserving biodiversity. Yet they have fallen down the EU policy agenda even though tools exist to reverse that trend, according to a new report published today (26 September).

While climate change takes a toll on agriculture and land use contributes to warming the planet, soils still find little attention from policymakers in their climate strategies.

Food waste processed via anaerobic digestion can significantly improve nutrient recovery in the soil, and the process may have significant use in sustainable agriculture and in fighting climate change, David Newmann, president of the World Biogas Association, told EURACTIV.com in an interview

A third of the planet’s land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at the rate of 24 billion tonnes a year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that calls for a shift away from destructively intensive agriculture. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

The EU Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM EU) yesterday (19 January) sent a letter to EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan, calling for a “fundamentally new approach” to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Organic plays an increasing role in EU agriculture. There's also an ongoing trialogue negotiation on organic regulation review among the Parliament, Commission and the Member States.

SPECIAL REPORT / Every year the world loses roughly 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil, with chemical fertilisers singled out as one of the main culprits. Yet, agriculture experts are calling for more widespread use of the substances to improve land fertility and boost yields.

Masqueraded as a move to cut red tape for business, the European Commission's 'Refit - Fit for Growth' scheme appears to have environmental regulation firmly in its sights, write authors from three European environmental protection organisations.

In a victory for conservationists, negotiators representing the EU’s three institutions have backed the 7th Environment Action Programme that includes a call to consider legislation governing soil quality throughout Europe.

The European Commission’s proposal for a soil directive has been stalled for more than six years, but Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik hopes the newly announced Environment Action Programme (EAP) will eventually revive negotiations on the controversial proposals.

A new industrial policy strategy for Europe needs to be sustainable German Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer says. New policy instruments such as a soil directive should be adopted, he argues.