On Thursday (4 April), the French opposition party Les Écologistes pushed a proposal to reduce the use of the so-called "forever chemicals" through the National Assembly, but the government favours a European solution to this environmental and health problem.
As the European Parliament works on a revision of the regulation on microplastics, EU lawmakers and NGOs travelled outside Brussels to see for themselves the scale and impact of plastic pellet pollution on site.
In a major blow to the EU's Green Deal and Farm to Fork framework, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday (6 February) that she will withdraw the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), which sought to halve pesticide use by 2030.
As EU policymakers prepare to announce the specifics of the 2040 target, there is a clear risk the EU’s climate ambition could be undermined through a poor design, write Eadbhard Pernot, Mark Preston Aragones and Fabiola De Simone.
France is "not persuaded" that its 2050 'zero artificialisation' goal should be extended at EU level, even though discussions are currently underway on a European soil monitoring and resilience directive.
A motion opposing the European Commission from potentially re-authorising glyphosate has received majority support in the Dutch parliament, with MPs urging Agriculture Minister Piet Adema (CU/EPP) to vote against the measure at next month's EU Agriculture Council.
The European Parliament’s agriculture committee proposed to go beyond the scope of the recently unveiled EU framework for certifying carbon sinks in farming by providing for the remuneration and trading of negative emission certificates.
Nitrogen Minister Christianne Van der Wal (VVD/Renew) rejected the Dutch provinces’ funding requests for nitrogen reduction on Monday, stating that their plans greatly exceed the government’s available funds.
The European Commission and EU member states are not being ambitious enough with their protections for EU soil, nearly 70% of which was found to be unhealthy, the European Court of Auditors said.
The Commission’s new proposal for a soil monitoring law falls behind the initial ambition of giving soil a protected status similar to that of air or water, according to Green lawmakers and campaigners.
Developing countries will be the first victims of the dangers of climate change, facing a threat that affects the rest of the world, too. Political will is the most important weapon in our arsenal to tackle this issue, writes Alain-Richard Donwahi.
EU environment ministers approved their position on a historic law to restore Europe's ecosystems on Tuesday (20 June), marking a turning point for the embattled proposal.
European Union countries' environment ministers will attempt on Tuesday (20 June) to agree a common position on the bloc's landmark law to restore deteriorating natural habitats, having watered down the proposal after pushback from some governments.
Germany is now in compliance with EU nitrate pollution rules and equipped to further tackle high pollution levels in groundwater, the European Commission announced on Thursday (1 June), ending a decade-long back-and-forth with Brussels and the threat of hefty fines.
There is an urgent need to focus on soil conservation, a global campaign originating in India is arguing in an attempt to highlight the threat to one of nature’s greatest resources.
Ongoing global warming will likely put a major strain on food systems and could make millions worldwide subject to food insecurity, a new report published today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds.
A total of 68 countries agreed to contribute to climate protection and biodiversity conservation by protecting agricultural soils at last week's World Conference of agriculture ministers in Berlin. EURACTIV Germany reports.
With soil health high on the policy agenda, EURACTIV took a look at how advances in tractor technology can help boost climate-smart agriculture and promote no-till agriculture through the lens of a project in East Africa.
The European Commission's communication on sustainable carbon cycles promising a new source of revenue for farmers received a lukewarm response from the farming sector on Wednesday (15 December) while NGOs blasted it for letting real polluters off the hook.
Stakeholders are calling on the European Commission to stop prioritising home-grown phosphates high in cancer-causing cadmium over imports of cleaner products from non-EU countries, but others warn that this risks sacrificing EU autonomy.
The European Union is stepping up efforts on soil health research with the announcement of a new Horizon Europe mission, which will also provide key funding for the promotion of carbon farming.
The European Union's soil strategy has outlined plans for a soil health law by 2023 to bring soil on the same legal footing as air and water, and EU lawmakers have warned this must be a hard deadline.
The European soil strategy commits to unveil a dedicated legislative proposal to tackle soil degradation in a harmonised way - but not until 2023, according to a leaked draft of the strategy, seen by EURACTIV.
Between petrol panic, driver shortages, and warnings that Christmas could be in jeopardy, there has been no lack of bad press tied to the UK’s departure from the EU this week.
