Based on the 2024 political guidelines and mission letters to the new European Commissioners, the EU’s approach towards democracy seems to have shifted from a focus on democratic resilience towards democratic security. After a thorough examination of the EU’s 2019-2024 democracy agenda, this study presents recommendations for the next legislative cycle.
This policy paper makes some suggestions as to how reforms could be possible with and without treaty changes and how the EU can preserve its future viability.
The Soil Atlas 2024 not only highlights the consequences of the global loss of fertile soil, but also shows the potential of sustainable and fair land use for climate protection and biodiversity.
Europe has set out on the path to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and all countries must identify how to deliver this objective. While various technology options are available, the need for vast amounts of cheap renewable energy is certain. The shallow, windy northern seas have long been recognised as a key opportunity to deliver renewable electricity at scale and recent reductions in the costs of offshore wind have led countries to set ambitious targets for deployment.
The EU faces critical decisions on energy infrastructure planning and deployment to meet its climate goals, aiming for a 55% emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. A 100% renewable energy system, eliminating fossil fuels and nuclear energy is seen as the most viable solution. However, current EU energy infrastructure policy and planning are insufficient, risking lock-in to outdated technologies.
The EU's reactions to the current challenges in the areas of security and trade policy highlight that a resolute and coherent common European foreign policy depends on the political will of Member States and their willingness to overcome their differences. The aim must be for Europeans to jointly consider their international commitment across different policy areas and act accordingly in a strategic manner. But the institutional reforms of the past have not provided the necessary push forward. In this sense, the recommendations for action in this paper are to be understood primarily as a call to Member States to make better use of the existing scope for action within the EU treaties.
The choice at the US ballot box will be a stark one for climate policies. This paper explores how the EU and its member states could adjust their climate policies, depending on the outcome of the US election.
The fate of Ukraine’s battlefield will be decided at the US ballot box. This paper explores how the European Union and its Member States could adjust their Ukraine and NATO policies, depending on the outcome of the US election.
The Peatland Atlas 2023 highlights the consequences of the destruction of these unique habitats, but also the potential of wet peatlands for mitigating climate change.
The Pesticide Atlas raises awareness, provides comprehensive information and fosters nuanced debate around agrochemicals used for pest control. It sheds light on different aspects from scientific research, including the impact of pesticides on soils, waters, biodiversity and health, and highlights alternative models with a more stringent implementation of integrated pest management where synthetic substances are only a last resort option.
There is hardly any other food that pollutes our environment and the climate as badly as meat. However, no government in the world currently has a concept of how meat consumption and production can be significantly reduced. But if the sector continues to grow as it has up to now, almost 360 million tons of meat will be produced and consumed worldwide in 2030. With ecological effects that are hard to imagine.
Sustainable transport and mobility are key to tackle the climate crisis and to achieve the targets of the European Green Deal. However, transport today accounts for nearly 30 percent of the CO₂ emissions within the European Union. How can the EU reduce its transport and mobility emissions while connecting citizens, creating green jobs and leading the innovation in the sector?
Insects are a fundamental part of the basis of life in our world. The extent of insect mortality in Germany, in Europe and worldwide is therefore dramatic. The Insect Atlas 2020 explains why the industrial agricultural industry in particular is threatening the habitats of insects so massively, what ways out are possible, and many other exciting aspects. It provides data and facts about beneficial and harmful insects in agriculture, formulates criticism of the overly hesitant policy to protect them.
Plastic is ubiquitous: we use it for life-saving medical devices, clothing, toys and cosmetics; we use it in agriculture and industry. But we also know the growing risk of plastic waste in the environment, landfills and the oceans. We have only just begun to understand the huge dimensions of this crisis. A change of course requires in-depth knowledge of the causes, interests, responsibilities and effects of the plastics crisis. The Plastics Atlas 2019 wants to offer exactly that in 19 chapters.
Facts and Figures on EU Farming Policy: No other economic activity is so closely interwoven with the human and natural environment as is agriculture. If farming changes, so too the ecological and social systems that it hosts must change. The Agriculture Atlas shows how closely Europe’s agriculture is intertwined with our lives and our living space and pushes for a better, fundamentally different set of agricultural policies.
The European Energy Atlas shows a clear alternative: It not only provides a compass on the different energy discussions in different Member States but also reveals how a Europeanization of the energy transition will be the more efficient and cost-effective option for all Europeans.
Without the ocean there would be no life on our planet. But the future of this unique ecosystem faces a grave threat today. The Ocean Atlas 2017 delivers with its 18 contributions and 50 graphics the relevant facts and figures about the ocean.
Industrial agriculture is responsible for both colossal environmental and climate damage as well as global injustice. It is high time for a socially and politically oriented regulation of the agrifood industry. We hope that this atlas will stimulate a broad-based social debate on this vital topic.
Through misuse, we lose 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil every year. For the International Year of Soils in 2015, this Atlas shows, why the soil should concern us all. Jointly published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies.
Our Coal Atlas contains the latest facts and figures on the use of coal and its environmental and social consequences. With more than 60 detailed graphics, the atlas illustrates the coal industry’s impact on nature, health, labour, human rights and politics.
