Sustainability

We are in the middle of the AI race. On April 9, Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen presented the EU's new AI Continent Action Plan. The goal? Making Europe a global hub for AI innovation. No more talk of bans or limitations. The action plan is about boosting competitiveness and claiming leadership. We asked Alexandra Geese MEP (Greens/EFA) what this shift means. 

Agroecology is far more than a set of sustainable agricultural practices. It puts peasants and indigenous voices at the centre. It seeks to preserve biocultural diversity and strengthen resilience while challenging existing power structures in the food system. This dossier is a collaborative effort of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung offices and our partner organisations worldwide to highlight the diversity of agroecological initiatives within our global network. From community-led digital innovations to public policy strategies, it explores how agroecology redefines food systems and promotes people’s agency.

Equitable access to land and fertile soil is fundamental to realising human rights, such as the right to food. Although numerous United Nations declarations on land rights have been ratified by national governments, deadly land conflicts persist throughout the world.

Agroecology is a response to an industrial model of agriculture that exploits people and damages soils. In Brazil, agroecology is making significant breakthroughs in social and environmental terms. But one thing is already clear: government policy is needed to promote agroecology and confront the agroindustrial model.

Land degradation has numerous invisible costs – environmental, health, social, and economic. True Cost Accounting renders these costs visible, offering a clearer picture of the impact of land degradation.

The Sahara Desert is expanding, thereby threatening millions of people’s lives and livelihoods. While many large-scale initiatives have been launched to combat desertification, most lack secure funding. Bottom-up techniques, implemented by local farmers, show how Indigenous knowledge can drive restoration. 

Alongside other European powers, the UK is helping to supercharge Saudi Arabia’s attempt to hijack the global sustainability agenda.

The EU has already taken important actions for private finance to support the transition to a greener economy, and it cannot waste this one chance to finish the work. The sustainable finance legislative framework could help boost the European economy going forward – it is the last stretch before reaping the benefits of the efforts made so far.

The outgoing European Commission has upscaled the use of unilateral trade instruments to achieve security, competitiveness and sustainability objectives. In times of environmental crises and rising geopolitical tensions, the incoming European Commission should implement the ambition to embed European trade within planetary boundaries and revive international cooperation around environmental trade goals.

On 31 March 2022, the 19 EU Member States that submitted their CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) by the 1 January 2022 deadline received their awaited Observation Letters. In this article we discuss the implications of the European Commission backtracking on a transparent process and explore the content of Observation Letters that have been partially released.

This online event was organised to discuss about how the EU Member States are advancing their preparations of the CAP Strategic Plans before their final submission to the European Commission. The main focus is on the fairness elements of the draft plans. Fairness is not limited to the monetary and distributional aspects of direct payments but encompasses a broader set of considerations, such as labour, market organisation, and targeting towards environmental needs.

The build-up to the UN Food systems Summit 2021 has underlined why systems thinking is essential and action is required now, both concerning the ending of hunger and tackling the web of issues that contribute to sustainability.

New nuclear power costs about 5 times more than onshore wind power per kWh. Nuclear takes 5 to 17 years longer between planning and operation and produces on average 23 times the emissions per unit electricity generated. In addition, it creates risk and cost associated with weapons proliferation, meltdown, mining lung cancer, and waste risks. Clean, renewables avoid all such risks.

The EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy Regulation - the list of green activities contributing to the green transition - is currently being discussed. The political debate is now focusing on two types of energy that were at first excluded: nuclear energy and fossil gas. How might these discussions undermine the taxonomy that is potentially a central tool to enhance investments in the green transition and why should they be banished from this instrument?