Environment

Protecting marine life - the road to 2030

Live Webinar

Healthy oceans are a key to our life on Earth as we know it. Unfortunately, marine life is disappearing at an alarming rate. Climate change, pollution and overexploitation of marine resources are serious issues. If we want to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss and to allow marine life to thrive again, we need to act now. The decisions we make now will be extremely important. But what can we do this year? In the next 10 years? What role can the EU biodiversity strategy play?

Plenary session debriefing

8-10 July

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the programme of the German Presidency, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, EU Hydrogen Strategy, chemicals strategy for sustainability, boosting Roma inclusion process in Europe, state of play Rule of Law in Member States,...

Parliament votes set out steps for EIB to become EU Climate Bank

European Investment Bank

The European Parliament has made clear its demands on the level of ambition that the Bank would have to reach to become the European Climate Bank. The European Investment Bank has set climate ambitious targets for itself, but it’s time for words to be followed by actions.

A new European energy infrastructure policy in line with the climate emergency

A blog by Marie Toussaint

During this week’s plenary session, Members of the European Parliament will adopt a resolution setting out the Parliament’s views on the upcoming revision of the trans-European energy infrastructure Regulation (TEN-E Regulation). The current law sets out the process and criteria to select cross-border electricity, gas and oil infrastructure projects of European interest. For the upcoming revision due in December this year, the Greens/EFA group is asking to end EU support for fossil fuel projects, such as gas pipelines. In addition, this year the European Commission should adopt transitional guidance on how to spend EU funds until the revised law enters into force. This is to ensure that only projects in line with the Paris Agreement are supported.

Green hydrogen & renewables

The EU should take the lead now!

On Wednesday 8 July 2020, the European Commission presented its so-called “Hydrogen Strategy”. Our MEPs Henrike Hahn and Damien Carême, co-chairs of Greens/EFA's Green Industrial Policy Campaign look at why hydrogen will be a key energy source to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. But not any type of hydrogen: green hydrogen only!

Plenary Flash - July session

Greens/EFA priorities 8-10 July 2020

This week, the Parliament will debate on the programme of the German Presidency of the EU with Chancellor Merkel, on prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, EU hydrogen strategy, Roma inclusion,... Discover all the other major topics on the agenda and the Greens/EFA priority issues

The EU recovery plan

In our previous blog, “Financing the green deal,” we have already briefly discussed the EU Recovery Plan. This plan was proposed by the European Commission to define the procedure of recovery in Europe after the COVID crisis. While it is mainly focused on rebuilding the economy, a lot of voices in and outside of the European institutions have expressed that this could be a very important moment for climate. While the world was in lockdown and our economy collapsed, huge amounts of CO2 emissions were continuously released.

A Greens/EFA take on the plenary week

Plenary week, 17-19 June 2020

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd, Hong Kong, sustainable investment/taxonomy, tax sub-committee, the Disability Strategy, the animal transport inquiry committee, investigation against the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on the misuse of EU funds and potential conflicts of interest, the Future of Europe, recovery/MFF, land grabbing and deforestation in the Amazonas, Brexit, Eastern Partnership and European Council.

European Parliament approval paves way for sustainable investments

Taxonomy

The European Parliament has approved a law on sustainable investments known as 'taxonomy', designed to make the financial sector more sustainable.

Commission agrees to additional protections for frontline workers

COVID-19

Member States will be required to include written instructions for workers in order to protect them in the workplace. The Commission will report back to the European Parliament on this revision by the end of 2020. This follows the demands of the Greens/EFA group to improve protections for frontline workers potentially exposed to the virus through their roles.

Financing the green deal

As you know the commission proposed a pact called the European Green Deal, that will be the roadmap for Europe to tackle climate change and become carbon neutral in 2050. In our previous blogs we have explained what this pact is, and what it is not. In this blog, we would like to address an important aspect that is missing: MONEY. In the world we live in today, to achieve the goals that the EU has set, we need a good budget.

Recovery Plan - a crucial moment for the EU

WATCH: A webinar with MEPs Bas Eickhout and Rasmus Andresen

During this webinar, we will get together with Daniela Schwarzer, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, and Professor of political science Catherine E. De Vries to gain insight into the economic recovery plan and new multiannual financial framework (MFF) that will be proposed by the European Commission this Wednesday.