Pollution

Water tap - Photo by Luis Tosta on Unsplash — Photo by Luis Tosta on Unsplash

Clean water for the whole EU

Drinking Water Directive

EU-wide clean drinking water is a great success for the initiative from civil society. We owe it to the efforts of civil society that our drinking water will be cleaner in the future. For the first time, limit values for endocrine disruptors and stricter values for lead will make tap water cleaner. All of Europe will see the roll out of public drinking water dispensers.

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Hemicycle Brussels — Photo European Parliament - Architecte : Association des architectes du CIC : Vanden Bossche sprl, C.R.V. s.a., CDG sprl, Studiegroep D. Bontinck

Plenary Flash 14-18 December 2020

Greens/EFA priorities for the session

During this week plenary session, the European Parliament will debate and/or vote on digital services act, the conclusions of the European Council meeting, water legislation, new strategy for European SMEs, European Year of Rail, Council configuration on Gender Equality, ...

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Chemical Industry /BASF — Purple 10tacle/flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

European transformation in chemicals policy draws closer

Chemicals Strategy

Today, the European Commission has just presented its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The Strategy is a step in the right direction towards an European chemicals revolution and can provide the framework for a more sustainable, clean and competitive chemicals industry. The str...

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Protecting marine life - the road to 2030

13.07.2020

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?

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strasbourg building ep — © European Union 2015 - Source EP

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.

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Trucks on highway — Creative Commons CC0

Social pillar of the Mobility Package - voted in Transport Committee

Quote from Ciarán Cuffe MEP

The European Parliament Transport Committee has just given the green-light to the social pillar of the 'Mobility Package' on three separate files dealing with the rules governing rest periods, cabotage and the posting of road transport operators.

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Europe will benefit from public drinking water dispensers and cleaner water

Drinking Water Directive

Yesterday (Wednesday, 18 December), the representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of Member States and the European Commission agreed on stricter limits for lead and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A allowed in drinking water.

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New revelations about VW cheating must force Commission to act

Four years of Dieselgate

According to the German broadcaster SWR, Volkswagen continued to cheat on emissions tests using defeat devices in diesel engines under Euronorm6 after the diesel scandal came to light in 2015. The revelations were published before Chancellor Angela Merkel opens the International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

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A green vision for our mobility system in 2050

Tackling air pollution and protecting citizens health

On 26 June, thanks to an initiative from Brussels residents and campaign group ClientEarth, the European Union Court of Justice ruled that European cities need to do much more effort to reduce pollution levels. The level of pollution in European cities - particularly from vehicle diesel engines - has become a major threat to public health.

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How did the car industry manage to undermine EU pollution limits?

The dangers of technocratic decision-making on public health and the environment

Despite an EU law limiting the amount of pollution that cars could emit, the car industry - together with complicit EU governments - managed not only to delay the implementation of the rules, but to insert massive loopholes that essentially rendered the new pollution limits meaningless. How this happened is a scandal that is yet to be fixed.

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EU must change from a kerosene tax paradise to a global pioneer for climate action

Aviation/CO2 tax

The non-governmental organisation "Transport and Environment" today published a study, kept secret by the European Commission, on the consequences of a kerosene tax on aviation.

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New CO2 emissions standards for trucks and heavy goods vehicles

Quote from Bas Eickhout MEP

Today, the European Parliament voted by a large majority to approve the new CO2 emissions standards for trucks and other heavy goods vehicles. The CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles regulation will see new trucks and heavy goods vehicles reduce their CO2 emissions by 15% by 2025, and...

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