Following Urgenda‘s successful Climate Case in 2019, where the Dutch Supreme Court upheld the previous decisions in the Urgenda Climate Case, finding that the Dutch government has obligations to urgently and significantly reduce emissions in line with its human rights obligations, next, in another landmark case the Court in the Hague has ordered Shell to – immediatelly – start cutting […]

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group, composed of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF), announce increased cooperation to implement the new EU Sustainable Blue Economy policy. Both institutions will work jointly with the EU Member States to meet existing financing needs to reduce pollution in European seas and support investment for blue innovation and […]

Today, the European Commission adopted the EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil” – a key deliverable of the European Green Deal. It sets out an integrated vision for 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, as well as the steps […]

The majority of industry emissions comes from 4 material groups: Steel, cement, aluminum, chemicals. Global demand for the 4 focus materials is expected to increase – exacerbating the emission challenge. Getting to a 1.5°C pathway requires significant emissions reduction in all 4 material groups. There is still a large potential to improve circular material flows […]

European firms will have the capacity to supply all the lithium-ion batteries needed for the continent’s automakers by 2025 as they ramp up electric vehicle output to meet strict pollution limits, EU officials said Friday. The bloc is banking on its European Battery Alliance, launched in 2017, to reduce its reliance on batteries and other […]

It’s time to leave behind current wasteful and polluting models to usher in growth-based business models and innovative regenerative strategies. Scaling circular economy efforts globally will mean triggering strategic shifts across sectors. Approximately $57 billion of global electronic waste is generated every year. Additionally, food loss and waste accounts for $950 billion in lost value – a […]

ASEAN energy ministers agreed to set a target of 23% share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply in the region and 35% in ASEAN installed power capacity by 2025. This would require approximately 35GW-40GW of renewable energy capacity to be added by 2025. Solar PV and hydropower are expected to support the majority […]

Of mice and men … Microplastic particles that are exposed to fresh water or saltwater for several weeks are more likely to be absorbed by mouse cells growing in the laboratory, suggesting that environmental microplastics may be able to enter cells more easily than we thought. Studies investigating the potential effects of ingested microplastics in animals often […]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union could produce enough batteries by 2025 to power its fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles without relying on imported cells, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday. As part of its plan to become climate neutral by 2050, the EU wants to boost local production of the building […]

The European Commission wants to increase the EU’s offshore wind energy production capacity from the current 12 GW (GigaWatts) to at least 300 GW by 2050, it said on its press conference today. Shorter term, the plans aim to make offshore wind capacity hit at least 60 GW by 2030.Investment needs (mainly private) are estimated […]

Cross-border frictions prevent economies of scale in tackling plastic pollution. Trade facilitation can help increase the “three Rs” – reduce, re-use and recycle. Governments and firms must collaborate to scale the circular economy at a global level. Action on plastic pollution has been slowed considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic – but there’s a new emerging […]

Microplastic pollution from car tyres could be(come) an even bigger problem than single-use plastics. Today, The Guardian wrote about a recent research, published in the journal Nature Communications, about car tyres being the major source of ocean microplastics“More than 200,000 tonnes of tiny plastic particles are blown from roads into the oceans every year, according to […]

The ocean is estimated to contain at least 86 million tonnes of plastic waste, as well as chemical and other pollutants. Fishing debris turned into sunglasses and deep sea robots collecting pollution data are some of the innovations that could help clean up our seas. Sustainability is high on leaders’ agenda as nations and businesses […]

Massive programmes of green public investment would be the most cost-effective way both to revive virus-hit economies and strike a decisive blow against climate change, top U.S. and British economists said in a study published on Tuesday. With co-authors including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz from Columbia University and prominent British climate expert Lord Nicholas Stern, […]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global emergency, bringing devastation to millions around the world, impacting lives and jobs, and grinding much of the global economy to a halt. It’s a crisis that has shown our vulnerability and confirmed our under-estimation of the probability and exponential nature of systemic risks. It calls on all of us […]

The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan – one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth. Building on the work done since 2015, the new Plan focuses on the design and production for a circular economy, with the aim to ensure that the resources used are […]

Economic growth has exacerbated the plastic waste problem – but it contains the solution too. Targeted investment can bridge the finance gap hampering Asia’s waste sector. Investment in just five countries could reduce plastic ocean flows by 45%. Asia’s exponential growth has made it into a powerful economic force, but it also has placed the […]

Will Europe become the world’s first climate neutral continent? It might, now that the EC’s proposed Green Deal been been backed by the European Parliament and by the European Council? Almost the entire European legislation is being turned around to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The package of measures that European […]

Politicians, economists and even some natural scientists have tended to assume that tipping points in the Earth system — such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the West Antarctic ice sheet — are of low probability and little understood. Yet evidence is mounting that these events could be more likely than was thought, […]

Awesome call to action – watch this video till the end. “Plastic is an incredible substance for the economy — and the worst substance possible for the environment”, says entrepreneur Andrew Forrest. In a conversation meant to spark debate, Forrest and head of TED Chris Anderson discuss an ambitious plan to get the world’s biggest […]

Could we talk about the elephant in the room (or the elephant in Boyan’s boat for that matter)? Assuming The Ocean Cleanup succeeds in its mission and if we disregard the question if the plastic waste should be collected near-coast instead of at deep sea, the real question remains: how is the plastic waste further […]

Throwing away the cigarette filter in nature after finishing smoking. In some cultures it seems like a normal daily practice. For many an unconscious act, or considered harmless: it’s made from biobased materials so it can be littered without harming the environtment, right? Wrong. Research results, recently published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety,  […]

The plastic litter- and waste management crisis is clearly explained in this infographic by The Guardian. Solutions are being developed to clean the oceans from plastics, such as the OceanCleanup Project, but these are corrective solutions – if it will function at all. And even then, it can only cleanup (a part of) the plastics […]

The Council of the EU has approved new rules on single–use plastics to reduce marine litter. Not only does this tackle global plastic litter problems at grass-roots level, moreover, it paves the way to transitioning into a circular economy. Critics might argue that this is just a small step, which directly affects the population of […]

Despite its name, “Oxo-degradable”, these kind of plastics are NOT biodegradable. They are, in fact, destructive to the environment and should be banned. Other plastics can be a part of the solution within the circular economy, f.I. when from biobased origin or because of its biodegradable functionality. Oil-based plastics also fit within circular design, provided […]

Cassandra’s no-brainer. If we care about plastic waste, why won’t we stop drinking bottled water? Before buying your next bottled water please consider the following facts first: Most of the bottled water you buy is just glorified tap water. There are a few brands whose water really comes from springs and mountain streams, but most […]

European Commission – Press release Brussels, 4 March 2019 All 54 actions under the plan launched in 2015 have now been delivered or are being implemented. This will contribute to boost Europe’s competitiveness, modernise its economy and industry to create jobs, protect the environment and generate sustainable growth. The European Commission today published a comprehensive […]

“Electronic waste is deemed a hazardous waste by the EU due to toxic parts containing substances such as mercury, lead and flame retardants. Exports of this type of waste to non-OECD and non-EU countries are illegal under EU law.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/07/uk-worst-offender-in-europe-for-electronic-waste-exports-report It goes without saying that exporting criminals must be hit hard under national law of […]

In a joint initiative, stakeholders around/within the construction value chain have signed a covenant for climate-adaptive building. The coalition consists of, among others, construction companies, municipalities, the province of South-Holland, water boards, social organizations, financiers and project developers. Through the development of new design principles and standards, stimulation of innovations and more trial locations, the […]

The court in The Hague has upheld a historic legal order on the Dutch government to accelerate carbon emissions cuts, a day after the world’s climate scientists warned that time was running out to avoid dangerous warming. The case inspires citizens from other countries to hold their governments accountable, by starting/continuing similar lawsuits. Urgenda’s Press […]