This archive tracks progress tied to the European Union, the political and economic bloc representing member states across Europe. Stories here cover E.U. policies, agreements, and initiatives that advance health, climate, human rights, and economic well-being.
Under the new law, an agreement between member states and the European Parliament, the bloc will cut carbon emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The European Union’s executive branch announced new rules for plastic waste—including a ban on some exports to poorer countries—that will take effect on January 1.
The deal was reached after the EU agreed on a $2.2 trillion budget Thursday evening that includes funds for transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels fell by 18 percent, squeezed both by rising renewable generation and a seven-percent fall in electricity demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Farm to Fork Strategy proposes dedicating €10 billion toward the research and innovation on “food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, and the environment as well as the use of digital technologies and nature-based solutions for agri-food.”
The European Commission has committed to protecting 30% of the EU’s land and oceans by 2030. The 10-year plan includes reducing chemical pesticides by 50% and planting 3 billion trees by 2030.
In the next few weeks, the European Union’s Food Safety Authority is expected to classify several types of insects as safe for human consumption.
The new laws will ensure that new products brought to the EU market are repairable, recyclable, and designed to last longer than our current phones and tablets.
The drug, which has already been given to hundreds of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, can now be distributed more widely.
The so-called “Right to Repair” law says spare parts should remain available for at least seven to ten years after the appliance has been sold.
