Print Magazine
Brussels Morning Newspaper
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
No Result
View All Result
Home EU Institutions Parliament

Parliament’s hearing on EU biodiversity loss calls for urgent action

Marta Pacheco by Marta Pacheco
26 January 2021
in Parliament
Parliament’s hearing on EU biodiversity loss calls for urgent action
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Brussels (Brussels Morning) Urgency in dealing with the loss of biodiversity across the EU territory was discussed today at the European Parliament. The public hearing gave the floor to policy makers and NGOs in the environmental sector, including the European Environment Agency (EEA) EcoHealth Alliance and WWF. 

The hearing follows up on the recent EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 tabled by the Parliament on 11 December, in a promise to address the detrimental loss of healthy soil and seas. In particular, the hearing sought to assess the role of the EU Strategy in addressing “the sixth mass extinction” and the increased “risk of pandemics”.

General statements during the parliamentary hearing were agreed that the Common Agricultural Policy is not working and that it is not responding to the European Green Deal’s goals.

Hans Bruyninckx, the European Environment Agency’s Executive-Director, declared that “agriculture practices, the continuing landscape fragmentation and the increased pollution” are responsible in no small way for the increase in climate change and that they have a nefarious impact on biodiversity.

“Restoration is fundamental”, Bruyninckx said, alluding to the profound transformation of the land use in an attempt to restore biodiversity in the EU. “We need to focus on the proper management of biodiversity”, he added.

Sabien Leemans, WWF’s Policy Officer said that “transformative solutions” are needed “to halt and reverse current trends of biodiversity loss, to tackle climate change and to achieve the sustainable development goals”. 

Overall, all participants urged a broader understanding that the environmental decline is not without consequences. “Urgent action is needed to tackle the drivers of nature deterioration and it needs to happen on an unprecedented scale”, Leemans said. 

“There’s an urgent need to scale-up efforts and to design an effective post-2020 global biodiversity framework (CBD, COP15)”, the OECD Biodiversity Team Leader Katia Karousakis observed.

Following today’s hearing, the Commission is set to present its proposal on the General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030. The proposal seeks to increase coherence and synergies between environmental and climate actions across all levels of governance.

EU boosts budget for the environment

On 11 January, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended the One Planet Summit, in Paris, where she spoke of the need for a more resilient ecosystem. 

“When we lose forests, we don’t ‘just’ lose green space or natural habitat. We lose a key ally in our fight against climate change. When temperatures rise and nature disappears, we suffer more natural disasters and zoonotic diseases”, von der Leyen said. “We will invest several hundred million euros over the next four years for research: on biodiversity, animal health, emerging diseases and much more”, the president noted.

“Restoring the environment is a triple win for nature, climate and people”, the Commissioner for the Environment, Ocean and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, declared.  

By the end of 2021 the Commission is to put forward a proposal for legally binding nature restoration targets.

Tags: Brussels LatestEU biodiversityMain-SliderParliamentParliament-Feature
Follow Brussels Morning
Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

About Us

Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

More Info

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Cookie Policy
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Jobs

Categories

  • Belgium News
  • Brussels
  • Culture and Society
  • Economy
  • EU Institutions
  • Commission
  • Council
  • Parliament
  • Europe
  • Features
  • Health & Fitness
  • In Depth
  • Ambassador’s Corner
  • Europe With Transparency
  • Place de la Bourse
  • Southeast Europe
  • Sustainable Perspective
  • The American Angle
  • The Macro-Economist
  • Member States
  • Opinion
  • Our pick
  • Uncategorised
  • World
  • Diplomacy
  • Middle East Eye
  • US Elections
  • Join Our Newsletter

    Brussels Morning Newspaper – All Rights Reserved © 2020

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Brussels Bubble
      • Parliament
      • Commission
      • Council
    • Wider Europe
      • Member States
    • World
    • Business & Society
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Culture & Society
    • Policy Talks
      • Place de la Bourse
      • The Macro-Economist
      • Sustainable Perspective
      • Ambassador’s Corner
      • The American Angle
      • Southeast Europe
    • Print Magazine

    Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT