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Ecology


Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher. We use the values of freedom, sustainability and equality as the foundation on which we examine society’s most pressing challenges. We are committed to publishing cutting-edge thinking and new ideas from the most thought-provoking people. This archive page brings together Social Europe articles on ecology.

Europe needs drastic pesticide reduction

Martin Dermine 10th March 2022

A leaked proposal from the European Commission would favour the agrochemical industry, not the citizenry.

Climate accountability now

Mary Robinson 15th February 2022

Major emitters must deliver on critical ‘climate justice’ issues, such as financing for vulnerable countries.

Europe’s utilities: net zero or not zero?

Sarah Brown 10th February 2022

Europe’s largest energy companies are failing on their net-zero pledges.

Green taxonomy: traffic-light coalition flashes amber

Isabel Schatzschneider 26th January 2022

The EU’s controversial proposal to label nuclear energy ‘green’ could jeopardise the future of the German coalition.

Building back greener?

Michaela Holl and Claudio Baccianti 26th January 2022

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is important but will not mobilise sufficient green investment by itself.

EU cash floodgates open for nuclear and gas

Barbara Mariani 25th January 2022

There is no environmental, climate or economic reason to include nuclear and fossil gas in the EU investment taxonomy.

Social-ecological policy options: free green services

Milena Büchs 17th January 2022

How to avoid ecological policies having adverse social effects? Make the associated services (partly) free.

‘Leaving no one behind’: putting words into actions

Mehtap Akgüç, Kalina Arabadjieva, Béla Galgóczi and 2 more 13th January 2022

The climate transition and its social dimension demand more powerful instruments than the European Commission proposes.

European Green Deal: can it tackle the climate crisis?

Satoko Kishimoto, Louisa Valentin and Louisa Valentin 4th January 2022

Public-private partnerships must be replaced by public-community collaborations for wellbeing and the climate.

High-speed rail along a ‘European silk road’

Katharina Weber, Maximilian Zangl and Mario Holzner 23rd December 2021

The Recovery and Resilience Facility aims to finance national projects. Yet a pan-European rail network could yield big emissions cuts.

Buildings key to achieving Europe’s climate goals

Edoardo Concari Coppola 15th December 2021

There are fears the revised directive on energy performance due from the European Commission will not be adequate to the task.

Burying the problem: carbon markets and sustainable agriculture

Célia Nyssens 15th December 2021

The European Commission initiative on ‘carbon farming’ due today is expected to rely on a market in sequestration.

Germany’s new coalition: changing gear on climate

Isabel Schatzschneider 10th December 2021

Germany’s ‘traffic light’ coalition is sending strong green signals. But political roadblocks lie ahead.

Getting to zero—what’s the beef?

George Tyler 3rd December 2021

Most livestock land will have to be repurposed as carbon sinks to remove the huge global emissions related to food production.

The right institutions for the climate transition

Mariana Mazzucato 22nd November 2021

Global climate commitments will not amount to much without the institutional foundation the transition to a zero-carbon economy needs.

Fixing climate finance

Jeffrey D Sachs 17th November 2021

Finance was at the heart of the COP26 rupture between developed and developing countries—it’s time for a new approach.

How the climate crisis is changing Europe’s economic landscape

Jon Bloomfield 17th November 2021

After four decades, the pandemic and especially the climate crisis have silenced the exponents of fiscal orthodoxy. Keynes is back.

Jobs and a just transition can deliver climate ambition

Sharan Burrow 9th November 2021

As COP26 continues, global social ambition will have to match that for the climate to secure a liveable world for all.

Time for a proactive domestic and European industrial policy

Yelter Bollen and Tycho Van Hauwaert 9th November 2021

There is growing recognition in Europe of the need to steer an ecological industrial transition—just not enough.

The gamble for the planet: young climate activists could tilt the scales

Isabel Schatzschneider 6th November 2021

Government leaders in Glasgow are still behind the climate curve but young activists might just drag the world ahead of it.

Climate conference: fix article 6

Khaled Diab 5th November 2021

Alongside ambitious emissions-reductions targets, well-functioning carbon markets are key to success at COP26 and on today’s agenda.

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Minimum wages in 2022: annual review

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Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

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