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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.

To stop global heating, tax multinationals better

Eva Joly 22nd September 2021

The rapid, radical decarbonisation needed to save the planet will cost a lot. Taxing multinationals and the wealthy properly can help pay for it.

Time is running out for a new agricultural model for the global south

Jayati Ghosh 20th September 2021

Jayati Ghosh is baffled that at a coming food summit the UN should partner with the World Economic Forum, not its own specialist agencies.

Norway’s oil and money up for grabs in the coming election

Carlos Joly 8th September 2021

Norway’s electorate has an existential choice to face about its Oil Fund, associated with domestic prosperity but looming climate catastrophe.

Not seeing the wood for the trees—the EU’s environmental blunder

George Tyler 7th September 2021

Supporting a conversion to wood burning has unwittingly incentivised power plants to increase greenhouse gases.

National egoism versus planetary responsibility

Joschka Fischer 23rd August 2021

Tackling the climate crisis is fundamentally incompatible with our understanding of sovereignty.

Climate change: labour’s neglected role

Chris Baldry and Jeff Hyman 30th July 2021

The Paris Agreement’s goals can not be fulfilled if neoliberalism prevails—which means only labour’s participation can bring success.

Maximising the potential of the European Green Deal

Jon Bloomfield and Fred Steward 30th July 2021

The European Green Deal doesn’t deserve uncritical support—but nor does it need sniping from the sidelines.

Amazon no longer absorbs carbon—has the world reached the point of no return?

Isabel Schatzschneider 28th July 2021

The news that the Amazon rainforest is no longer a carbon sink puts a further big question-mark against the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

Pollution: no acceptable levels

Patrick ten Brink, Margherita Tolotto and Sergiy Moroz 15th June 2021

‘Zero pollution’ is a very good goal for the European Union to adopt—but only if zero means zero.

A first tango in Glasgow?

Delara Burkhardt 15th June 2021

A new transatlantic relationship is critical to any hope of global realisation of the goals of the Paris agreement.

People v Shell: from ‘corporate social responsibility’ to legal accountability

Alejandro García Esteban and Jill McArdle 14th June 2021

The successful action by citizens and NGOs in a Dutch court against Shell has sent a frisson through corporate boardrooms—with reason.

The climate X factor

Sanna Marin 26th May 2021

The climate and biodiversity crises we face demand not only carbon-neutral energy sources but also a circular economy.

Ethical consumerism meets ‘eco-awakening’

Isabel Schatzschneider 22nd May 2021

If consumers are not given the tools to go green, then their eco-awakening could doom the climate.

How to achieve a ‘health renaissance’

Éloi Laurent, Fabio Battaglia, Alessandro Galli, Giorgia Dalla Libera Marchiori and Raluca Munteanu 19th May 2021

Health and the environment have often been seen as costs on ‘the economy’. The pandemic has shown they are its foundations.

The climate verdict of the German Constitutional Court

Felix Ekardt and Franziska Heß 4th May 2021

A ruling last week by the German Constitutional Court in favour of ecological NGOs has major significance—and not just for Germany.

Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap

James Dyke, Robert Watson and Wolfgang Knorr 27th April 2021

The US has joined the EU in committing to net-zero emissions by 2050—and the latter to 55 per cent net lower emissions by 2030. Scientists fear the ‘net’ could, once more, displace urgency.

From the wealth of nations to the health of nations

Nick Meynen and Katy Wiese 22nd April 2021

A new report sets out a blueprint for a European wellbeing economy.

A long-overdue step on EU sustainability reporting

Sigurt Vitols 21st April 2021

A draft directive on sustainability reporting begins to address the challenge of turning the corporate tanker towards a zero-emissions 2050.

Driving the next stage of European green recovery

Brian O'Callaghan and David Tritsch 6th April 2021

Amid much rhetoric of a green recovery, only about a quarter of associated spending in Europe fits the bill—despite the benefits.

Green markets won’t save us

Katharina Pistor 24th March 2021

Markets are an unreliable guide for navigating a problem as large and complex as climate change.

Europe’s de­carbonisation challenge? ‘Wir schaffen das’

Adam Tooze 22nd March 2021

Adam Tooze writes on the roadmaps to net-zero by 2050. Is a just transition for Europe realistic?

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