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On 30 November 2022, as part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission presented the legislative proposal for a Union certification framework for carbon removals. The initiative was first announced in the March 2020 new circular economy action plan and again highlighted in the climate target plan, as well as in the 'fit for 55' revision of the Regulation on land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), as an essential tool to drive progress towards the 2050 climate neutrality target. ...

Currently, there is no EU-wide legislation specifically on soil, although many policy instruments relevant to soil protection are in place. Under the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission presented a new EU soil strategy for 2030, with the aim of having all EU soil ecosystems in a healthy condition by 2050. To achieve this objective, on 5 July 2023 it tabled a proposal for a soil monitoring and resilience directive, laying down measures for monitoring ...

In December 2021, the European Commission proposed a revision of Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law. The proposal seeks to clarify some of the terms contained in the directive and includes an updated list of environmental crime offences, harmonised sanction types and levels, measures to strengthen international investigation and prosecution, improvements to the collection of statistical data, and measures to improve national enforcement chains. Ultimately ...

This briefing provides an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above-mentioned proposal, which was submitted on 15 December 2021 and referred to the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). Despite the lack of systematic statistical data, environmental, social and economic damage caused by environmental crimes has been widely documented. Directive 2008/99/EC (the Environmental Crime Directive, ECD) was ...

Ecodesign and energy labelling policies play an important role in the decarbonisation of the energy system. Ecodesign bans the least-efficient products from the market, while energy labelling guides consumers towards the most energy efficient products. While the Ecodesign Directive focused largely on energy aspects, its revision became necessary in light of the transition to a circular economy where the use of natural resources is reassessed to maximise their value and minimise their waste. The recently ...

The European Union is party to the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. The Aarhus Regulation applies the Convention's provisions to EU institutions and bodies. In 2017, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, reviewing implementation by the parties, found that the EU fails to comply with its obligations under Article 9, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the convention concerning access to justice by members of ...

This study analyses the clarity and adaptability of EU environmental law and how these could be improved by means of regulatory options, by looking at four core EU environmental directives, in the field of water, air, nature and waste. Recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of environmental law in European Union The research has been prepared at the request of the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs as asked by the Committee on ...

Am 21. April 2021 erzielten die Verhandlungsführer des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates der EU eine vorläufige Einigung über den Legislativvorschlag für ein europäisches Klimagesetz, einen Eckstein des europäischen Grünen Deals. Mit der neuen Verordnung wird ein Rahmen für die Verwirklichung der Klimaneutralität in der EU bis 2050 geschaffen. Darin wird ein Ziel für 2030 festgelegt, die Nettotreibhausgasemissionen der EU im Vergleich zu den Zahlen von 1990 um 55 % zu senken. Außerdem wird vorgesehen ...

This briefing provides an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above-mentioned communication on the new EU strategy on adaptation to climate change (new adaptation strategy), which aims to realise the 2050 vision of a climate-resilient EU. The IA was published on 24 February 2021 and was subsequently referred to the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Pubic Health and Food Safety (ENVI). The Commission's ...

Auf der Plenartagung im Mai soll das Parlament über den Bericht seines Umweltausschusses über einen Vorschlag abstimmen, mit dem sichergestellt werden soll, dass die EU ihren Verpflichtungen als Vertragspartei des Übereinkommens von Aarhus über den Zugang zu Informationen, die Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung an Entscheidungsverfahren und den Zugang zu Gerichten in Umweltangelegenheiten aus dem Jahr 1998 nachkommt.