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Green or greenwashed? President Juncker put to the test
The environmental mobilisation has reached the corridors of power. Here are the tests, in the next semester, for the new Commission to show they are not ignoring civil society and progressive businesses.
by Luca Bonaccorsi
No, this is not the Commission we would have chosen. It does not seem to have nature and innovation at its heart. It speaks “growth” rather than development, “deregulation” rather than the protection of common goods, and “competitiveness” instead of sustainability. It does not speak our language, even when it uses our vocabulary.
And yet, it is not the same Commission that was announced by Jean-Claude Juncker on September 29th. Some changes have been made after the hearings, the most prominent of which being the appearance of the “sustainability” dossier in Vice President Timmermans’ portfolio and mandate.
Our mobilisation has reached the corridors of power and President Juncker has clearly gone a long way to reassure the environmental movement in his final speech at the European Parliament. Civil society and the progressive business community have certainly raised their voiced in the past few weeks. It is undeniable that the gathering of more than half a million signatures in a few days, to try and stop Cañete from becoming the Energy and Climate Commissioner, is a sign of how alert the European environmentalist conscience is on fighting Climate change. Unfortunately it is also hard to forget that when the top candidates of the ruling Grand Coalition where at stake (i.e. Popular Cañete and Socialist Moscovici) the grip of the political pact proved tight and impenetrable.
So is the Juncker Commission green or greenwashed? We will soon find out, 2015 is dense with relevant deadlines.
President Juncker cannot be blamed for the truly disappointing deal on the 2030 Climate and Energy package, but he will need to show soon stronger ambition and leadership. It is just a matter of months before a decision is taken on the EU Bioenergy Strategy.
How many fields will shift away from food to fuels? How many trees will be chopped down and burnt in the name of wrong GHG emissions calculations? That’s what Trees Robijns explains.
Will the Commission finally take its biodiversity strategy seriously, and demand proper Restoration Prioritisation Frameworks from Member States? Wouter Langhout explains in his article the consequences of a failure on this front.
Will the new rules on Invasive Alien Species follow the advice of science, or that of the fur industry, argues Carles Carboneras?
Will veterinary Diclofenac finally be banned, asks Iván Ramírez, avoiding the massacre and near extinction of vultures like the one experienced in Asia?
And then, the mother of all battles: the defense of the Birds and Habitats Directives. A struggle that is here to stay and mobilise all our energies in the coming years. Read Ariel Brunner as he explains why butchering Nature protection rules will damage nature and the very business community it is supposed to please.
To our Central Asian friends who, at this point, are thinking this is an EU-centric issue of the newsletter, one clarification: the EU has been a pioneer in environmental legislation for decades. It is here, in the heart of Europe, that we’ve set the example and the groundwork for global progress in nature and social protection, and in the transition towards a low carbon economy. Europe’ return to Jurassic politics is not a European issue, it’s a global one.
And for those who care about their health and skip happily EU politics... some heartwarming stories from the Birdlife partnership:
Read how in the weekend 4-5 October families, bird lovers and curious gathered in number to participate in the most exciting nature event of the autumn: Eurobirdwatch
And learn about the important declines of UK migratory birds wintering in Africa
Finally discover how work done by HOS and WWF to control illegal killing of birds in Greece helped stop an illegal trader last month
Enjoy. See you next month.
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Nature in the crosshair
The Birds and Habitats Directives are the bedrock of nature conservation in the EU, and yet now they’re under attack in the name of business. Trashing rules will backfire and damage, rather than favour, investments. By Ariel Brunner
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Why the EU will fail to deliver on ecosystem restoration
What are “Restoration Prioritization Frameworks”, and why do they risk undermining the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020? By Wouter Langhout
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Up for decision: land for food or fuel?
Will land based biofuels be limited? Will the second generation repeat the fiasco? Will they keep damaging nature and be as bad as fossil fuels in terms of GHG emissions? By Trees Robijns
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The aliens among us
The new EU Regulation against Invasive Alien Species enters into force. Now the fight moves onto the list of forbidden species. The Danish fur industry, the German biofuel sector and the Hungarian honey producers will lobby hard not to have their product included. By Carles Carboneras
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Is Europe closer to saving its vultures and eagles?
Despite killing nearly all vultures in Asia, veterinary diclofenac was made legal in Europe in 2013. After intense campaigning by Birdlife, EU institutions are finally considering a ban. By Iván Ramírez
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Homework to do for Europe after CBD COP12
After two weeks of intense negotiations at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 12), the delegations of European Union Member States and the European Commission return with a lot of homework. By Konstantin Kreiser
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BirdLife Partnership stories
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Eurobirdwatch 2014 sees 2.5 million migrants in the air
On 4–5 October, over 23,000 people took part in the most exciting nature event of the autumn - Eurobirdwatch - to observe birds migrating to southern countries. Read more...
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Watch the honeymoon of Cory’s Shearwaters from The Azores as it happens
Thanks to the project Lua de mel by SPEA, you can now follow the progress of a Cory’s Shearwater family in Azores, from nest construction to raising chicks. Read more...
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New report reveals scale of declines of UK migratory birds wintering in Africa
The latest State of the UK’s Birds report includes for the first time trends for 29 migrant species that show dramatic declines: over 70% since the late 1980s. Read more...
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Autumn of discoveries: new findings in the Romanian flora and fauna
This autumn was marked by two important species discoveries for our Partner SOR. Read more...
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New measures to tackle bird trafficking in Greece stop an illegal trader
HOS (BirdLife in Greece) and WWF work to control illegal killing of Birds in Greece contributed to stop an illegal trader. Read more...
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This publication receives its support by the European Commission and the RSPB