In response to the global problem of marine litter and plastic pollution, which is projected to triple by 2040, the Governments of Ecuador, Germany, Ghana and Vietnam will jointly organize a Ministerial Conference on Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution, most likely on 1 Sep 2021. The objective is to adopt an ambitious Ministerial Declaration paving the way for the UNEA5 to adopt a negotiating mandate for a global plastics agreement in Feb 2022. The first pre-meeting to the Ministerial Conference on 27-28 May with more 500 participants including governments, NGO’s, industry showed broad support for launching the negotiations for a legally binding global agreement for plastics through a circular economy/life cycle approach. DG ENV is now working with the EEAS to prepare a targeted outreach in run up to UNEA 5.2. with the primary focus on like-minded (signatories to New York declaration) and open-minded countries (e.g. Indonesia, India, Malaysia, South Africa).
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The World Environment Day on 5 June 2021 saw the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The scientists identified 2030 as the timeline for humanity’s last chance to counter ‘triple environmental emergency’ of biodiversity loss, climate disruption and pollution’. UNEP’s report ‘Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate was also released on the day. It urges countries to deliver on their existing commitments to restore one billion hectares of degraded land and make similar commitments for marine and coastal areas.
The EU is determined to intensify measures to tackle the global problem of deforestation and forest degradation and relevant commitments are included in the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Acting on these commitments, the Commission is now working on the new legislation to reduce the impact of EU consumption on deforestation and forest degradation. The proposal is expected in autumn with the two-fold objective: boost the consumption of sustainably produced commodities by promoting transparent and deforestation-free global supply chains and prevent the placement of products and commodities that may be associated with deforestation on the EU market.
In line with the commitment in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Commission is working on a proposal for the new measures to tighten the rules on ivory trade in the EU. The draft measures were published in January 2021 and the final proposal is now under examination by the EU Member States Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora. The proposal was subject to public consultation and attracted over 90,000 responses. The proposal is now under examination by the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora.
In April 2021, the EP Committee on International Trade (INTA) adopted an opinion on the trade aspects of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The opinion highlights that unsustainable trade - bilateral or multilateral - contributes to the drastic biodiversity loss, in particular with regard to trade in wildlife and certain agricultural commodities. It further calls on the EU to use its position as a major global player to set the benchmark on standards for sustainable food systems, environmental protection and animal welfare. The opinion recommends to the Commission to focus on a ‘process and production method’ (PPM) approach when drawing up measures to fight biodiversity loss, rather than focusing on the product itself, in line with the WTO rules. It also takes a stand on phasing out fossil fuels subsidies urgently and calls on the Commission to explore a white list of endangered species to combat illegal trade.
The key deliverable of the EU-Japan Summit was the Green Alliance – the first of its kind. The Alliance has a very strong environmental dimension reflecting the overall spirit of the European Green Deal and DG ENV top priorities. As such, it includes a joint commitment to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, circular economy, sustainable supply chains and the global plastics agreement. The intention is to deepen green cooperation with Japan, to make it more visible and promote the green agenda together at a global level.
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The plan is a key deliverable of the European Green Deal and sets out an overarching, integrated vision for achieving by 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, whilst respecting our planetary boundaries. In addition, as pollution does not stop at borders and as the EU acknowledges that it is both the victim and the source of pollution, the Action Plan foresees reinforced external efforts. These inter alia include transboundary water cooperation; restricting exports of products and waste that cause harm in the third countries; better control of trade in e-waste as well as a global initiative on the export of end-of-life vehicles.
The EU top priorities, including the green recovery and green transition, are well reflected in this new strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation. In line with the Communication, the Commission will reinforce its support for international cooperation in climate and environmental science e.g. through IPCC, IPBES and IRP), clean tech development as well as in the uptake of the EU green standards globally. Horizon Europe will include dedicated research topics for climate action, environmental protection, pollution reduction, circular economy, sustainable food systems and just transition; these would be open to participation by non-EU countries.
The report investigates the interlinkages between the circular economy and trade and explores how to make them mutually supportive at a policy level. It focuses on the multilateral trade regime and regional trade agreements as well as on the specific trade-linked policies to promote the circular economy, such as extended producer responsibility and product stewardship schemes, taxes and subsidies, green public procurement, environmental labelling schemes and standards.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 contains over 100 actions to be implemented by 2030 by EU to halt and reverse the dramatic loss of biodiversity. 2021 will be a key year in implementing the Strategy, with over 40 deliverables including some key policy initiatives such as action plans and strategies on pollution, organic farming, forests, soils, fisheries resources and marine ecosystems, a new law on nature restoration, a new initiative on deforestation, and adoption of a new, ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework.
The EU supports the introduction of the ‘national commitments’ concept in efforts to strengthen the mechanisms for monitoring and review of the future-post-2020 global biodiversity framework. On resource mobilization, the EU advocates for a broad approach, i.e. mobilizing public and private finance, phasing out harmful subsidies and seeking better synergies with the climate finance. There is, however, a divide between the developed and developing countries with the latter calling for increased ODA and referring to ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’.
The Align project (Aligning accounting approaches for nature) – funded by the European Commission - will support businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders in developing standardised natural capital accounting practices, including a standardised approach to biodiversity measurement. Seeking to engage relevant business stakeholders directly, the project will be implemented by a group of partners including UNEP, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre; ; the Capitals Coalition; Arcadis and ICF.
In line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Commission is committed to better assess the impact of EU free trade agreements (FTAs) on biodiversity and ecosystems, such as forests and wetlands. The new methodology will contribute to further improve the sustainability impact assessments and ex-post evaluations of EU FTAs. It will also support the objectives of the European Green Deal. It is now being tested in the context of the ex-post evaluation of the EU-Colombia/Ecuador/Peru trade agreement.
May 2021 GPP News Alert
The EU, teaming up with the United Nations Environment Programme, and in coordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, launched the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE). The Alliance is one of the deliverables of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan. Alongside the EU, fourteen countries (Canada, Chile, Colombia, Japan, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda, Morocco, South Africa and South Korea) have already joined the Alliance. A number of other countries are also considering their membership including Switzerland, Mexico, and Singapore. The second working meeting took place on 1 Jun 2021.
Both in Europe and worldwide, actions are in place to increase the rates of product use and recycling and transition to a more circular economy. However, without accurate data on product lifetimes, it is difficult to understand whether, when and which interventions would be appropriate and effective. This study applies ‘material flow analysis’ to UK construction industry data to produce a novel method of identification for product lifetimes. Click here to read more
Global annual production of plastic, primarily from fossil fuels, exceeds 300 megatonnes (Mt) a year. A study compares European initiatives to improve recycling of three widely used plastics — polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — to achieve policy targets for reducing virgin plastic production. The material flow of these plastics in Europe — lifetimes, demand growth rates and quality reductions of recycled plastic — are considered over a 50-year timeframe. Click here to read more
When emitted into the environment, chemicals pose a threat to water resources depending on their bioaccumulation potential, persistence and mobility in aquatic environments. A study now compares the ‘level of concern’ for substances that are persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT or, if very persistent and very mobile, vPvM) to those that are bioaccumulative rather than mobile (PBT or vPvB); currently the latter are under particular scrutiny from EU chemicals regulation. While previously PMT/vPvM chemicals were not regulated in the EU, a recent strategy document1 has now focused on establishing substance criteria for PMT which may pose an equivalent risk. Click here to read more
The LIFEproETV project aims to explore the potential of Environmental Technology Verification (ETV), communicate it to stakeholders and thereby boost the market acceptance and recognition of the scheme. The project is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and its activities will run until December 2022.