EU Green Week 2022 Highlights

Stressing the importance of listening to young voices, Commissioner Sinkevičius met youth representatives from across the EU and Ukraine. Youth delegates posed their questions under five themes: nature and biodiversity, the consequences of war and the pandemic, fashion and textiles, food production and joint action.

What happens if wars, economic downturns, pandemics and food crises overshadow environmental policy? Tackling this tough question, speakers highlighted the need to keep environmental priorities high on the political agenda. Ruslan Strilets, Ukrainian Minister for the Environment, spoke of the Russian crimes against people, infrastructure and the planet, highlighting that “Nature is priceless” and a price must be put on this damage.

Including a video appearance from Sir David Attenborough, this session marked the 30th anniversary of the LIFE Awards. Three projects in the fields of nature protection, environment, and climate action were recognised, with the LIFE Citizens’ Prize awarded to the public’s favourite project, and a special tribute paid to a successful LIFE project implemented in the Natura 2000 network.

In this lively discussion, speakers zoned in on the Commission’s legal proposal to make sustainable products the norm and how new business models are critical to achieve change. On the systemic transition to sustainable products, Professor Jan Jonker said “It’s not always going to be popular, but it’s absolutely necessary if we want to keep on living within the boundaries of this planet”.

This session centered on the polluter pays principle and how it should be better applied at EU level, bringing questions of fairness and justice to the forefront and emphasizing that it is people who pay the price for pollution. Femke Groothuis, co-founder and president of The Ex’tax project highlighted that “Only 0.2% of all tax revenues are based on pollution and resource use, even worse, we’re subsidising pollution to the tune of €50 billion a year.”

Speakers highlighted the manifest links between halting biodiversity loss and restoring nature, and tackling food security and climate change. On the upcoming EU proposal for an EU nature restoration law, Janez Potočnik, UNEP Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel, emphasized “If anybody is questioning that we need a strong nature restoration law, it’s actually questioning that humans are part of nature. With a nature restoration law, we are basically protecting ourselves”.

The conference ended with an uplifting and forward-looking panel where circular business innovators, forward-thinking economists and nature conservation entrepreneurs enthusiastically shared their positive experience of “making the Green Deal real”. Participants were left with a clear message – that people influence change and every single one of us can help make Europe green.

Wrapping up the 2-day conference, Florika Fink–Hooijer, Director General for Environment, European Commission, inaugurated the EU Ecolabel “Showroom on Wheels”. The showroom will now travel all around Europe. Follow the journey!

Participants were able to step into the unknown and discover what our world would look like without pollinating insects. Try it at home!