EEAC member councils are tasked to advise their governments and parliaments on issues related to the environment and sustainable development. In this part of the EEAC Newsletter you will find the latest publications by EEAC member councils that are translated or pubished in English.

The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina have produced a joint position paper presenting paths to climate neutrality. In it, the Leopoldina and the RNE highlight options for action to effect the changes needed within society, at political level and in the business world, in view especially of the urgency and the historic dimensions of the transformation we face. With the paper, the Leopoldina and the RNE are consciously not seeking to engage in a race to set the most ambitious target. They are instead offering an options paper for setting the right course and covering the key implementation steps. The position paper was presented at the RNE’s 20th annual conference held on 8 June 2021 and was handed over to the Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Read More

 

Digital technology and data use are changing our society in fundamental ways. These changes are having a major impact on the sustainability of our living environment. Although digitalisation and sustainability are inextricably connected, government policy fails to recognise this connection. In its advisory report about digitalisation and the transition towards a sustainable society, the Dutch Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) argues that the national government must intervene much more actively and utilise the advantages the digital world offers to further the green transformation. Read More

There has been a dramatic shift to digital and this is likely to grow in importance in the years to come. However, a new report from the Irish National Economic and Social Council (NESC), entitled ‘Digital Inclusion in Ireland: Connectivity, Devices & Skills’ shows that that there are groups who remain poorly engaged with digital technologies. In particular, it highlights those who are older, have lower levels of education, lower incomes, and live in rural areas; as well as smaller businesses and farms. The NESC report argues that a digital inclusion strategy would help address the ‘digital’ needs of people in these key groups. Doing so would build on Ireland’s large investment in broadband connectivity. It would also help companies, particularly micro-businesses, compete effectively with other small open economies. And critically in the years to come ,it could be a key means of combatting social exclusion, NESC argued. Read More

 

The EEAC Working Group on Climate and Energy organised an online policy briefing on the EU Climate law. The session provided the colleagues of the different advisory councils with : A) a brief overview of the law; and B) an assessment of its strengths, its possible loopholes, and the proposed European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. After the presentation by Elisa Giannelli (E3G), colleagues held an exchange touching upon the implementation of the EU Climate Law, the next steps, and what this might mean for national and regional advisory councils on Climate Change, Environment and Sustainable Development. Read More
 

EEAC member councils discussed CAP Strategic Plans

The EEAC Working Group on Ecosystem Services gathered for an online session on the national implementation of the new EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2022-2027, and the potential role that advisory councils can play in that process. This session allowed the Working Group to inform colleagues from the different advisory councils about the policy process that will start after the finalised CAP negotiations, and what role advisory councils at national and sub-national level can play in the pursuit of a CAP implementation that does justice to the specific challenges in the different countries and/or regions. Additional attention was paid to optimising policy coherence between CAP, climate, environment and biodiversity policies. Read More
 

EEAC/FRDO/RNE webinar on corporate sustainability reporting

The German Council on the Environment (SRU) has just released an opinion (in German only) on the potential role of hydrogen. The Council argued that hydrogen can play an important role in climate protection, but will remain a scarce and precious energy carrier. The Council recommends concentrating all efforts on the market ramp-up of green hydrogen from wind and sun. Even as a transitional measure, policymakers should not rely on fossil-generated hydrogen, the Council stated. Read More (In German only).

Report presentaiton by WBGU: Rethinking Land in the Anthropocene

Hungary has defined an ambitious goal for 2021-2027: intending to be in the top five most liveable countries in the EU by 2030 through the development of the economy, competitiveness, the infrastructure and the creation of new jobs. An important first step are the plans included in Hungary’s national recovery and resilience plan. The National Council for Sustainable Development (NFFT) focused in its discussion specifically on the development of the health care infrastructure, the preservation of biodiversity and habitat restoration. Read More. In addition to the Hungarian Council, councils from – among others – Belgium and Portugal are also working on the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of their respective governments.

The Portuguese Council on the Environment and Sustainable Development is involved in a project entitled ‘ODSlocal: Municipal Platform for Sustainable Development Goals’. The project – that is run in a consortium with universities, local governments, businesses and the council – offers a platform that provides a dynamic, technology-based online portal, which allows the visualisation and monitoring of the contributions and progress of each municipality in relation to the SDGs. The project aims to mobilise decision makers and municipal technicians, local agents and citizens, to push SDG implementation. The project started as a pilot in 2019 with seven Portuguese municipalities, and grew to over sixty-one participating municipalities to date.

 

 

source: www.eeac.eu

Global Forum: Pathways for consensus-building: multi-stakeholder advisory bodies for sustainable development