Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

Cities should invest more in expanding green spaces and nurturing natural systems - not just to keep residents healthy and tackle climate-change risks but to boost their economies

Mayor  of Paris, Anne Hidalgo gave green light to €250.000.000 makeover of Champs-Élysées which will completely transform one of the most famous avenues in the world. Anne Hidalgo said the planned work, unveiled in 2019 by the local community, would turn the 1.9 km stretch of central Paris into “an extraordinary garden”. The Champs-Élysées committee …

Just transition describes an intentional shift toward a society in which the economy and the environment can thrive simultaneously,

Les sociétés de gestion Axa IM, BNP Paribas AM, Sycomore AM et Mirova ont choisi Iceberg Data Lab et I Care & Consult pour mesurer les effets de leurs investissements sur la nature.

Every roof in the city district of Utrecht is to be “greened” with plants and mosses or have solar panels installed under plans driven by the success of a similar scheme for the municipality’s bus stops.
The “no roofs unused” policy is part of an attempt to reinvigorate biodiversity in the city and create a less stressful and happier environment, of which the construction of a so-called “vertical forest tower with 10,000 plants on its facade is set to become a leading example.
That building alone, close to Utrecht railway station, will host 360 trees and 9,640 shrubs and flowers, equal to 1 hectare (2.47 acres) of woods, once it is completed in 2022.

With the world facing an energy and a biodiversity emergency, realisation is growing that solutions need to be made compatible with sustainability in both areas

Faced with a looming ferocious summer with little rain forecast, the New South Wales government has embarked on a Noah’s Ark type operation to move native fish from the Lower Darling – part of Australia’s most significant river system – to safe havens before high temperatures return to the already stressed river basin.

TRIBUNE. Un collectif d’acteurs publics et privés de la ville et du végétal appelle dans une tribune au « Monde » à consacrer plus de foncier aux « infrastructures vertes » et à des « biens communs naturels » reconnectant les habitants des villes à la biodiversité

The goal of the city is to house two million bees on Wiener Linien's green spaces by 2022, which means around 80 bee colonies. "Public transport is an ideal place for bees. Along the rails, there are often unused areas where countless flowering plants can settle," said Alexandra Reinagl from Wiener Linien.

The test for the EU's biodiversity strategy will be whether all EU legislation matches its ambition on nature protection, Green lawmakers argued in an environment committee debate about the strategy on Thursday (14 January).

Biodiversity is in critical decline across Europe and the world, experts say, raising the alarm about the devastating impact this will have on the global economy.

55% of global GDP, equal to $41.7 trillion, is dependent on high-functioning biodiversity and ecosystem services, according to a report published in September by Swiss Re, the Swiss reinsurance company.

However, a fifth of the world’s countries are at risk of ecosystem collapse, the report adds, saying twenty countries around the globe are approaching a biodiversity “tipping point” where essential “services” like food provision risk being disrupted.

The goals will focus on the improvement of biodiversity, air and water quality as well as reduction of waste

La végétalisation des villes est un des thèmes récurrents de la campagne des élections municipales 2020, avec une tendance généralisée à un verdissement des programmes des différents candidat.e.s. Mais est-ce suffisant ? Quelle nature en ville, quelles espèces favoriser, pourquoi les débats doivent-il davantage intégrer la préservation de la biodiversité ? Entretien avec Philippe Clergeau, professeur d’écologie au Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, consultant en écologie urbaine et spécialiste de ces questions.

Environment, biodiversity and the climate were all on the agenda during the three days of the G7 summit held on 24-26 August in Biarritz, France. However, few concrete decisions were taken. EURACTIV's partner Le Journal de l'environnement reports.