The upcoming food sovereignty conferences are likely to shape debates on the future of French agriculture in 2026. The main responses provided over the past two years can be summarised as follows: remove production constraints to produce more of everything (both animal and plant products), to recover market shares in France and abroad. Seeking to produce more of everything without considering adaptation or transition is a form of denial, at a time when climate change is hitting farmers hard and regularly, and when our dependence on imported fertilisers and oilseed meals undermines our sovereignty. The conferences must take these considerations into account — otherwise, they will serve only to perpetuate the notion of an illusory sovereignty.

Efficient Buildings Europe says the Affordable Housing Plan, presented by the European Commission in December 2025, rightfully acknowledges the role of energy-efficient buildings and energy renovations and will require new forms of cooperation between EU and national actors.

The European Commission’s Affordable Housing Plan aims to address one of the most pressing needs of European citizens. The Commission says the plan is a first step to support Member States deliver more affordable, sustainable and quality homes across Europe.

The Good Bench manual is a practical and inspiring tool for anyone working on cities, streets, and public spaces. It explores how something as simple as a bench can play a powerful role in shaping social life, wellbeing, and inclusion in the public realm.
Rather than treating seating as an afterthought or a design object, the manual reframes it as essential urban infrastructure and a clear signal of hospitality. It explains why places with good seating feel lively and welcoming, while places without it often become spaces people only pass through.

The Energy Community Secretariat has invited postgraduates, researchers, and young professionals to apply for the 10th edition of the Energy Community Summer School, taking place at Polis University in Tirana, Albania, between August 22 and 29 this year. The program focuses on energy sectors in transition, in particular in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, according to the announcement.

The Energy Community Summer School, designed for postgraduate students, researchers, and early-career professionals, provides an in-depth exploration of the technical, economic, legal, political, and sustainability dimensions of the energy transition, including energy systems, markets, and geopolitics.

These are exciting times in the energy sector. Geopolitical instability, high energy prices, power shortages and grid bottlenecks have created an energy crisis that demands creativity, cooperation and social innovation. For those of us working with energy and climate from a communication standpoint, the wave of fresh thinking across Europe is particularly inspiring.

The first Citizens' Assembly organized in Vilnius has ended. Vilnius residents, who participated in it and were elected through a democratic lottery, agreed on 24 recommendations for more sustainable movement in the city. On December 10, they will be officially handed over to Vilnius city leaders. Event open to anyone who wants to participate.

During the meetings held in September-November, the assembly participants discussed and agreed on how to achieve that we would choose public transport, cycling and walking more often in Vilnius. The recommendations prepared cover many different mobility-related topics – from urban planning, pedestrian and cycle paths, public transport, from traffic organization to the school network, education, communication and culture.

How can sustainability policies truly serve everyone and ensure that no one—especially people experiencing poverty—is left behind? This guiding question lies at the heart of our project on Poverty Reduction and Sustainability, in which we are applying a system mapping approach to analyse North Rhine-Westphalia’s (NRW) sustainability strategy.“Can you say what will happen with the final results of your research once the ministry has received them? What will they change?” - this was one of key questions raised by a citizen affected by poverty, who took part in our first participatory workshop held within the Climate & Poverty research project.  

In 2014, Dunkirk made the decision to get on board with free public transit. Mayor Patrice Vergriete, who has a doctorate in urban planning, pledged during his election campaign that the city would become the largest in France to drop fares on local networks. Today about 150 vehicles — labeled “100% free bus, 7 days a week” — crisscross the city and its surroundings, giving 200,000 residents free access to 18 routes.
“We made this decision to prioritize freedom [for residents] and really create a shock to improve mobility in Dunkirk,” says Jean-François Montagne, the deputy mayor of Dunkirk and head of the region’s ecological transition efforts.

Close to 1,000 municipalities have taken part in a recent survey about municipal heat planning: a key finding is that cooperation from an early stage onwards facilitates implementation. Financing and a lack of resources and of knowledge are still presenting challenges.

France has updated its National Strategy for Food, Nutrition and Climate, urging citizens to cut back on meat to reduce emissions.

Food and agriculture account for roughly one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, second only to fossil fuels. Yet recent analysis by Sentient Media, reported by the Guardian, found that fewer than 4 percent of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as a source of emissions. This gap in coverage has contributed to widespread misunderstanding of the climate impact of meat and dairy, despite livestock being responsible for nearly 60 percent of food system emissions.

Under the city’s Participatory Budget, any resident above the age of seven, regardless of their nationality, can propose a project to be paid for by municipal funds. The model, increasingly popular across the globe, is helping authorities spend resources efficiently and boost democratic participation in an era when trust in government is low and political apathy is on the rise.

This year’s climate summit in Belem did not deliver necessary progress to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Similarly, the EU’s contribution to the needed global emissions reductions by 2035 are not at the level required. The EU can make up for these failures by starting with the development of an EU roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, in line with its (failed) demand to get a global roadmap in the Belem conclusions. Wendel Trio reports.

“Retrofitted buildings can attract stronger tenant demand, they have lower vacancy, reduced operating costs and all of this stabilises that cashflow. There’s also the futureproofing against regulatory risks and reputational damage.”

Buildings need to be decarbonised. More efficiency means a lower carbon footprint, cheaper energy bills and healthier occupants.

But at a time of high energy prices and inflation, there are concerns that renovation, retrofits and building green homes are an expensive and unaffordable luxury.