Politics

Sixty-two climate-vulnerable regions across Europe have been selected to strengthen their climate adaptation planning within the Pathways2Resilience programme, an EU-funded initiative under the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

A new position paper by BZL and the nova-Institute sets out ten policy building blocks for a defossilised and more resilient European chemical industry. Published under the title “Recycling Becomes Feedstock for Europe – Let’s Dare More Autonomy”, the paper focuses on how waste management and the chemical sector could be better aligned to support a circular economy, renewable carbon supply and reduced dependence on fossil feedstock.

The European Commission adopted new certificate formats on 19 January to document hazardous materials on board ships and to confirm a vessel’s readiness for recycling.

Recycling Europe has published a roadmap calling for measures to increase circularity in Europe’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) sector, as volumes of electrical and electronic waste continue to rise across the European Union.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified how the public procurement exemption for so-called “in-house procurement” is to be applied in cases involving contracts awarded within the public sector. The ruling relates to public contracts for the management of household waste.

A new policy briefing by Zero Waste Europe calls for stricter chemical policy measures to be incorporated into the European Commission’s forthcoming Circular Economy Act in order to prevent long-term risks to public health.

Investing in climate adaptation can strengthen Europe’s economic resilience and competitiveness by reducing losses from increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Climate-proofing agriculture, energy and transport could prevent substantial economic damage while supporting long-term productivity, according to a recent briefing by the European Environment Agency.

The European Commission has published a set of pilot actions to accelerate Europe’s transition to a circular economy, the so-called ‘Winter-package’, with a particular focus on plastics. While the initiative comes at a critical moment for Europe’s plastic recycling sector, it fails to include provisions to boost demand and prioritize European-made recycled content.

The European Commission has presented a first package of pilot measures to support the transition to a circular economy in the European Union, with a thematic focus on the plastics value chain.

Yesterday, EU Environment Ministers addressed the escalating dangers posed by lithium batteries and discussed possible EU-level responses, including the feasibility and potential benefits of introducing an EU-wide battery deposit system.