This new blog by Ryan Meade explores the narrative about China in global discussions on climate change, arguing that we shouldn’t oversell the progress China is likely to make on decarbonisation, but neither can we use the challenge of a developing China as an excuse for inaction.

A summary of developments in EU environmental policy from the Parliament’s plenary session of 10-13 June, and the Transport, Telecommunications and energy Council of 7 June.

The IIEA Nexus Thinking Explained video is now available with a Russian-language voiceover. The video was translated by WECOOP, the Water and Environment Cooperation Platform for Central Asia, to make it more accessible to a Central Asian audience.

This infographic illustrates the EU’s role as the leading player in global agri-food trade. It shows world’s largest importers and exporters, the EU’s biggest trade partners, fastest growing markets and leading agri-food products. It concludes by considering the EU’s trade with the developing world.

This policy brief provides an understanding of the current debates on a 2030 climate and energy framework and illuminates the key challenges in designing a new wave of European climate policy.

Our societies have become accustomed to – and our economies grown dependent on – practices which do not make efficient use of water. This paper by Ryan Meade sets out the European policy context for water efficiency before going on to explore a number of areas where the key challenges and opportunities lie, asking whether resource efficiency is the right paradigm for delivering sustainable water use.

This new blog by Ryan Meade explores the notion that the climate challenge will be solved by a technofix, obviating the need for expensive and disruptive policy measures. It concludes that such a fix lies outside of our current technological capabilities and imaginative capacities.

This new video infographic explores the debate about shale gas in Europe, examining the pros and cons of exploiting reserves and emulating the US shale gas boom. Will shale have its day in the sun or is the promise of a golden age of gas a false dawn for Europe?

The Environment Agenda at the EU institutions, 22-31 May

In this interactive set of video interviews, Prof. Alan Matthews, answers a series of questions on global food supply, the current reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the ‘greening’ aspects of the reform. 

This blog by Joseph Curtin explores the trade dispute around solar PV between China and Europe. It argues that the potential imposition of anti-dumping tariffs could derail the symbiotic relationship between Europe and China on this technology and undermine the emergence of a globally competitive supply chain.

As EU Agriculture Ministers gather in Dublin for an informal summit, Prof. Alan Matthews considers the difficulties facing young farmers in Europe today. He argues against the position of the Commission and the Parliament on a mandatory payment for young farmers’ and calls for action to tackle the reluctance of older farmers to exit the sector.