As the UN Year of Soils begins, BUND/Friends of the Earth Germany today published the Soil Atlas 2015, which calls for a radical rethink of how much land we use to support ourselves. The report, co-published with Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam and Le Monde Diplomatique, draws on …
Bumitama cuts ties with illegal palm oil plantation
Indonesian palm oil company Bumitama announced in September 2014 that it has terminated its contract with an illegal palm oil plantation in Borneo, from which it is no longer purchasing palm oil. This decision followed a public campaign by Milieudefensie / Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Friends of the Earth Europe, including a complaint …
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Waste and air quality plans for Europe binned
Plans to reduce Europe’s waste and improve its air quality are being abandoned, the European Commission announced today with the release of its new work programme. Friends of the Earth Europe severely condemned the decision to drop what it saw as vital pieces of legislation to improve citizens’ health, protect the environment and ensure that …
Disgraceful plans to abandon air quality and waste laws
A leaked copy of the European Commission’s workplan, due to be formally announced on Tuesday 16 December, has revealed plans to abandon proposed legislation to improve resource efficiency and air quality in Europe. The workplan sets out the priorities of the European Commission – the European Union’s executive branch – for the next five years …
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Putting resource efficiency back on the agenda
“Doing what we been doing for the last 50 years is no longer an option.” That’s how Magda Stoczkiewicz, director of Friends of the Earth Europe, expressed the urgency of changing our relationship with the Earth’s resources at a conference in Brussels today. The conference – Putting resource efficiency back on the agenda – was …
Protecting resources and using them respectfully
The total amount of natural resources is limited. Non-renewable raw materials such as metals and oil are being used up. Other resources such as soils, water, or the atmosphere are overused. The amount of resource consumption due to our consumption of goods and services is enormous, and even today, it is far greater than what …
