January 31st, 2019 The EU’s chemicals regulator has proposed a wide-ranging ban on microplastics that is expected to reduce 400,000 tonnes of microplastic pollution within 20 years. The ban, suggested by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), is set to remove 36,000 tonnes of “intentionally added” microplastics from various products. Starting Read more…
January 25th, 2019 The European Commission is taking action against Ireland for failure to comply with a range of environmental, biodiversity and marine obligations under EU law. In its January package of infringement decisions, the Commission announced that it is pursuing Ireland for failing to fully transpose an EU Directive Read more…
December 10th, 2018 Concentrated levels of microplastics are more likely to be found in sewage sludge commonly applied as a fertiliser than in our oceans, according to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). A new assessment from the Agency has identified several diverse sources from which microplastics are entering the environment, Read more…
November 29th, 2018 The EU’s new strategy to achieve a climate neutral Europe by 2050 is a welcome move but not enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, Europe’s leading environmental groups have warned. The European Commission launched the strategy – Long Term Strategy for a Clean Planet For All Read more…
November 21st, 2018 Europe’s intensive agriculture strategy is affecting the EU’s drinking water quality, one of Europe’s leading conservation NGO has said. Birdlife Europe has said that Europe’s Current Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is profit-driven, wasteful and focused on producing large crops while overlooking the safety of the bloc’s freshwater Read more…
November 12th, 2018 A new judgement from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) may have major implications for a proposed ring road extension in Co Kilkenny on environmental grounds. Following a request from the High Court, the CJEU issued a preliminary ruling last week on An Bord Read more…
November 1st, 2018 This week, the European Commission announced the winner of a €3 million award for the EU Horizon Prize on Materials for Clean Air for the most affordable, sustainable and innovative design-driven solution to urban air pollution. Air quality in cities around the world has been getting increasingly Read more…
October 11th, 2018 The Irish government did not support a push for increasing the EU’s climate target to limit global temperature rise at an EU climate policy meeting yesterday. The meeting attended by the bloc’s Environment Ministers was organised to work on adopting a uniform climate policy ahead of the Read more…
October 8th, 2018 A leaked draft of the EU’s proposed long-term climate strategy shows that the bloc’s targets do not line up with the urgency of action needed to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, a leading climate NGO has said. According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report released today, limiting temperature rise Read more…
October 5th, 2018 Brexit is set to cause a major environmental headache on the island of Ireland without a clear “common rulebook” for our flora and fauna, an EU expert said yesterday. Speaking at the Environment Ireland conference, Nigel Haigh of the Institute for European Environmental Policy told the audience that Read more…
