Latest posts
Solidarity with the people of Haiti
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The earthquake that hit Haiti has resulted in a human tragedy of a scale that is hard to comprehend. The whole world has been moved by what has happened and we extend our deepest sympathies to all of those who have been effected by this terrible even...
Time to change gear!
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Here in Copenhagen, negotiators again worked through the night in an effort to narrow the gap between developed and developing countries. At lunch time today, the high-level segment of the conference began, with many heads of state and government in...
New Thinking for a Sustainable Economy
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Sustainable economic development needs to be based on a respect for environmental limits because our long-term economic health depends on the health of our planet. Many economic sectors - from pharmaceuticals to fisheries, from agriculture to tou...
Environment and science cannot be compromised
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In a matter of days, the COP15 climate conference opens in Copenhagen. Commentators are queuing up to predict the outcome, with optimists seeing a new dawn of reason and pessimists fearing that no amount of talk will solve the reality of climate chan...
Blog action day ‘09
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Thank you very much for all your questions. It’s good to see that so many people share the sense of urgency that I feel when I look at our climate – Copenhagen has to deliver and I am sure it will. I hope I haven’t been too technical, b...
The clock is ticking
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Commissioner Dimas takes a call as a part of the “TCKTCKTCK campaign” which has been organised by a broad coalition of environmental and anti-poverty organisations in order to bring home the urgency of reaching an ambitious global...
Letting in the light
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This week I am opening a new section of my website devoted to environmental indicators from around the EU. The figures are very up-to-date, and taken from the latest information available at the European level. I hope it will serve as a useful resour...
Reflections on Green Week
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The Commission recently hosted Green Week, a week-long conference in Brussels devoted to EU environmental policy. It’s an annual event that has been going for nearly a decade, but I can’t remember a more successful edition. Some 5000 peop...
Europe’s bathing waters are constantly improving
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Millions of Europeans enjoy going to the beach every summer. And when they do so they are reassured by European standards – which are underpinned by European legislation – that the water is clean and is safe to swim in. This is why the bathin...
The Message from Athens
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My last blog was on the build up to the Athens biodiversity conference. Over a very busy two days politicians, NGOs, academics, national officials and businesses not only discussed the issues but were able to reach a broad consensus on what needs to...
Life on earth
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Words like “biodiversity” can seem far removed from the life of urban-dwelling Europeans. Only one third of Europeans are confident that they know what it means. But the reality is that there is nothing more real than biodiversity. It is...
Cities are for living in
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It is always a pleasure to recognise success stories and this is what the Commission did yesterday when we handed out two environmental awards. The European Green Capital award is Europe’s newest environmental prize. It goes to a city that is...
Chemicals
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Chemicals surround us. They are an intrinsic part of modern life: in the keyboard, the computer, the desk chair, the carpet under the chair, the plastic water bottle on the desk, cleaning products, cosmetics… One of my tasks as environment Commissi...
Open letter to President Obama
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Commissioner Dimas has published an open letter to President Obama arguing that America’s support will be “an essential part of any successful global effort to tackle climate change”. Click on the letter below for more If you ha...
An Epic Year for the Environment
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2008 has been a remarkable year for European environmental policy (or even an epic year as one news service called it). Environmental issues are at the top of the EU’s policy agenda. Instead of the worn-out arguments that we “cannot affor...
Postcard from Poznan
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The sense of urgency is tangible here, as environmentalists from around the world lock horns over pressing issues that will affect us all. The negotiations are intense, and so far I have had productive discussions with China, Mexico, and a number of...
Renew(EU)able sources of energy
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I have given many speeches that have argued that investments in protecting the environment can create jobs and lead to innovation in the eco-technologies of the future. It is a theme that is echoed in Barack Obama’s calls for a “Green New...
No excuse for delaying decisive action
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I had a meeting yesterday with Angel Gurria the Secretary General of the OECD. He is in charge of one of the world’s most respected sources of economic analysis and we discussed the potential impact of the economic crisis on climate change pol...
Reaching Across the Atlantic
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I recently came back from a working trip to the US. It is hardly surprising that the election coverage is dominating all the media and as a politician myself - and as someone with a great admiration for much of what America represents - it was a fasc...
