Friends of the Earth Europe

Impact Report 2024 - A continent's worth of successes 🌍   Take a trip around Europe and see how our network has confronted big polluters, protected rivers, won legal battles, inspired new laws, empowered communities, all in the name of bringing justice, power and care to people and the planet.   The report in numbers:   ⭐ 6 EU wide programs 🌍 24 national highlights 🤝 20 coalitions of NGOs shaped 🦖 400+ organisations mobilized against the Energy Charter Treaty 🦋 52 friendship bracelets gifted to MEPs...   Find all of this and much more in our latest Impact Report 🧾 https://lnkd.in/dnpYfwb6

What does 2️⃣5️⃣ years of climate activism feel and look like? 🪨 Amazing, and funny! (we all need a bit of laugh these days), video by our friends from Centar za životnu sredinu/Center for Environment / Friends of the Earth Bosnia & Herzegovina to celebrate their 25 years of existence (with English subtitles). Happy anniversary & cheers to the next 25!🥳 https://lnkd.in/dmePtMYj

🔴 Today, we have joined 65 human rights and environmental organisations to formally request the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to establish an independent investigation into severe human rights violations allegedly committed in 2021 by Mozambican security forces. Full story here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e4zpVauN #Mozambique #LNG

Yesterday, the European Commission presented the new 🇪🇺 long-term budget #MFF, including a proposal to reform the #CAP. Our verdict? It bankrolls big polluters while defunding nature & citizen action. Whilst the Commission suggests to spend 410 billion euros for a European Competitiveness Fund, it absorbs the LIFE programme which was exclusively dedicated to protect nature, climate and the environment – allocating more money to polluting industries instead. This comes at a time of biodiversity and climate crises when funding and public support for adequate action to fulfil the EU’s environmental goals are urgently needed. The Commission’s proposal also eliminates the “second pillar” of the Common Agricultural Policy, which currently funds environmental measures and rural development programmes. This means that agri-environmental and climate measures are now just one of many objectives, with no dedicated funding or minimum spending requirements for Member States. The CAP, which is linked to some of the EU’s most damaging public subsidies, would mainly continue to support an industrial food system that degrades ecosystems and accelerates the climate crisis. In short, not the #FutureOfEurope we need. Read our full reaction in the comments.

Civil society groups are not the only ones fighting against the #EUMercosur trade deal, farmers unions too! 👩🌾 The deal threatens their livelihoods, would create an unsustainable food production system and abandon farmers for Big Agribusiness. Read European farmers’ and agricultural workers’ organisations' call to oppose the deal 👉 https://lnkd.in/eNvw9X_a #StopEUMercosur

Last week I visited frontline defenders in Doade (Galicia), who are resisting a planned mining project. The mountainous region is characterised by beautiful nature, wild horses and cultural heritage, including centuries-old hórreos (the granaries in pic2). It is also an important water catchment area, providing freshwater to thousands of people living downstream. During my visit, there was a heatwave that made us seek refuge at the river, a cool oasis amid lush green vegetation (pic1). If the mine were to open, this river will become contaminated, or even dry up due to the water demand of the mining operations. On a heating planet, the precious water resources that are still left must be protected. That is one of the many reasons why I support the struggle of grassroots activists against destructive mining, in Spain and many other countries, safeguarding vital water supplies for millions of people 🙌 #WaterIsLife Many thanks to the dedicated members of the platform SOS Suido Seixo, who shared their valuable knowledge with me 🙏 I also met the president of the commonland association (pic4), opposing the encroachment of land that has been held under collective tenure for many centuries. #YesToLifeNoToMining

‘Trade must not come at the expense of peoples’ rights & international law’ At the EU Parliament, Rasha Abu Dayyeh (PENGON FOE - Palestine | أصدقاء الأرض- فلسطين) was clear: suspend trade and cooperation with companies and institutions complicit of the on-going genocide in Gaza.   Ahead of tomorrow’s Foreign Affairs Council, the European Trade Justice Coalition sent a letter to EU Vice-President Kaja Kallas, calling for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. Anything less is complicity. Act now.

Good meeting with Ursula von der Leyen today. Her commitment to people and planet are more needed than ever. It is fundamentally important for the survival of the European Green Deal that the "simplification" drive of the commission does not lead to deregulation. As I've said before, deregulation hands power to the few at the expense of the many. It turns society into a playground for the powerful while, ordinary people bear the real costs: poisoned water, toxic air, unsafe workplaces, climate breakdown, and lost democratic control. Now off to Finland for some simple cottage life. Gotta appreciate the contrasts in life 🏡 🏙️

🌟A first! EU’s leading green NGOs, including our director Matilda Flemming, met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen today. She confirmed she's standing by the European Green Deal. So we gave her some proposals on how to save it. As Friends of the Earth, we stressed in particular: Stop the Omnibuses! Omnibus I only simplifies unsustainable business, not justice for people: It removes civil liability regimes in the CSDDD, denying victims access to EU courts. It also alters due diligence and climate requirements, making them ineffective in the first place. All Green 10 Asks here: https://lnkd.in/errirXYZ Thanks for the great collaboration 💚 European Environmental Bureau Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe BirdLife Europe and Central Asia WWF European Policy Office Greenpeace European Unit Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) T&E CEE Bankwatch Network

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