Euractiv Partner Content

The demand for sustainable mobility is growing rapidly while at the same time, the fight against climate change and atmospheric pollution has emerged as one of the paramount challenges for the European transportation sector. According to the EU Sustainable & Smart Mobility Strategy, the gradual change and modernization of European transportation should give way to a fundamental transformation. The scenarios presented in the EC’s strategy, aligned with those supporting the 2030 climate target plan, suggest that—with the right level of ambition—the combination of policy measures detailed in this strategy can achieve a 90% reduction in transport sector emissions by 2050.

Air transport is increasingly perceived as one of the key carbon-intensive sectors. It's often labelled a hard-to-abate industry, primarily because of technological limitations that make it difficult to directly reduce carbon emissions. The recently adopted EU policy measures and regulations, intended to make transport more sustainable, have established a stringent framework for the aviation value chain. In the absence of revolutionary net-zero aviation fuel and propulsion technologies, the aviation sector faces a monumental task to achieve the carbon dioxide emission targets set by the European Green Deal, among other EU strategies and policies.

Currently, the largest infrastructure project in Europe is being built in Poland - Centralny Port Komunikacyjny. CPK is a planned multi-modal transport and interchange hub that will integrate air, rail and road transport in the region. As part of the project, a new airport and a major rail hub will be built in the centre of Poland, connecting CPK with the rest of the country and other European countries via newly constructed high-speed railway lines.

In its commitment to combating climate change and fostering a shared green future, CPK has embedded sustainability into its investment programme from the very beginning. The aim is to transform the mobility industry in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Highly ambitious climate mitigation and pollution reduction targets have been set during the planning and design phases, positioning CPK to become the first "Net-Zero Ready" airport in the region upon its inauguration. This undertaking aims to set new standards for green airports globally.

This unique sustainable strategy will be showcased by CPK in collaboration with LOT Polish Airlines at the event titled "Sustainable Journey: Navigating the Future of Aviation". The presentation, which will bring together representatives from the European Commission, CPK (the new Polish airport investor and its future operator), LOT (the Polish national air carrier), IATA (The International Air Transport Association), and industry experts, will culminate in a panel discussion. This debate will focus on ensuring European aviation's sustainability without undermining its global competitiveness and will also contemplate potential solutions, opportunities, and recent proofs of concept.

Organised by: CPK
Media Partner: Euractiv

Despite numerous initiatives to curb methane emissions, concentrations continue to rise, posing the greatest threat to passing irreversible climate tipping points. In the face of ever-rising temperatures and worsening impacts of climate change, swift and bold leadership to reduce global methane emissions remains the most urgent low hanging fruit available to policymakers.

The passage of the EU’s first bloc-wide legislation on methane emissions is underway. One of the key issues for trialogues will be the question of what the EU can – and should – be doing about methane emissions beyond its borders.

In recent years, the EU has leveraged its buying power to encourage global leadership and action against climate change, establishing import rules to curb the negative impacts of deforestation, biofuels, and carbon-intensive products. With the EU importing over 90% of its oil and gas, it now has an opportunity to drastically cut methane emissions in the energy sector by establishing an EU Methane Import Standard in the forthcoming Methane Regulation.

On the flipside, legislation that only accounts for domestic methane emissions would be a major step back from the oft-stated goal of the Von der Leyen Commission for the EU to lead from the front on this issue.

With many important questions surrounding the feasibility, legality, and broader impact of such a standard, this event will bring a diverse group of policy-makers, NGOS, academics, and industry stakeholders together for a constructive discussion on how the EU can best tackle methane emissions abroad. The event will showcase CATF and Carbon Limit’s new report on this issue, and build clarity around the legal, regulatory, and technical steps needed to create a comprehensive, effective, and WTO-compliant standard.

When one considers the future of transport, typically it is assumed to be simple extrapolation and evolution of existing technologies. On the one hand – it's about spreading its range (i.e. construction of further High-speed rail lines), on the other – it’s about continuous improvements that allow to reach better operational parameters and reliability while reducing unit variable costs (i.e. decreased usage of energy per passenger km). However, these continuous improvements are reaching their barriers: railways, after almost 200 years of improvements, seem to have limited possibilities for further upgrades of efficiency, while aviation – despite declared ambitious net-zero goals – is still far away from reaching these targets.

Today, societies have two main goals related to transportation. First, they want it to be as sustainable as possible, as the climate crisis becomes an increasingly important issue. Second, the reduced carbon footprint cannot come at a cost of reduced mobility. Railways, considered as the most sustainable mode of transportation, can offer an alternative to regional aviation to an extent, but with speeds up to 300kph they are not competitive at distances above 1000km (i.e. at a majority of intra-European “regional” routes). In other words, there is a substantial market gap – lack of a next-gen zero-emitting transport mode, which would be competitive against aviation at distances ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 km.

A European company, Nevomo, is bridging this gap by developing a new generation of High-speed railways. During the first part of the event Nevomo will unveil results of unprecedented levitation tests on conventional railway infrastructure using its revolutionary MagRail technology. Levitation capabilities drastically reduce friction, increase efficiency and speed, while retrofitting existing rail systems is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly, and allows for interoperability with already deployed trains.

After that panelists will discuss the social, economic, and environmental impact, as well as potential financing opportunities of levitating MagRail trains on already existing railway infrastructure.

The accession of Serbia to the European Union has been on the current agenda for the future enlargement of the EU since 2012 when it became a candidate for accession. Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009. Accession negotiations are ongoing.

By December 2021, 22 out of 35 chapters have been opened (including all chapters under cluster 1 on the fundamentals of the process and cluster 4 on Green agenda and sustainable connectivity), two of which are provisionally closed.

Just like other EU Member States, the Republic of Serbia strives to build a society whose key values are pluralism, tolerance, solidarity, nondiscrimination, the rule of law, and strengthening democratic institutions as a guarantee that these values will be cherished and enhanced.

The Republic of Serbia is, to an extent, already integrated in the European economic processes. Serbia wants to take its place in the EU, respecting the market economy rules and social justice and building its own capacities so that once it has joined the EU it is a prepared and competitive European economy.

The EU is strongly committed to the Western Balkans’ European integration process and there is political determination for these countries to make progress. “We are creating opportunities, finding solutions, moving forward”, it is said in Brussels, “but”. There is always 'Yes, But' idiom.

After a keynote by Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of Serbia, the panel will debate the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans and the next chapter for Serbia in the context of its future accession to the European Union, and will address the following main questions:

- How is Serbia evolving on its path to EU membership?
- Why is there always a ‘YES, BUT’ principle?
- What’s next for Serbia’s EU accession?
- What’s the future of the EU-Serbia relationship?

Organised by: EURACTIV Serbia
Media Partner: EURACTIV

Following the publication of the ambitious plan or revision of the European Pharmaceutical Legislation by the European Commission, the European Expert Group of Orphan Drug Incentives will host its first signature event to reflect on how the Union can face the challenges ahead for people affected by rare
conditions and enablers of innovation. We will present our policy recommendations for an efficient revision of the OMP Regulation by focusing on modulation of market exclusivity, and we will officially launch our proposals for an EU HTA methodology for OMPs.

Join us for an event that brings together a diverse group of rare disease experts to discuss and propose policy recommendations for improving the European legislative framework for orphan drugs. With a focus on collaboration and consensus-building, this event is meant to create a meaningful dialogue and help chart a path forward for a more effective legislative and regulatory framework, capable of addressing the needs of people with rare conditions and boosting innovation.

Established in 2020, the European Expert Group on Orphan Drug Incentives (OD Expert Group) is a multidisciplinary and cross-functional expert group that brings together representatives of the broad rare disease community, including researchers, academia, patient representatives, members of the investor community, rare disease companies and trade associations. Our experts and representatives of the decision-making processes will explore ideas for navigating the challenges ahead, trying to address the question of how to create a resilient ecosystem for rare diseases.

Organised by: The European Expert Group on Orphan Drug Incentives (OD Expert Group)
Media Partner: EURACTIV

Wind, solar, hydrogen, electric vehicles, next-generation construction – these are the technologies that will drive the EU towards net zero and they are all built on steel.

As a critical input for building clean tech infrastructure, the EU steel sector is the key to deliver on the decarbonisation of the broader European economy. It is also a crucial moment to deliver on its decarbonisation across its manufacturing base and ensure the competitiveness of its 60 green steel projects by 2030.

However, these efforts require joined-up thinking in industrial policy as much as they demand sustainable, reliable, low-carbon energy. The U.S. has shown a possible way forward with the Inflation Reduction Act.

Relisten to this EUROFER Conference to learn about those pressing issues with CEOs and business leaders from the entire manufacturing value chain, in particular across the steel, renewables and electrolysers sectors, as well as with senior officials and policymakers charged with accelerating Europe’s green transition.

Panellists exchanged views on:

- Policies to incentivise sustained investment in European clean tech value chains.
- How to support decarbonisation of manufacturing while avoiding carbon leakage as well as green investment leakage.
- Boosting hydrogen capacity and building a crisis-proof electricity market design ensuring affordable prices for industrial consumers who are net-zero drivers.

Organised by: EUROFER
Media Partner: EURACTIV

The hospitality sector is one of the key drivers of the EU economy. HoReCa businesses (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes) provide 11 million jobs in the EU27 countries and contribute between 2-3% of total EU GDP. Of almost 2 million HoReCa enterprises within the EU, 89% are micro-sized (employing less than 10 persons), meaning small independently owned businesses.

Looking at the years ahead, the sector is facing significant challenges. Two and a half years of Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have left economic repercussions that are still felt up to this day. But financial recovery from the pandemic is not the only challenge the hospitality industry is facing. Inflation and high energy costs are heavy burdens, especially for the owners of independent businesses. Labour shortages continue to be a pressing issue. Although these existed before, they were exacerbated by the pandemic, with 10-20% of the workforce having switched to other sectors. At the same time, sustainability demands are increasing, be it due to the digital and green transitions or new customer demands on animal welfare as well as regional sourcing.

This panel discussed what skills are necessary to make the hospitality sector fit-for-the-future, more resilient and more sustainable at the same time. Questions that guided the discussion with invited panellists from the European institutions and the hospitality industry included:

• How are restaurateurs handling new sustainability requirements and what are their expectations towards policymakers?
• What skills are necessary to help independent business owners adapt and attract new workforce?
• Why is digital savviness essential for the optimisation of processes, while at the same contributing to sustainability goals?

Organised by: METRO
Media Partner: EURACTIV

Despite the progress in understanding and treatment of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), the number of Europeans living with the condition continues to rise, causing unacceptably high numbers of premature deaths, equivalent to three jumbo jets crashing every single day. Today, 61 million people live with diabetes in Europe and this figure is expected to reach 66 million by 2030, with T2D accounting for about 90% of diabetes cases.

To raise awareness of the urgent need to adopt recent evidence-based recommendations in the management of T2D, IDF Europe is launching a new publication: “Type 2 Diabetes: a preventable catastrophe?”.

During the launch event, panellists representing academia, healthcare professionals, people living with T2D, industry and policy makers will discuss why we urgently need to adjust our healthcare systems across Europe and remove the barriers that are preventing early and tight management of T2D and its associated risk factors.

We would never accept three jumbo jets falling from European skies every single day… we can simply not accept the same number of people (half a million in 2021) dying prematurely every day in Europe because of preventable diabetes-related complications. We can do something about that. And we must.

Relisten to the conversation and learn more about our call to action on June 6!

Organiser: International Diabetes Federation Europe
Supporter: Lilly Diabetes
Media Partner: EURACTIV

Soil is a non-renewable resource and one of the foundations of our ecosystem functioning.

The European Commission has identified healthy soils as essential for achieving climate neutrality, a clean and circular economy, halting desertification and land degradation, and reversing biodiversity loss.

Healthy soils are also one of the pillars of productive and sustainable agriculture.

Today, soils face multiple threats such as erosion, floods, landslides, contamination and loss of soil organic matter and biodiversity.

In agriculture, several available tools and practices can support soil health and facilitate its role in combating and adapting to climate change.

Conservation agriculture and regenerative agriculture are two of the systems based on no-till farming that dramatically reduce the carbon footprint by transforming the soil from a carbon emitter to a carbon sink, counteracting soil threats and increasing the soil's capacity to retain nutrients and water, optimising the amount of fertiliser needed to feed plants and the pesticides applied to them.

We invite you to relisten to a timely discussion on the role agriculture can play and the tools and practices farmers can use to address the challenges facing this non-renewable resource.

Organised by: Glyphosate Renewal Group
Media Partner: EURACTIV

Hydrogen holds great promise as an energy carrier to both reduce our dependency on Russian gas and move Europe closer towards ‘net-zero’. The European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan aims to provide more support for green hydrogen production and proposes the relaxation of State Aid rules towards clean technologies. On 16 March, the publication of a Net-Zero Industry Act will provide further insight into the Commission’s action plan.

This event will discuss what it takes to successfully attract clean investments to Europe, despite the US Inflation Reduction Act, and to address the twin climate and energy challenges. Panellists from the industry sector and the European institutions will present their views on:

• How does the Net Zero Industry Act answer the dilemma on accelerating decarbonisation while maintaining competitiveness for EU industries?

• How to attract investment in clean technologies and prevent industrial production moving overseas, instead of decarbonising?

• Does the US IRA challenge the EU lead on green innovation and decarbonisation? Did the US IRA prompt any spill-over effects globally?

• Are the proposed measures enough to enable the Hydrogen economy in the EU?

• Will blue hydrogen have a role to play in the path towards green hydrogen?