Rapporteur Talks

We all know we must transition towards more sustainable food systems while maintaining food safety, and that science has a key role to play in this transition. But how can we make sure science is being listened to?

Have policymakers got the balance right between listening to opinion and following the evidence when it comes to legislation around healthy and sustainable diets?

There are lots of views out there, but in a world where people’s ideas are more likely to be informed by a friend’s post on social media than by an expert with the facts at their fingertips, how can science cut through the noise?

At a time of rising obesity and non-communicable diseases, EU policy-makers have committed to address this shared challenge. The European Commission has made healthier diets one of the priorities of this mandate, and different public health and food policies aiming to achieve healthier food environments are being developed within the framework of the Farm to Fork Strategy.

These efforts are all the more urgent in the current reality of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is growing evidence that chronic health conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, are associated with increased risk and severity of COVID-19 outcomes.

In the pursuit of healthier food environments for EU citizens, as part of an inclusive whole-of-society approach, industry has been called upon to contribute to a sustainable food system, for example by reformulating products and providing healthier options. In this context, low or no calorie sweeteners are seen as a useful tool to help manufacturers achieve products with less sugar and fewer calories, while still being palatable to consumers.

The current EU agri-food model is going through radical change. The need to feed a growing population sustainably and protect biodiversity is putting demands on the industry like never before. The main EU policy response is the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F), at the heart of the European Green Deal, which aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly.

The dairy sector is taking steps to reduce the climate and environmental impact of dairy products from farm to fridge.

Using data makes it possible for farmers to identify areas where sustainable practices can be implemented or improved.

But there is more to do. The next challenge will be how to use this knowledge in effective policymaking and how to share best practices and data-driven approaches to drive sustainability across the entire dairy sector.

In this webinar we will discuss European policies and initiatives for a sustainable blue economy and how these initiatives contribute to the global efforts for sustainable ocean management.

In May, the European Commission presented the initiative A new approach for a sustainable Blue Economy in the EU. The EU Commission presents the new initiative this way:

“The European Green Deal and the Recovery Plan for Europe will define the European economy for many years, or even decades. And the EU’s blue economy is fundamental to both efforts. Not only should the blue economy adhere, like every other sector, to the European Green Deal. It is also indispensable to meet the EU’s environmental and climate objectives. After all, the ocean is the main climate regulator we have. It offers clean energy and sustains us with oxygen, food, and many critical resources. There just can’t be green without blue.”

A sustainable blue economy is also a priority for the current Portuguese EU presidency. Key events of their presidency are the Sustainable Ocean Panel Conference in Lisbon on June 7th and the Ministerial Conference on the Integrated Maritime Policy also in Lisbon on June 8th. Portugal and Norway are coastal states and share this commitment for sustainable ocean management.

This engagement also stretches beyond Europe. Sustainable management of the world’s oceans is crucial for our common future. The Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg leads the High-level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, where the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is also a member. The Ocean Panel’s conclusions are based on research showing that the oceans are both more important than previously thought – for human and planetary health, for the climate and food security, for local job markets and the global economy – and more vulnerable than we imagined. At the same time, the oceans themselves will be the source of many of the solutions.

The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has proven to be an effective tool in driving emissions reductions. Installations covered by the ETS reduced emissions by about 35% between 2005 and 2019.

The Commission has recently presented an impact-assessed plan to increase the EU’s net emissions reductions target to at least 55% by 2030. By June 2021, the Commission plans to present legislative proposals to implement the new target, including revising and extending the EU ETS to include buildings and transport.

However, some stakeholders have raised concerns. A recent study by Cambridge Econometrics found that extending the ETS to include transport and buildings would have little additional impact on emissions from these sectors, but would increase living costs for poorer households.

A report to be published by the Polish Economic Institute, ERCST and Cambridge Econometrics concludes that covering buildings and transport by the current EU ETS would involve the necessity to significantly increase the price if the system is to be effective in stimulating changes in the new sectors.

It has also been pointed out that road transport emissions are already covered by more targeted schemes, like emission standards for cars.

As part of its EU Green Deal legislative roadmap, the European Commission will propose sweeping new energy and climate legislation aimed at reducing emissions by 55% by 2030. This ‘Fit for 55’ package will include major revamps of several legislation affecting the EU renewable fuels sector – including the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), CO2 standards for cars, the revamp of the Effort Sharing Regulation and the Emissions Trading System with the possible inclusion of transport, and the Energy Taxation Directive.

The revision of the RED will be the third such overhaul since the legislation was enacted in 2009. The current process offers a real opportunity for the Commission to review what it could have done better the first and second times around in crafting EU renewable energy policy. But already there are signs the third time might not be a charm for the RED, with the Commission’s recent initiatives (Biodiversity Strategy, Delegated Regulation on sustainable investments) seeking to minimise or even eliminate the contribution of crop-based biofuels such as renewable ethanol from the road transport energy mix – even though such biofuels have been a significant contributor in displacing fossil fuel and essential to meeting 2030 GHG emissions reduction targets.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries had experienced transformations in their labour and jobs markets as a consequence of technological progress, climate change, globalisation, and shifts in demography. These trends have had an impact on employment relationships and, as a result, on workers’ rights, obligations and security.

The onset of COVID-19 in early 2020 produced a set of economic challenges on a scale not seen in decades.

A five-year research collaboration between the Smith School of Enterprise at University of Oxford and Zurich Insurance Group shows that the pandemic has accelerated changes in the role of government in insurance provision. The report suggests it is inevitable that the state can no longer be the insurer of last resort, particularly due to rising debt levels. New partnerships should be developed between governments, employers, and benefits providers to protect workers against the enhanced risks of a post-pandemic economy.

The use of gene-editing technologies in plants has come under increased scrutiny in the EU over the past few years, following the 2018 European Court of Justice ruling that gene-edited organisms should fall, in principle, under the EU’s GMO directive.

This ruling was welcomed by campaign groups and environmentalists, who warn of the wide-ranging ramifications from the use of such a technology, including corporate control of seeds and environmental concerns. However, proponents argue that gene editing is a sorely needed innovation that would help Europe’s agricultural sector meet the ambitious green objectives set out in the bloc’s flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, as well as help the EU’s health sector address some of the most devastating genetic diseases.

In April 2021, the European Commission published a study on new genomic techniques (NGTs), with the aim to clarify the EU’s position on the technology in light of the 2018 ruling. The study has concluded that the current legal framework governing NGTs is insufficient and indicated that new policy instruments should be considered to reap the benefits of this technology.

The study has also confirmed that NGT products have the potential to contribute to sustainable agri-food systems in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.

How can the EU enable NGT products to contribute to sustainability, while addressing concerns? How can it best inform and engage with the public on NGTs?

This EURACTIV Virtual Conference discussed how progress can be made by moving away from a simple ’benefit-risk’ debate and engaging in a collaborative discussion building on the Commission’s NGT study.

On March 9th, the European Commission presented a vision for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030. This vision for the EU's digital decade focuses on around four key points: skills, government, infrastructures, business. A framework of digital principles will help promote and uphold EU values in the digital space. At the heart of this is a secure and trusted online environment.

In February, when the European Commission unveiled proposals for the region to be a leader in artificial intelligence, Commission President Ursula von her Leyen, stated that "we want citizens to trust the new technology." This concept of trust in the digital sphere has been repeatedly emphasised by Commissioner Vestager. In December 2020, she reiterated the importance of promising Europeans a "safe, fair, trustworthy digital world, for the decades to come."

The EU has an ambitious recovery plan that will be green and digitally-led. EU citizens are already seeing the advantages of next generation e-health and e-mobility. These are enabled by gigabit networks. Gigabit network providers have an important trust role to play by providing Europeans secure and reliable access to the digital world through super-fast connectivity.

For connectivity providers, trust is defined as a secure connection, which is linked to cybersecurity; a private connection, which builds confidence about the transparent and trustworthy use of our data; and a resilient, future-proof and high-quality connection, which ensures good Gigabit speeds, including in rural areas.

Industry must partner with authorities to guarantee that citizens get the most from their connection, acquiring good digital skills, and extract maximum value for themselves from all the digital world has to offer: e-learning, e-health, future of work, smart manufacturing, smart cities etc. And those with advanced digital skills will also be better informed about disinformation related to connectivity.  Again, trust plays an important role in combatting disinformation which has 'real world' effects such as the sabotage of 5G masts, putting 5G roll-out on hold.

If the economic benefits from a digitally-advanced ecosystem are in doubt, a report released in February, Digitalisation: An opportunity for Europe, shows how increased digitalisation of Europe’s services and value chains over the next six years could boost the European Union’s GDP per capita by 7.2% – equivalent to a €1 trillion increase in overall GDP.

The European Commission states that “Europe must leverage the potential of digital transformation, which is a key enabler for reaching the Green Deal objectives.”

This idea is reinforced in the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, where it is underlined that the twin ecological and digital transitions will affect every part of our economy, society, and industry.

New green technologies are already here to help tackle the biggest challenge of our time: climate change. The European Commission has long promoted digital transformation to enhance economic competitiveness, while also recognising that digitisation can contribute to sustainability goals and enable the changes needed for a just green transition.

The Portuguese Presidency listed the implementation of the EU Green Deal and accelerating the digital transformation as one of its key priorities, with a historic agreement on the European Climate Law.