😶 Environmental defenders are increasingly being pressured into silence. 🎭 The @casecoalition.bsky.social has launched nominations for the European SLAPP Contest 2026 – to put a spotlight on the legal bullies shutting down those who dare to speak out. 🏆 Vote now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Why is the EU hunting for critical resources while shipping them away? While we fret over access to critical raw materials, essential metals are quietly sent abroad: used cars are exported to African countries, where demand for second-hand vehicles is booming... 🧵👇 www.politico.eu/article/euro...

💰 The world’s cheapest insurance policy? Belgium got a glimpse of spring this week – longer days and sunshine reminding us that renewal follows difficult seasons. Those first rays of light put things into perspective and show why resilience matters.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 #𝗔𝗮𝗿𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? Now you can find out 👇 Check out @michelforst.bsky.social's updates on the public complaints he has received under his mandate: www.linkedin.com/in/michel-fo... #BeLIFE

1 WEEK TO GO ‼️ On 5 March in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the European Union hears the landmark End the Cage Age case. We’re holding the European Commission @ec.europa.eu to its promise to the 1.4M citizens who backed #EndTheCageAge! Europe - and its animals - deserve better.

⚠️ Germany drops the mandatory 65% renewable rule for new heating systems! By replacing binding renewable requirements with comparatively modest green fuel quotas, the reform sends exactly the wrong investment signal: it risks locking in new gas and oil boilers instead of accelerating clean heating.

⚫ 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲. ✊ On this solemn anniversary, the EEB stands in unwavering solidarity with our Ukrainian member organisations and with all Ukrainians enduring the profound human, social, and environmental consequences of this war.

What would a truly resilient Europe look like by 2030? The EU’s 2026 Climate Resilience Package must put nature-based solutions at its core. 90% of extreme weather is water-related. Restore nature, uphold EU law, phase out harmful subsidies. Resilience starts with living systems. #HandsOffNature

The #EUCarbonFarmingSummit is back! Don't miss the 18 March session with our own Mathieu Mal, featuring experts from organic, regenerative & climate‑smart farming which will unpack how long‑standing movements align (or clash) with emerging methodologies 🎟️ www.carbonfarmingsummit.eu/european-car...

Good news for Europe’s water 💧 The EU General Court upheld Extended Producer Responsibility in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Pharma & cosmetics producers will help pay to remove micropollutants from our rivers. Polluter pays - now let’s implement. #ProtectOurWater #MakePollutersPay

Who wants a history lesson? 🙋‍♂️ We recently dusted off our first manifesto from 1977. We’ve been making the same argument for nearly half a century: Endless growth on a finite planet simply doesn’t work.

🤝 Members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum reaffirm their commitment to civil society. MEPs from @reneweurope.bsky.social, @socialistsanddemocrats.eu, @greens-efa.eu, @eppgroup.bsky.social and @left.eu have launched a Manifesto on Civil Society 💘

European citizens & the environment are still not protected from harmful chemicals 37 NGOs call on EU leaders to put protection first Harmful chemicals in homes, workplaces & products cause disease & cost billions Strong action & enforcement is urgently needed eeb.org/en/library/p...

⚠️ Our water is at risk Following the @ec.europa.eu announcement that it will revise the #WaterFrameworkDirective in 2026, Europe’s water protection rules are entering a critical phase. Yesterday, the EEB's water expert, Athénaïs Georges, took part in a webinar hosted by Fundación Agua Es Vida 🧵👇

Our source of life, #water, should never be gambled with, nor used as a political bargaining chip 😠 Which is why, together with water suppliers and other NGOs, we urge @ec.europa.eu not to weaken core water protection rules! 🔎 eeb.org/en/library/p... #WaterFrameworkDirective

🔎 Exposed: Europe’s forgotten pollutant is also key to the solution This week, the #MethaneMatters Coalition illustrated the extent of #OzonePollution in Europe - pollution that ignores borders, harms human health, cuts crop yields, and weakens forest growth, undermining #ClimateResilience 🧵👇

💧 Two steps forward, one step back for Europe’s waters. 👏 EU governments just adopted an updated list of priority pollutants including PFAS, pharmaceuticals & BPA ✅ ⚠️ But new loopholes in the #WaterFrameworkDirective risk putting profit over people and planet. 🗞️ Our take: eeb.org/en/eu-counci...

🤔 𝐁𝐮𝐲 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧? 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔? 𝐎𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔? Brussels is debating “local content” rules, but origin alone won’t make Europe competitive. Our approach: ✅ 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐔 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 It’s not about origin, it’s about impact: what societal goals does this production actually achieve?

🔴 Ozone pollution costs Europe 775,000 life-years and €80bn a year – yet methane, a main driver, is still ignored! Our new #MethaneMatters study featured in today's @euobserver.com shows why EU action on methane is urgent and essential. 👀 Read more: euobserver.com/202963/ozone...

🌍✊ Environmental defenders are not criminals. They are democracy in action. 📣 We’re happy to share that the Guidelines on the Right to Peaceful Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience by UN SR on Environmental Defenders @michelforst.bsky.social are now available in French, Spanish and Russian.

🎬 Exclusive Screening! How to Poison a Planet – award-winning doc on #PFAS #ForeverChemicals & communities fighting for justice 🗣️ Hear from frontline voices, legal & science experts 🍹 Drinks & bites included 🎟️ Free registration: act.clientearth.org/page/175535/... @clientearth.bsky.social @eeb.org

Is your phone built to be repaired, or replaced?🤳 In the EU, we have the #RightToRepair certain devices when they break or wear out - but it's not always easy. Yet, repair is a cornerstone of a #CircularEconomy, reminded our @evamariabille.bsky.social at today's webinar with #SwitchAsia.

27 EU leaders. In a castle. Deciding which protections to cut for polluter profit tomorrow. 175,000+ people already said: Hands off our water, our air, our nature. 👉 handsoffnature.eu#take-action #HandsOffNature

⚠️ Europe loses 75,000 lives and €80 billion a year to ozone pollution – yet methane, a key driver, is largely ignored in EU policy 📊 #MethaneMatters coalition new map helps show how methane harms people and the planet and why action is urgent. 👋 Join our online launch: pretix.eu/europeanenvi...

We Didn’t Start the Fire (But it’s all the ways the EU has ruined environmental protection in the last three years) with @greenpeace.eu #ad

🚨 RENURE: Science sidelined as EU weakens nitrate rules Not just what was decided, but how: opaque process, no full impact assessment, key science and civil society ignored. Bad process, real consequences for 💧 water, 🏥 health, 🌿 ecosystems and 🚜 farmers. Europe deserves better. PR in comments ⬇️

🚨 Tomorrow, von der Leyen meets corporate lobbyists just hours before EU leaders. Civil society warns against an U-turn on protections. We need laws that protect people & planet - not polluters. 📄 Letter: eeb.org/en/library/o... ✏️ Sign here to say #HandsOffNature: handsoffnature.eu/take-action/

🎲 CSOs continue to add their names to the #Democracy4Transition open letter asking the @ec.europa.eu to PLAY FAIR when it comes to revising the Better Regulation agenda. 📨 Dear @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu, Ilze Juhansone and @marossefcovic.bsky.social, take note. 🔗 eeb.org/en/library/j...

🕵️‍♂️ BUSINESS FIRST, QUESTIONS LATER? As the European Commission prepares big decisions on EU competitiveness, voices across Europe are growing louder: profit must not come at the expense of people or the planet. #HandsOffNature is only the beginning.

In the name of #simplification & #competitiveness, EU laws that keep our air and water clean and protect our health and nature are being eroded at record speed. These laws give businesses clarity and stability, while safeguarding the ecosystem our economies depend on. So we wrote to EU leaders...

🚨 BIG NEWS 🚨 ⚖️ Europe’s top court has set a hearing in the #EndTheCageAge case against the EU Commission for not delivering on promises. Ending cages is long overdue: they’re cruel, needless, and really bad for nature, health and rural communities. Backed by 1.4M citizens - all eyes on the ECJ ⬇️

PFAS pollution is poisoning our waters - and our fish. Data from 7 EU countries shows wild fish often exceed safety limits, sometimes by 100s or even 1000s of times. This threatens not just ecosystems, but also seafood & drinking water. ✊ Nearly 100k signed in 2 days - join them: handsoffnature.eu

📨 Dear EU Commission, When the game isn’t going in our favour, it’s tempting to change the rules – but doing so risks losing the trust of the other players. Adapting Better Regulation to suit a big industry agenda is no different. 🎲 Today 50+ CSOs call for fair play: eeb.org/en/library/j...

The #RightToRepair is gaining momentum in Europe and Asia, and is now enshrined in EU laws. What does it mean for Asian business selling in the EU? We'll discuss this and much more at our next online event with SWITCH-Asia. Join us on 12 February at 9am CET. Sign up👉 switch-asia.eu/event/the-eu...

Remind our leaders what people want them to protect: clean air, safe water, and our health 💧 Why? Because right now, they are handing out permits to poison our water, food, and nature 🤢 Don't let that happen. Sign our petition now: handsoffnature.eu#take-action #HandsOffNature ✋

This week, we talked #CircularEconomy with Commissioner @jessikaroswall.ec.europa.eu. With @rethinkplastic.bsky.social, @ecos.ngo and @zerowasteeurope.eu, we highlighted that EU policy must focus on #waste prevention, reuse, repair, and non-toxicity. We look forward to continuing this dialogue!

🍎 85% of conventional European apples contain cocktails of pesticides, according @paneurope.bsky.social analysis Apples are sprayed up to 30 times before reaching stores, making them a major source of pesticide exposure #PFAS #Pesticides www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Hague District Court found the Netherlands’ climate policy insufficient, discriminating against Bonaire residents, and ordered immediate action to curb emissions and protect the Caribbean island from sea-level rise and extreme weather. ✔️Read more www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A new report from the @ec.europa.eu, published today, confirms what we already knew: the societal costs of PFAS pollution are enormous! 💶The Commission estimates that inaction on PFAS could cost society up to €1.7 trillion by 2050. www.politico.eu/article/fore...

It's #ReclaimTheEconomyWeek! Around the world, people are coming together to demand an economy that puts people and planet first – and showing how it's already being done. Sign the petition calling on leaders to redesign our economies to put people and planet at the centre: vist.ly/4p5xr

🔴 New data from @casecoalition.bsky.social shows abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) are still silencing environmental defenders, journalists & citizens across Europe, despite the new EU anti-SLAPP law. ⏰ With 99 days left to implement the EU law, governments must act. 🔗 www.the-case.eu/resources/20...

The EU aims to scale up waste-derived materials to boost the #CircularEconomy♻️ But @ec.europa.eu’s End of #Waste proposal for recycled #plastics has major gaps, especially on chemicals, risking circularity and safety🧐 Our recommendations with @rethinkplastic.bsky.social: 👉 eeb.org/en/library/e...

🚨 A power shift in EU lawmaking is underway. Fast-tracked laws, fewer checks, less public input threatens to become the norm under “Better Regulation.” Tomorrow the EEB will join @thegoodlobby.bsky.social to unpack what’s at stake - and how to respond. 📅 28 Jan 2026 | 17–18 CET Sign up below!⤵️

🌊 A river carrying more than water The Neris is a Natura 2000 river, a salmon migration route - and now part of Europe’s security debate. This timely piece explores how we protect both nature and resilience, without sacrificing living rivers. ✍️ With thanks to guest writer Olga Karach (Our House)👏

Touché. We recognise when the EU gets things right ✅ This didn’t happen by chance. It’s a structural shift driven by clear targets, solid regulation and years of investment. The direction is right. Now it’s about speed and scale: faster renewables, grids and storage rollout; and no distractions.

⚠️UN expert warns: chemical pollution is a hidden global crisis. “Forever chemicals,” corporate loopholes & weak policies put human rights and environment at risk. Science & political will must align to protect human rights. @euobserver.com @elenasanchez.bsky.social euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

🚨 Are omnibus laws becoming the new normal in EU policymaking? Is this the future of EU lawmaking? And what does it mean for democracy and accountability? 📅 Wed 28 Jan 2026 | 🕔 17:00–18:00 CET | 💻 Zoom 🔗 Save your spot: thegoodlobby.eu/are-omnibus-... @alemanno.bsky.social @eeb.org

We’re using more water than nature can replenish, with irreversible consequences. Lakes shrinking, aquifers declining, wetlands disappearing, glaciers losing ~1/3 of their volume. 4B people face water scarcity at least 1 month/year. 🔗 www.reuters.com/sustainabili... #WaterCrisis #ClimateChange #UN

BIG MOMENT for Europe’s energy transition ⚡️ In 2025, wind + solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU; for the first time ever. This isn’t a fluke. It’s a structural shift, driven by clear targets, solid regulation and years of investment. Direction isn’t the problem. Speed is.

Europe is going from green to grey. This graph shows all the land that nature lost to construction per country.