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Companies can play a key role in building a sustainable economy and society. At the same time, their global value chains can pose risks to human rights and the environment. A growing number of EU companies have taken initiatives to deploy due diligence processes, often using existing voluntary international standards on responsible business conduct. Some Member States have meanwhile started developing their own legal frameworks on corporate due diligence. In a legislative-initiative resolution adopted ...

This IA supports the proposals for a revision of the plant and forest reproductive material legislative framework. It effectively presents the need for a revision, to avoid further divergence in implementation across Member States, thus ensuring a level playing field on the EU market and availability of high-quality reproductive material adapted to align with the European Green Deals' sustainability objectives. The baseline would have benefited from a qualitative analysis of the foresight trends ...

The IA argues that existing GMO legislation is not fit for purpose for plants and their food and feed products developed using certain new genomic techniques (NGTs) and that their resulting limited uptake in the EU might lead to missed opportunities to reach the EU's sustainability objectives. It suggests four policy options (POs) in addition to the baseline and assesses their economic, environmental and social/health impacts. The assessment is predominantly qualitative and is based on the stakeholders ...

World leaders gathered for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, including an ongoing war of aggression, military conflicts, coup d'états in western Africa, accelerating climate change crisis, food insecurity, widening inequality and sustainable development concerns. Against the backdrop in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the theme chosen for this year's general debate, marking ...

In a challenging environment marked by, among other issues, climate change and environmental degradation, the European economy is undergoing significant transformations. The green transition and the move towards sustainability, including the objective of achieving climate neutrality, are affecting how people live and work and changing skills requirements. Against this background, action is needed in the education and training sector to support the green transition and develop the sustainability competences ...

This briefing provides an insight into the implications of the EU's Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Kenya – with a particular focus on the extent to which it could affect regional trade in the East African Economic Community (EAC) and the African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It examines the new EPA and its implications in terms of its trade schemes as well as provisions in the area of sustainable development. It provides an overview of key factors that may affect regional and intra-African ...

Freshwater is a vital yet scarce resource that is under increasing threat. Progress towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 6 (ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) is off track globally, and many of its targets will not be reached by 2030. Access to freshwater and sanitation is alarmingly challenged in several African and Asian regions. While for the most part the European Union (EU) has abundant freshwater compared to other parts ...

Collectively, the 33 countries forming the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are the EU's fifth largest trading partner. Offering an overview of trade relations between the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries (Chile, Cuba and Mexico) and groupings (the Andean Community, Cariforum, the Central American group (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), and the founding members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), this study ...

Adopted in 2015 by the United Nations (UN), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 'the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all' – clearly links 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to a series of targets to be reached by 2030. The 2030 Agenda includes a detailed mechanism for monitoring progress towards these targets. At its core are a number of quantified indicators for each target, which are regularly revised by the UN and other international agencies. These ...

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established in 2015 as a compass for global action under the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There are 17 goals on a variety of topics, with SDG7 dedicated to energy. The annual UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) will discuss progress on the goals on 10 19 July 2023, with energy as one of the five goals chosen this year for an in-depth review. The European Union has taken steps to link the SDGs with its policymaking. The von ...