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Published 13/05/2024
With only a month to go until European elections, over 140 civil society organisations are raising the alarm in a new open letter about a broad attack on many of the EU’s flagship green measures and commitments.
Open letter by civil society organisations
Brussels, 13 May 2024
Our society’s relationship with the nature that sustains it is fundamentally broken. Despite the growing evidence of looming ecological collapse and the alarming acceleration of the climate crisis, European governments and EU politicians are currently blocking new measures to protect nature and tearing up ones already in place.
Healthy nature underpins our ability to feed ourselves, to have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and a safe climate to live in. We are horrified that so many politicians across Europe are threatening the basis of life on this planet to provide false solutions to farmers’ hardships, while doing nothing to address farmers’ complaints of abusive practices in the supply chain or unfair competition and cheap imports from trade deals. And all this as an opportunistic attempt to gather a few more votes in the upcoming elections.
The European Environment Agency has warned that the continent is woefully underprepared for the impacts of a changing climate. Natural ecosystems that protect us from the worst of extreme weather, drought, heatwaves and floods are disappearing when we should be restoring them.
In recent months, Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission has loosened pollution rules for industrial farms, dropped plans for sustainable food production, abandoned targets to reduce pesticides and shelved efforts to ensure a resilient water supply. Some national governments have frozen EU plans to restore nature in Europe and compromised corporate due diligence rules protecting human rights and the environment. Now, the European Commission wants to scrap basic environmental standards for farms to appease industry lobbyists, and agriculture ministers are threatening the EU’s new rules to fight global deforestation.
Nature is not in conflict with our society’s ability to thrive, it is the very foundation of it. But some politicians in European capitals, and in the EU institutions in Brussels, are accelerating the nature and climate crisis, and risking the lives of the people they represent. We urge you to stop before it is too late.
Print or share a PDF version of the open letter
Signatories
Academia Española de Nutrición y Dietética
Acção Ambiental - Portugal
ActionAid
AGROLINK Association
Alimentta, think tank para la transición alimentaria
Amigos de la Tierra - Friends of the Earth Spain
An Taisce-The National Trust for Ireland
Animal Protection Denmark (Dyrenes Beskyttelse)
Aquatic Life Institute
ARCHE NOAH
Arnika
Asociación Biela y Tierra
Asociación Vida Sana
Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa
Association Biom
Associazione Veneta Produttori Biologici e Biodinamici
Bergwaldprojekt e.V.
Biofuelwatch
BirdLife Cyprus
BirdLife Europe
BirdLife Sverige
Bond Beter Leefmilieu
Both ENDS
BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany)
BUND Naturschutz in Bayern (Friends of the Earth Bavaria)
BUNDjugend
Bündnis für eine enkeltaugliche Landwirtschaft e.V.
Canopea
CELL (Luxembourg)
Children of the Earth (Děti Země)
ClientEarth
Coalición Por Otra PAC
Coalition Living Earth (Koalicja Żywa Ziemia)
Comité Schone Lucht
Compassion in World Farming EU
Coordination gegen BAYER-Gefahren
Corporate European Observatory
Creatura Think & Do Tank ry
Czech Society for Ornithology
denkhausbremen
Deutsche Umwelthilfe
DOF BirdLife
Ecologistas en Accion
EDEN center
EEB
Ei polteta tulevaisuutta, Finland
Ekō
Entraide et Fraternité
Environmental Investigation Agency
Environmental Paper Network International
Environmental Pillar
Estonian Green Movement / FoE Estonia
Euro Coop
Eurogroup for Animals
EuroNatur
European Vegetarian Union
Federación de Consumidores y Usuarios CECU
Federazione Nazionale Pro Natura
Feedback EU
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation
Food & Water Action Europe
foodwatch international
Forests of the World/Verdens Skove
Forum Ökologie & Papier
FOUR PAWS
France Nature Environnement
Freedom for Animals (Svoboda zvířat)
Friends of the Earth Europe
Friends of the Earth Malta
Fundación Entretantos
Fundación Global Nature
Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua
Fundación Vida Sostenible
Fundacja Zielone Światło
Future Food 4 Climate
GEN-GOB
GLOBAL 2000 - Friends of the Earth Austria
Global Witness
GOB Menorca
GOB-Mallorca
Green Impact
Green REV Institute
Greenpeace
Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente
Hnutí Brontosaurus
Hnutí DUHA - Friends of the Earth Czech Republic
Humundi
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Nature Conservation Group JARO
ISDE, International Society of Doctors for Environment
Koalice pro řeky (Coalition for Rivers, Czechia)
LandschappenNL
Latvian Fund for Nature
Latvijas Ornitoloģijas biedrība
Leefmilieu
Legambiente
Les Amis de la Terre France
Liga para a Protecção da Natureza
Lipu BirdLife Italia
LPO France
Luontoliitto (The Finnish Nature Association)
Marilles Foundation
MENSA CÍVICA
Mouvement écologique
NABU
Nadace na ochranu zvířat (Foundation for the Protection of Animals)
Name of organisation
Natagora
National Society of Conservationists - Friends of the Earth Hungary
Natuurmonumenten
Natuurpunt
Nauka dla Przyrody
NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
Observatorio para una Cultura del Territorio
Oxfam
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe
Polish Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife Poland
PowerShift
ProVeg International
Quercus
Rete Semi Rurali
Rettet den Regenwald e.V.
REVER - Réseau d'Échange et de Valorisation en Ecologie de la Restauration
Rewilding Europe
ROBIN WOOD e.V.
Salva la Selva
SEO/BirdLife Spain
Slovenská ornitologická spoločnosť / BirdLife Slovensko
Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves
Society for Ecological Restoration Europe
Society for Sustainable Living
SOS Faim Luxembourg
Středisko ekologické výchovy SEVER
TAPP Coalition
Terra! - APS
Terre d'Abeilles
TROCA - Plataforma por um Comércio Internacional Justo
Umanotera
VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment)
Wohllebens Wald und Wildnis gGmbH
WWF European Policy Office
Xarxa per la Conservació de la Natura
Zelený kruh (Green circle)
ZERO
Zielone Wiadomości
Zveza biodinamikov Slovenije
