Sebastian Bechtel

How the EU lets plastic be labelled ‘recycled’ at just 2.5% re-used content

"Never forget that a political, economical or religious crisis is enough to cast doubt on women's rights. These rights will never be vested. You have to stay vigilant your whole life."

Simone de Beauvoir, 1949

#WomensDay #IWD2026 #8M

⚠️ @greenpeace.org’s report on plastic-packaged ready meals highlights that chemicals and microplastics can migrate into food when heated.

🔥 Both oven and microwave heating causes chemical leaching, with higher levels released in the microwave.

More in our news story 👉 buff.ly/pzRrFsk

In today's horrible investor-state dispute settlement #ISDS news, an Emirati bauxite mining firm has filed a case against Guinea where the amount is the size of Guinea's GDP

www.iareporter.com/articles/bau...

Environmental Groups Vow to Stop Trump's EPA from Revoking the Endangerment Finding As global heating accelerates, the nation’s environmental watchdog is trying to muzzle its own ability to act

EPA has finalized its repeal of the endangerment finding. Up next - court challenges

@sierraclub.org & its NGO partners plan to sue. Some public health orgs do too

MA & other Dem-led states say they will challenge this

@youthvgov.bsky.social will petition too

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/envir...

Hands Off Nature – Defend Europe’s Forests, Rivers & Wildlife Stop the dismantling of European environmental protections. Stand up for forests, wildlife, clean air, and safe water - our nature depends on it.

The health of 450 million Europeans vs. short-term gains for a few?

Polluters and their political allies are tearing down environmental laws as we speak. The laws that protect our water, health & nature.

Don't let it happen. Sign to give nature a voice: handsoffnature.eu

#HandsOffNature

Brussels accused of undermining democracy in plans to relax lawmaking standards EU executive says global instability is forcing it to weaken long-standing guardrails.

Dozens of civil society and industry groups have warned the European Commission it will undermine democracy if it pushes ahead with a plan to simplify its rulemaking process.

BREAKING: The Hague District Court 🇳🇱 rules that the Dutch government's climate mitigation measures are insufficient & that it has failed to adequately protect residents of Bonaire (an overseas Dutch territory) from climate impacts, violating European #humanrights law

Big #climatelitigation win

Political cartoon showing a chainsaw labeled ‘Simplifier’ cutting through a stack of papers labeled ‘Vital social and environmental protections.’ The chainsaw bears EU symbols and is powered by a red fuel can labeled ‘Corporate lobbying.’ Above, text reads: ‘Commission unveils new tools in so-called “simplification” plans.’ Cartoon by @cartoonRalph

1/

The 🇪🇺 Commission is taking a political chainsaw to hard won social, environmental, and digital protections.

We need #RulestoProtect not #Deregulation.

Check out our new cartoons below by @cartoonralph.bsky.social and spread the word!

Why Europe’s night-train renaissance derailed Aging carriages, high costs and reluctant incumbents choked off the night-train revival — even as passengers clamor for more.

Aging carriages, high costs and reluctant incumbents have choked off the night-train revival — even as passengers clamor for more.

Europe’s simplification mess frustrates businesses Some companies say the simplification agenda is turning Europe into an unpredictable business partner.

Brussels says it is answering the wishes of businesses for less paperwork and fewer legislative constraints.

But for many of them, the frequent introduction, pausing and rewriting of EU rules is just making life more complicated.

Bar chart titled “Who’s Really Blocking California Development?” showing the share of CEQA lawsuits by plaintiff type. HOAs and NIMBY groups account for the majority at 54%. Business and commercial plaintiffs file 20% of cases, government entities 13%, environmental groups 8%, tribal or cultural groups 4%, and labor unions 2%. The chart notes the analysis is based on 1,234 CEQA court opinions from 1973–2025 using CourtListener data, with HOAs/NIMBYs defined as homeowner associations, neighborhood groups, and ad hoc project-opposition groups.

The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.

Huge payout to Dutch pig giant highlights cost of farming policy flip-flop The Dutch government is spending billions of euros to buy out livestock farmers and cut nitrogen emissions. The owner of the Netherlands’ biggest pigsty, who once received subsidies to build his mega-...

Europe’s green farming paradox: who really benefits? 🐷🌿

The Netherlands spends billions to cut livestock pollution, yet its biggest pig farmer is paid millions to shut a mega farm once backed as “green”. Our investigation shows EU farm policies still favour the largest players.

Assessing public support for degrowth: survey-based experimental and predictive studies | Journal paper Using representative surveys in the UK and US with over 5,000 participants, a new study by CUSP fellow Dario Krpan and colleagues Fred Basso, Jason Hickel, ...

Assessing public support for degrowth // New study by CUSP fellow @krpd.bsky.social and colleagues finds that—contrary to common political and media claims—the majority of respondents support #degrowth when presented with the full proposal, regardless of the label. → cusp.ac.uk/themes/aetw/...

#BehindTheScenes

#AarhusPRTRsMoPs delegates greet Ella Behlyarova, UNECE #AarhusConvention Secretary, as she celebrates her birthday.

Australian households to get free electricity three hours a day Saying there is enough solar power for everyone in the daytime, the federal government will direct retailers to provide three hours of free power every day to consumers.

Australia to introduce power cuts... no, wait, free power for 3 hours a day, as the solar boom has reached its, what's the new word?, abundance phase.

HT @volts.wtf www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

Scores of MEPs hold side jobs in sectors where they steer EU laws [FREE TO READ] FT analysis identifies paid work that has not been declared as a potential conflict of interest

Great work by @lauramdubois.ft.com breaking out just how much European MEPs earn in their side jobs — side jobs that often overlap with policy areas they work on in parliament.

on.ft.com/4okX8MT

Watchdog report points to major failures in EU environment policy Despite cuts in emissions and cleaner air, the EU is on track to meet only two of 22 environmental targets by 2030, Europe's environment agency has warned

Watchdog report points to major failures in EU environment policy

Deleting texts to save space, Ursula? ‘It’s not the 1990s.’ Tech experts debunk the European Commission’s policy of deleting its president’s phone messages to “save space.”

My comment on @politico.eu. The European Commission's explanation for Ursula von der Leyen deleting messages on instant messengers “due to lack of space” sounds bizarre in 2025. Security is important. But so is public transparency for officials. www.politico.eu/article/dele...

MAJOR UPDATE: Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached – ocean acidification also in the danger zone.

Read the new Planetary Healthcheck 2025 report here: www.planetaryhealthcheck.org

📢We’re suing the French government for inaction on the Dieselgate scandal📢

10 years after the Dieselgate scandal broke, the French govt has failed to hold carmakers accountable. Evidence shows millions of vehicles likely have emissions-cheating devices: www.clientearth.org/latest/press...

Animals that spread seeds are critical for climate solutions When a toucan plucks fruit from a tree in the Amazon Rainforest, it’s doing more than just finding lunch. Moving to a new location and depositing seeds via its droppings could be crucial in…

New research analyzing more than 3,000 tropical forest sites reveals that areas with fewer seed-dispersing animals store up to four times less carbon than forests with healthy wildlife populations.

The study found that 81% of tropical trees rely on animals to disperse their seeds.

If you live in BXL, you know the struggle: the never-ending traffic jams at rush hour, the badly-insulated flats, and your weather app's air quality index always looming on "Moderate".

This win means that the long-overdue clean-up of Brussels’ air can continue, protecting the health of everyone.

Portugal broke international law in the licensing process of Europe’s largest lithium mine without transparency. Now a UN ruling confirms what the locals said all along.

The Barroso mine still threatens water, biodiversity, and heritage. This fight isn’t just about lithium - it’s about democracy.

The EU and the Aarhus Convention – taking stock of the Union’s progress towards Environmental Democracy The Aarhus Convention continues to be widely celebrated as a beacon of environmental democracy and has played a considerable role in advancing the notion of procedural environmental rights in the…

Join us on 24 September at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel or online for a workshop on:

The EU & the Aarhus Convention: Taking Stock of Progress Towards Environmental Democracy

🔗 Register by 12 Sept: 2035legitimacy.fi/the-eu-and-t...

#AarhusConvention #EU #AccessToJustice #EnvironmentalDemocracy

⚡ ⚖️ 🌐 happening now: #ClimateLitigation court hearing in Zug, Switzerland 🇨🇭, in 𝐴𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑣. 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑐𝑖𝑚.
This civil law case seeks to hold one of the largest carbon major accountable for climate harms.
🧵 live reporting from the Court house, with summary of legal arguments and key elements of context👇

Civil society is the backbone of Europe’s democracy - driving participation, protecting rights, and pushing for climate and social justice.

The EU Civil Society Strategy is a unique chance to strengthen CSOs and democracy.

The D4T Coalition’s position paper shows how 👉 eeb.org/wp-content/u...

💄The EU Commission is about to make it easier for toxic chemicals to end up in cosmetics and everyday products - and they only held industry-skewed "Reality Check" workshops about this instead of consulting the public.

Our reaction: ➡️ www.clientearth.org/latest/press...

BJPolS abstract discussing the effects of extensive media exposure on public perceptions and normalization. It references specific research surveys conducted on Sky News UK and Australia, analyzing changes in public attitudes and policy effects due to media strategies.

NEW -

Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL

"exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population"

- @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social

#OpenAccess

Corporate lobbyists will weaponise European Parliament's plan for 'impact assessments' Impact assessments have been used by the EU Commission for many years, but until now the European Parliament has been hesitant to introduce them. But this has changed now the EU has enthroned ‘competitiveness’ — ie deregulation and corporate profits — above all other considerations, plus a rightwing majority in the parliament, warns Corporate Europe Observatory.

Corporate lobbyists will weaponise European Parliament's plan for 'impact assessments'