Maine outlaws single-use Styrofoam, as first state to sign ban into law

Update on our work on sustainable food systems by Francesco Rampa, Head of ECDPM’s Sustainable food systems team Dear Francesco, I hope that this message finds you and your family well and that you’re keeping safe. Although vaccines against COVID-19 are being developed at an impressive speed, the social and economic effects of the pandemic will linger much longer. If anything, 2020 and the exceptional situation we found ourselves in reminded us that, no matter how distant, communities around the world are connected. In 2021, we need to build back our food systems better, not only to avoid more health crises but also because of looming challenges such as climate change, malnutrition, poverty, inequality and biodiversity loss. Our team continues to work for a positive change towards sustainable food systems in Europe and Africa. Here is what has kept us busy over the last months. We wrote a guide on the concept and practice of a sustainable food systems approach to help practitioners and decision-makers to handle the complexity and move towards more coherent, effective and context-appropriate interventions for the necessary transformations. The guide came in handy also when discussing the design and adoption of a sustainable food system approach for Irish official development assistance. While Ireland’s development policy recognises the need for systemic responses to the challenges posed by unsustainable food systems, this has not been integrated into any of the country’s development strategy or operations yet. In an upcoming paper, we will put forward a three-year plan to integrate the sustainable food system approach into Irish strategy and operations – keep an eye out in the coming months! In the search for the sustainability of food systems, trade can either help or hinder the process. Together with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), we…

Poland also wants Brussels to investigate whether the behaviour of Russia’s Gazprom has stoked European gas price rises. The Commission has already agreed to study both issues, but not committed to take immediate action.  EU leaders on Thursday struggled to agree a common response to soaring energy prices, which have exposed familiar rifts over the bloc’s climate change goals and divided countries on whether the price crunch warrants an overhaul of EU energy market rules. The European Commission last week published a “toolbox” outlining the national measures governments can take and said Brussels would look into longer-term options to address price shocks.  EU leaders debated those options on Thursday. Most EU countries have already drawn up emergency action plans to shield consumers, including energy tax cuts and subsidies for poorer households. Their final summit conclusions invited countries to urgently use the toolbox “to provide short-term relief to the most vulnerable consumers and to support European companies”.

Asphalt Pavement Recycling with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Environmental stewardship is designated as a major focus area of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) strategic plan. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment.