EU Green Week 2020 is now scheduled for 19-22 October 2020, on the theme

of nature and biodiversity. After the adoption of a new EU Biodiversity

Strategy for 2030 in May, Green Week will highlight the contribution biodiversity
can make to society and the economy, and the role it can play in supporting and
stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, bringing jobs and sustainable
growth. The new strategy shows how the recovery is an opportunity for a fresh
start, in the knowledge that transformative change is possible. It’s a chance
to rethink our relationship with nature, to change the activities that are driving
biodiversity loss and the wider ecological crisis, and to weigh up the implications
for our economy and society. EU Green Week will examine how EU policies
such as the European Green Deal can help protect and restore nature,
leaving it room to recover and thrive.

This year’s Green Week will also act as a milestone on the path to the
Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
now planned for 2021, where world leaders will adopt a 10-year action plan for
biodiversity – a new global deal for people and nature.

BIODIVERSITY
https://www.eugreenweek.eu/en/biodiversity

Nature matters
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. This web of living things is the heart of
nature, cleaning the water we drink, pollinating our crops, purifying the air we
breathe, regulating the climate, keeping our soils fertile, providing us with
medicine, and providing many of the basic building blocks for industry.

Yet, we are losing nature like never before

All scientists agree - we are losing nature like never before, in all parts of the
world. This loss is closely linked to climate change, and is part of a general
ecological crisis. The effects of biodiversity loss are already here and they will
get worse if the trend continues.

Did you know?

 Human action has now significantly altered three quarters of the land-based
environment and two thirds of the marine environment.
 Extracting and processing materials, fuels and food is the reason behind 90% of
biodiversity loss and half of all greenhouse gas emissions.
 It would now take 1.6 Earths to meet the demands we make on nature each year.
So why are we losing biodiversity?
Habitat loss, over-exploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien
species all contribute to biodiversity loss. But the underlying cause is
unsustainable human activities. Our demand for new resources is driving
deforestation, changing patterns of land use, and destroying natural habitats all
around the globe.

In Europe, the main cause of biodiversity loss is land-use change. Farming and
forestry practices have become more intensive, with more chemical additives,
fewer spaces between fields, and fewer varieties of crops. This lack of variety
means far fewer insects, for example, and consequently fewer birds.

Cities and urban areas have also expanded enormously, leaving less room for
nature. And when farmland and urban developments leave no room for nature,
the result is a loss of biodiversity.

But does it really matter?

Biodiversity loss is dangerous to our society and to our economy. It is…

 a business issue, because natural capital provides essential resources for industry
 a security issue, because loss of natural resources, especially in developing
countries, can lead to conflict
 a climate issue, because destroying natural habitats speeds up global warming
 a food security issue, because pollinators play a vital role in our food system
 an ethical issue, because loss of biodiversity hurts the poorest most of all, making
inequalities worse
 an intergenerational issue, because we are robbing our descendants of a vital
resource
 a moral issue, because we should not destroy the living planet
 a health issue because nature improves air quality, reduces exposure to pollutants,
and cools our cities

Did you know?

 Up to 300 million people already face a higher risk of floods and hurricanes
because of loss of coastal habitats and protection

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

How can we stop this loss?
Scientists say that the next 10 years are critical. We need deep changes in the
way we live, from our energy system and the way we use land, to buildings,
cities, transport and food, to reach near-net-zero emissions reduction by 2050
or earlier. The European Green Deal is the EU response to this crisis.

Most of the required technologies already exist, but we need to use them more
widely. We need to implement them quickly, use cleaner energy sources, cut
deforestation, manage land better and switch to sustainable agriculture. More
businesses need to realise that they depend on natural resources for food,
fibres, and building material. They need to adopt models for consumption and
production that support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

What is Europe doing to solve the problem?

As part of the New Green Deal, Europe is making a firm commitment to three
priorities in a new biodiversity strategy: protecting biodiversity from future harm,
restoring damage where it has already suffered, and ensuring that a concern for
biodiversity is a central feature of all other relevant policy areas.

Internationally, the EU is a major supporter of biodiversity protection and the

sustainable use of natural resources. It engages more than 350 million euros
per year on biodiversity in developing countries through programmes directly
focused on biodiversity and programmes on mainstreaming biodiversity in other
sectors. E.g. in 2018, the EU funded 66 protected areas in 27 countries in Sub-
Saharan Africa.

Europe is aiming for world leaders to agree an overall target to protect

biodiversity in Kunming, China, in spring 2021. This will be the equivalent of the
Paris 1.5° goal. This 15th meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD COP
15) will review progress towards the world’s current biodiversity targets, and
raise the level of ambition for the next ten years.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Citizens

 Go out and enjoy nature! Visit a Natura 2000 site next to you
https://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/#
 Contribute to a citizen’s science project
 Check out how well EU laws protecting nature are implemented in your country
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/country-reports/index_en.htm
 Watch your consumption of resources. Become aware of the impact of your lifestyle
choices on nature, take up one of the challenges and make a change
https://www.anatomyofaction.org/
 Put pressure on policymakers. Call on political leaders to conclude a strong and
ambitious global deal to protect and restore nature in October 2020 in Kunming,
China