Staying the course: driving sustainability forward in a shifting geopolitical context

Past event In person & livestreamed

Climate, Energy & Natural Resources
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What happened?

The recent shifts in political priorities, following the outcomes of the US and European elections, along with other pressing challenges that Europe is facing, have raised significant concerns about whether the EU can maintain its ambitious climate and environmental goals. There are doubts about its ability to achieve a just transition to a sustainable, carbon-neutral future by 2050. Extreme weather events have affected many regions in Europe over recent years, and their increasing frequency and intensity are now causing devastating consequences. Recent floods in Valencia left over 220 people dead, submerged homes and infrastructure, destroyed agricultural fields and left the regional economy facing millions in damages. This is just one example of the escalating risks of climate-related events, highlighting the imperative for Member States to accelerate their progress on climate mitigation and adaptation.

Across Europe, the broader impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly severe, impacting biodiversity, healthcare systems, agriculture, energy supply and infrastructure. These challenges are imposing an increasing financial burden on economies. Without urgent and coordinated action, these impacts will only worsen, becoming harder to address and more costly to manage.

This event emphasised the urgent need for action and effective implementation of the current policy toolbox. This policy insight, organised with the European Environment Agency (EEA), offered a check-up on the state of our environment, taking stock of the progress made this past year and identifying key milestones to be achieved in 2025 for Europe to meet its ambitious targets.

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Schedule

Schedule

Welcome and light sandwich lunch
Staying the course: driving sustainability forward in a shifting geopolitical context
Expand Staying the course: driving sustainability forward in a shifting geopolitical context

Questions to be addressed in the debate include:

  • What key policy changes should the EU prioritise to ensure that climate adaptation and resilience are effectively integrated into all sectors, from agriculture to healthcare, in response to the growing impacts of climate change?
  • What is Europe doing to drive progress on protecting and restoring nature, reducing waste and transforming our linear economic model to a circular one?
  • What can we do to foster a sense of urgency and encourage coordinated action across all sectors – EU, national, regional and local administrations, as well as the private sector – to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation?
End of Policy Insight
Speakers

Speakers

Pär Holmgren
Pär Holmgren

Member of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Show more information on Pär Holmgren

Pär Holmgren is a Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Greens with over 30 years of experience tackling climate issues as a meteorologist, insurance advisor, author and lecturer at most Swedish universities. His deep expertise in climate science has made him a prominent voice in shaping European policy on the environment, agriculture, forestry and energy since joining the Parliament. Now in his second mandate, Pär will continue to advance bold climate action, focusing on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy and enhancing forest governance to maximise carbon sequestration and protect biodiversity.

Veronika Hunt Šafránková
Veronika Hunt Šafránková

Head of Brussels Office, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Show more information on Veronika Hunt Šafránková

Veronika Hunt Šafránková is the Head of Brussels Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), working with EU partners in addressing global environmental challenges. Before joining UNEP, she worked for Charles University in Prague, as Director of International Relations and Partnerships. Prior to this, she held different positions at the Czech Ministry of the Environment, responsible for number of areas including international relations, EU legislation and environmental policy. She was involved in the preparations for the Czech accession to the EU and co-ordination of the first Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU in the field of environment.

Dennis-Kredler
Dennis Kredler

Senior Director Government Affairs Europe and Head of Brussels Office at Dow

Show more information on Dennis Kredler

Dennis Kredler is Senior Director, Government Affairs Europe and Head of the Dow Brussels Office. He is accountable for Dow’s interactions with the EU institutions and its senior relationships and public policy advocacy with the EU institutions and member state governments. Prior to this appointment, he served as Director General of the European Retail Round Table, a group of Chief Executives of Europe’s leading retail companies with operations around the world, and with the European Round Table of Industrialists, a forum of Chairmen and Chief Executives of European multinationals from a wide range of manufacturing and technological sectors. Previous positions were with Deutsche Telekom and Railtrack plc.

Dirk-Messner
Dirk Messner

President of the German Environment Agency (UBA)

Show more information on Dirk Messner

Dirk Messner is President of the German Environment Agency, having previously served as Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University and Vice Rector of the United Nations University. Prior to this, he was Director of the German Development Institute. Messner is an internationally recognised expert on globalisation and global governance, transformation pathways to sustainability, decarbonisation of the global economy, sustainability and digital change, and international cooperation. Messner has also been a member of a number of high-ranking policy advisory councils, including the German Advisory Council on Global Change and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany.

Photo of Tamsin Rose
Tamsin Rose

Facilitator

Show more information on Tamsin Rose

Tamsin Rose is a facilitator who was until recently a senior fellow for health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.

Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts
Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts

Belgian climate and children’s rights activist, founder of 'Climate Justice for Rosa'

Show more information on Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts

Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts is an 18-year-old Belgian climate and children’s rights activist. His activism began at age 12, but became a personal mission after the tragic loss of his close friend Rosa in the floods of 2021. In her memory, he launched the Climate Justice for Rosa campaign to convey that the climate crisis isn’t just about numbers and statistics- it’s about human lives. His advocacy led to the establishment of 15 July as the EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis. In addition to running his non-profit, Benjamin serves as an EU Climate Pact Ambassador and a climate advisor for the Child Rights International Network. He has spoken at major platforms, including COP27, COP28 and COP29, and continues to advocate for climate justice through international events and high-profile litigation. He is a plaintiff in the TotalCriminal case, a groundbreaking lawsuit that seeks to hold TotalEnergies’ executives accountable for their role in contributing to environmental destruction and exacerbating the climate crisis.

Photo of Leena Ylä-Mononen
Leena Ylä-Mononen

Executive Director at the European Environment Agency (EEA)

Show more information on Leena Ylä-Mononen

Leena Ylä-Mononen has worked with national, European and international environmental policy and administration for over 30 years. Before joining the EEA, Ylä-Mononen was director general at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, where she was in charge of the Ministry’s Climate and Environmental Protection Department, dealing with environmental policy issues and EU files. Prior to joining the Ministry Ylä-Mononen worked in management positions at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, first as a head of unit and then as one of the directors. She also worked at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, on policy files related to chemicals, pesticides and multilateral environmental agreements related to chemicals.

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