Stefan Scheuer S.P.R.L.

News

VACANCY - APPLICATIONS CLOSED

19/07/2010. We have received more than 400 applications for the open position. Please note that applications received after Monday 19th July will not be considered. Thank you for your understanding.

VACANCY - POLICY OFFICER

05/07/2010. Stefan Scheuer SPRL is looking for a junior policy officer, to start by 1st September 2010. Our small but rapidly growing company wants to step up its activities to provide effective campaigns and intelligent communication at the interface of science, policy and people.

EU water protection not taking off

Brussels, 07/07/2010. EU Member States are found to leave restoration of surface waters to future generations. A newly released report on the quality of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive authored by Stefan Scheuer and published by the European Environmental Bureau finds that EU governments abuse exemptions provided by the Directive to procrastinate actions to clean up surface waters to good ecological and chemical status. The few countries which provided river basin management plans and information as required by the Directive merely aim at tackling nutrient pollution in 1/3 of all damaged waters by 2015 leaving the difficult remainder for the 2021 or 2027 deadlines. Many countries completely fail to provide plans in time or with sufficient data, even for the well know nutrient pollution problems caused mainly by unsustainable agri-businesses.

Click here for the press release and here for the full report.

Toxic water pollution: five of five EU countries bury their heads in the sand

Brussels, 12/05/2010. A Greenpeace report reveals that Czech Republic, Germany, the UK, Slovakia and Spain are ignoring their legal obligations to act on phasing out nonylphenol emissions into their waters. Nonylphenol is used in a range of products, including textiles from which they leach into urban sewage systems and escape into rivers. It causes feminisation of marine life, increases the risk of cancer and reduces fertility. The EU identified nonylphenol in 2001 as toxic chemical to be phased out within 20 years. The five countries investigated cannot demonstrate in their river basin management plans that they act accordingly. There is strong evidence that this case is symptomatic of a failure from governments to deal with other highly toxic substances in European rivers.

Click here for the full report

Click here for a good article(in German) on the topic.

Industry Voluntary Agreements in the Eco-design directive: Green NGOs ring alarm bell

Brussels, February 2010. Environmental NGOs expressed their concerns regarding the development of so-called Self-Regulation Initiatives in the implementation of the Eco-design directive. They called on the European Commission to take up its responsibilities and hand them too lightly to the industry without the safeguards normally provided by the consultation and impact assessment process. The Eco-design policy is one of the EU's most powerful tools to trigger energy savings and rid the market from the most wasteful products.

For the full text of the letter,: click here>>

EU Sustainable Energy Week: What future for the EU Ecodesign policy?

February 2010. The Cool products for a cool planet partners organise an event on the 23rd of March on the occasion of the EUSEW 2010. The speakers and panelists will discuss how the EU Ecodesign policy can finally trigger the huge energy savings potential of energy-using appliances.

Draft programme of the event: Click here>>

EU Funds and climate in Central and Eastern Europe: potential unfulfilled

November 2009. The EU Cohesion Policy will not deliver the required structural changes in Central and Eastern Europe. A report by CEE Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth, presented on 17 November at a conference on climate proofing EU funds in the European Parliament, reveals a huge implementation deficit: only 5.7% of EU funds allocated to energy efficiency and 16.3% for energy efficiency have been awarded to projects, nearly 3 years into the programming period. The EU Cohesion Policy needs a fundamental reform to put all Member States on the path of the transition to a sustainable and decarbonised economy.

For the full report and press release click here>>

Analysis Election 2009: The new European Parliament between low-turn out, far-right and business as usual. What impact on EU environmental policies?

June 2009. Many environmentalists sympathise with the European Parliament - at least those who deal with it on a regular basis. It is the only institution - within this often technocratic and elitist European Union project - which represents citizens and often defends their interests, bringing real-life politics into it, often for the benefit of the environment. It has been painful to see participation in this 2009 elections falling to further lows, and extremists and anti-Europeans gaining ground. Does this mean the new Parliament will have less legitimacy and less power? Will it be less environmentally friendly than its predecessors?

You can find the full article at Click here>>

What Future For EU's Water?

May 2009. Water protection is at a crossroads in Europe. The EU has set in motion a unique water management reform process. Across the EU, governments are engaging in one of the biggest, most coordinated consultation exercises ever on plans to restore the ecology of our river basins by 2015. A survey-based assessment has confirmed that a mobilisation has taken place in most river basins. At the same time significant parts of Europe are seriously lagging behind at government and civil society levels. While Providing more space for rivers is an emerging new issue to be tackled, reducing water use has not yet been mainstreamed into water management plans. This omission weakens the relevance of water policy in determining or playing a role in shaping climate and energy policies and in delivering sustainable development strategies. Political leadership is missing to grasp the opportunity arising from developing long-term river basin plans, to increase regional cooperation, to respond to climate change and ecosystem collapse and to provide lasting solutions to the economic crisis.

You can find the full report at Click here>>

New consultancy firm established: europe, planet earth Ltd.

November 2008. Germana Canzi, business journalist and environmental policy expert, and Stefan Scheuer, formed the new firm: europe, planet earth Ltd. The firm, based in London, brings together a wide range of experience in environmental and energy policy and EU affairs and communication. europe, planet earth provides its services to civil society and public organisations to increase their capacities in promoting sustainable policies. Currently the firm implements a major project to ensure ambitious European energy efficiency requirements for products, like heating, TVs and lighting.

For further information click here>>

Launch of EU water policy benchmarks

18 November 2008. The European Environmental Bureau and WWF launch benchmarks for Europe's water policy: Europe's water at the crossroads. Five headline indicators are presented to measure progress in the ongoing water management reforms under the EU Water Framework Directive. The indicators look at issues like transparency and public onwership of river basin management, provision of more space and water to enhance aquatic ecosystems and making them more resilient to climate change.

Download the publication Click here>>

EU Recycling Society?

June 2008. The EU made a deal for its new waste policy. The new Waste Framework Directive "should help to move the EU closer to a 'recycling society'", by preventing and recycling waste. But under the deal European Parliament's demands for prevention targets would bee postponed to 2014. Its demands for overall recycling targets would be reduced to a small fraction of our waste: plastic, paper, metal and glass from households and construction and demolition waste. Meanwhile waste incineration is supported generously with EU money, leaving policy makers with a big challenge on how to achieve a recycling society in practice. The European Parliament will vote on the deal 17 June.

See Friends of the Earth Press Release Click here>>

See CEE Bankwatch Report on EIB financing for the incineration industry Click here>>

Energy Saving in Buildings

Jan 2008. Europe's network of national energy agencies (EnR) finds that progress in saving energy in buildings is slow. EnR has great expectations into the potential of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, nevertheless they find that 1/3 of countries have not yet adopted legal minimum energy performance requirements or put in place measures to achieve them as the Directive requires. The European Commission wants to strengthen the Directive this year.

Download report Click here>>

See the Press Release Click here>>

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