Dear Reader
When I joined the EEB… I thought I’d be writing about the merits and flaws of EU environmental policies, and maybe publicly grumbling about an out-of-touch stickler in the EU Parliament blocking a perfectly sensible amendment to a law. Never had I imagined I’d be writing against the backdrop of one of the biggest moments of geopolitical upheaval in the history of the European project, making the case that environmental progress won’t just give us a healthy planet – it is also our path to freedom, security, and peace. But here we are…
Whether you just got back to your desk and you’re still rubbing the Christmas-break sleep out of your eyes, or you plodded through like a pack-horse saving those holiday days for sunnier climes, I’m back with the team to guide you into the New Year, and maybe even the New World Order 😬 We’ll cover:
- How renewables are the EU’s ticket out of a geopolitical crisis
- Cyprus takes the helm of the EU Council Presidency
- A new European Citizens Initiative on the right to healthy food
- A humble brag
- And some gorgeously good news stories
There’s plenty to keep us busy – and yes, plenty to worry about – but hope has a habit of showing up where you least expect it. What’s been giving you a lift lately? Drop us a line and share what is keeping you going in 2026! If you enjoy it, consider buying us a coffee 💛☕
😶🌫️ METHOD IN THE MADNESS
Welcome to 2026. Before most of us had even had a chance to road-test our New Year’s resolutions, Donald Trump had already delivered yet another major blow to the rule of law and international diplomacy. It’s a sharp reminder that this isn’t just a new year, it’s a new political reality.
It’s geopolitics, stupid – At the EEB, many of us are more than happy to debate the intricacies of geopolitics and its intersectionality. We know fossil fuels – and we pay close attention to the damage they cause to the planet and to people. One thing is very clear: oil sits right at the centre of today’s geopolitical storm.
Thoroughly toxic – Not only are fossil fuels the biggest driver of climate change, accounting for 68% per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and almost 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions – you know, the stuff dangerously warming our planet – but they are stoking conflict and instability.
Fuelling conflict – President Trump has made clear that expanding US access to fossil fuel resources is a central pillar of his foreign policy, explicitly linking his illegal intervention in Venezuela to control over oil reserves and making public threats about “acquiring” Greenland, a territory potentially rich in natural resources.
Full-on flunk – The US withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and more than 60 other international treaties and organisations this week should not be seen as an isolated move – it is part of a broader strategy to dismantle multilateral climate governance (and multilateralism in general) to remove constraints on fossil fuel expansion. The signal could not be clearer. A deliberate turn away from global cooperation (like leaving the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, the body that sets international standards on judicial independence and rule of law) in favour of accelerating extraction, with far-reaching consequences for international trust, environmental protection and democratic norms, just to name a few.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements exist for a reason. Climate change, pollution, water scarcity and ecosystem collapse do not stop at borders, and no country can insulate itself from their impacts. Walking away from cooperation is short-sighted and will ultimately harm the US and its people – but it also underlines why defending environmental multilateralism matters more than ever.
And Europe is not a bystander. As one of our favourite green-fluencers reminds us this week, anyone delaying, weakening or deregulating climate action in Europe is helping Trump – and undermining the EU’s independence. We closed last year watching shareholders and many conservative politicians raise a glass to climate backsliding: the softening of the 2035 ban on combustion engines, delays to carbon pricing for cars and homes, and the weakening of the EU’s 2040 climate targets.
This is short-termism at its worst – locking Europe into prolonged dependence on the US and Russia and leaving it weaker in a harsher world.
☀️💨 MORE SOLAR AND WIND = FEWER OIL DOLLARS
No war has ever been started over a solar panel.
Let’s not be needy – We said it when Russia invaded Ukraine, and we’ll say it again: Europe needs to break free from petro-states and build real energy independence on home-grown renewables. The US is currently the EU’s main supplier of oil and gas, putting the bloc in a difficult position when responding to Trump. Such dependence also feeds volatile energy costs for European consumers and businesses.
A sunnier future – But a future based 100% on renewables is possible by 2040. The EU has put all member states on a decarbonisation path, which is already delivering results. Last year, renewables supplied half (!) of Europe’s electricity.
The problem isn’t direction. It’s speed. And distraction. Europe must defend its climate agenda tooth and nail: no delays, no “flexibilities”, no backdoor tricks sold as pragmatism but benefiting oil oligarchs. Those who argued that this wasn’t our most urgent priority were so very clearly wrong. Today, it’s clearer than ever: every year we keep burning fossil fuels makes Europe weaker in an increasingly volatile world. It’s time to electrify everything. Everywhere. All at once.
🆕 NEW RULES, CYPRUS TO PLAY
Pilot seat, not pilot episode – Cyprus has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU, fourteen years after its first Presidency in 2012, taking the reins from Denmark at an incredibly volatile moment for Europe. The small country will play a major role in steering Europe through this geopolitical meteor field. To succeed, it must ensure that the EU steers clear of climate denial, deregulation, and fossil fuel expansion.
Give me a C! The EEB keeps close tabs on the Presidencies – a sort of cynical (but optimistic!) cheerleader, trying to squeeze the best out of those in the driving seat. As a result, we have a pretty good idea of what the Danes achieved and what Cyprus needs to do to get the EU on the straight and narrow.
⬅️ Denmark out
Kudos – The Danes assumed the presidency amid geopolitical shocks, rising disinformation, and attacks on environmental and social protections. Despite this, the DK Presidency made important and welcome efforts to put science and evidence back at the heart of EU policymaking.
And brownie points – The DK Presidency pushed for evidence-based approaches in simplification debates, highlighted the latest warnings from the European Environment Agency, and engaged openly with civil society. It focused on sustainable food systems and vital dietary shifts, as well as PFAS pollution, with blood testing organised together with yours truly at the Informal Environment Council (where EU+ environment ministers meet) – a rare moment to connect policy to real-life impact – finding that it’s not only us “normal” people but also EU leaders that are contaminated with forever chemicals…
But let’s be frank. Despite these efforts, the DK Presidency was unable to reverse the current and dangerous trajectory of deregulation. Europe remains on a risky path that is not only wrecking our natural world, but also undermining long-term business competitiveness, resilience and public trust.
And civic space kept shrinking… While out of the Presidency’s control and the fault of their national governments, a new study by CIVICUS places France, Germany and Italy (home to almost half of the EU’s population) in the same category as Hungary: civic space is deemed “obstructed”, downgraded from “narrowed”, which was already not great.
➡️ Cyprus in
Cyprus’ guiding motto for its term is “An autonomous Europe – open to the world”. While it might not exactly roll off the tongue, the ambition certainly meets the moment.
Go go green deal – To achieve this autonomy, Europe needs to be able to rely on itself for its energy, food and water. The CY Presidency will therefore need to drive the EU Green Deal toward full implementation and resist blinkered attempts to deregulate, which, as the latest US Security Strategy demonstrates, serve mainly US corporate interests.
Nobody wants this – Against this backdrop, the CY Presidency will steer work on four ongoing and three new deregulation packages covering the environment, food, and automotive sectors.
We hate to say we told you so – Speaking of deregulation, Politico’s recent article on the “complication agenda” quotes European business leaders saying what the EEB has been saying all along – that rapid, unchecked deregulation is bad for business and in fact severely undermines European competitiveness. We keep asking: when businesses, experts, civil society, academics, and citizens all say “we don’t want this”, then who are they deregulating our health, safety and environmental standards for? Seemingly someone orange.
Also on the agenda – The Presidency will advance the next EU budget, the always-controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the upcoming REACH (chemicals regulation) revision. It goes without saying that the next EU budget must fund the implementation of the EU Green Deal and a fair transition for all, especially vulnerable communities, while the REACH update must strengthen protections for people and nature. No one wants polluted tap water, even if it’s cheaper and good for the chemical industry’s bottom line.
Stronger rules, toxic-free products, and better data are essential for a safe, circular economy fit for the future. With disinformation identified as a top global risk for the next few years, combating it must also be a priority to safeguard Europe’s security and democratic resilience.
Science and security leave no room for complacency. We have set the Cypriot Presidency ten green tests to help it set Europe on its path to autonomy.
📌 Council Matters A Council Presidency can’t do everything on its own. It relies on the EU Commission, Parliament, and other Member State governments to make decisions together. But it can still make a real difference: by setting priorities, leading and shaping the agenda, advancing practical work, and working with countries to drive progress.
👉 Read our full Assessment of the Danish Presidency
👉 Read our Memorandum for the Cypriot Presidency The EEB’s Directors also provide a useful recap of 2025 in their executive summaries.
🥕 FOOD MATTERS
Something’s rotten – Food matters. It keeps us alive. It connects us to our cultures and communities, and it supports millions of livelihoods across Europe. But something is rotten. Europe’s corporate-governed food system prioritises profit over everything else – our health, farmers’ livelihoods, food worker protections, animal rights, and the natural world. Despite significant overproduction and waste, millions of Europeans still lack access to healthy, sustainable food.
Good food for all – It’s time for that to change. Launched just this week, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) #GoodFood4All aims to make the Right to Food a reality across Europe! This initiative calls for a food system that delivers good food for everyone, not just for a few, while protecting communities and wider society, and, of course, the natural world we all depend on. Your voice can make a world of difference – sign the petition today!
Hang on, what’s an ECI? The campaign is powered by a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), the EU’s strongest tool for direct democracy. It allows citizens to put issues directly on the EU political agenda and demand a response from policymakers. A million signatures are needed to get it across the threshold – so let’s make this happen!
And it’s possible: just look at the My Voice, My Choice petition for safe and accessible abortion getting 1,2 million signatures, and working its way through the system as we speak. Let’s go!
😏 WHO PUSHED THE HUMBLE BRAG BUTTON?
💚 We leaf you – It is easy to have a crisis of faith in these hard times. But one thing that keeps us going at New Leaf is you – yes, you, our environment-loving community. Though our job titles might be things like ‘policy officer for methane’ and our hobbies might be repairing toasters, the truth is much bigger than that.
We are all here because we believe a better world is possible, and that other people and the generations that come after us deserve a healthy, thriving natural environment and strong social protections.
We crunched the numbers for last year to ensure we are delivering impact where it is needed, and it looks like our community is thriving! Despite what some might have you believe, just know that MANY people are with you and CARE about people and planet.
😍 32,000 – that is how many of you have signed up to receive our weekly New Leaf newsletter AND in the last year alone:
🥰 110 million of you viewed our social media posts
🫶 14 million liked and clicked our social media posts
❤️🔥 114,000 new followers joined our community (making our total close to 260,000). Crazy!
🧠✨ DOPAMINE HIT
As ever, here are a few happy updates to get your weekend off to a perky start:
- The BeLIFE project has launched the second episode in its Lawfully Loud podcast series, shining a spotlight on a new tool designed to help you better navigate your environmental rights.
- Young Atlantic salmon spotted in three English rivers for first time in a decade!
- Otters are back in almost every river in the UK!
- Honey-making sting-less bees in the Peruvian Amazon become the first insects to gain legal rights!
☕ BUY US A COFFEE
From dirty lobbies to smear campaigns, billionaire bullies to climate collapse, we face a lot. Support our work, one coffee at a time.
📢 ORGANISE
If you are not involved, get involved. Find a member organisation near you.
🚀 FOLLOW US
Don’t stay delulu, deal with the pollulu 🍃✨ Stay connected with us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Don’t miss out!
Are you a journalist? Subscribe here to stay up to date on our latest European environmental policy updates made specifically for you!
We have opened a new mailbox for your tips and tales from the ground. Got something you think we should feature? Reach out to us at newleaf@eeb.org.
✨ SIGN UP
Stay informed. Subscribe to our Newsletter by email for the latest EU green insider updates every Friday morning and to support our work. By subscribing, you also get early access to our in-depth analysis of key EU environmental policy.
By: Ruby Silk. Special thanks to the EEB’s editorial team: Roi Gomez, Ben Snelson and Alberto Vela. Editor: Christian Skrivervik.