🕊️DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER

Spain is on fire – and not only on the pitch. After beating France in the World Cup this week, its biggest challenge still lies ahead. And no, I’m not talking about the final. I’m talking about the deadly wildfires tearing through the country’s forests – and many other parts of Europe – after yet another intense heatwave.

The World Cup wraps up next week, and I can finally stop pretending I care about football. But while the tournament will end, the climate emergency won’t. Nor will this be the last wildfire or the last heatwave of the summer.

We can introduce hydration breaks at World Cups and adapt our societies to a hotter future, but we cannot change the laws of physics or nature. We already know how to cut emissions. Now we need to implement those solutions – quickly, at scale, and before another summer like this becomes the new normal.

As always, many of the decisions shaping Europe’s response are being made in Brussels this week. Here’s what you need to know.

Inside:

🔍 Deregulation comes for civil society
🚜 Europe backs clean water
⚡ The battle of the summer begins
⛏️ The future of clean cement

Enjoy the read – and if you like it, consider buying us a coffee. 

🔍 DEREGULATION WATCH

Plotting & scheming. A dangerous new line was crossed in the European Parliament this week. In an ITRE Committee vote that may have flown under the radar, the deregulation agenda turned its sights on civil society. Far-right and some hardliner conservative MEPs backed an amendment to remove environmental and public health not-for-profit organisations from the so-called Sevilla process, which helps set pollution standards for Europe’s largest industrial sites.

Silencing the watchdog. If you can’t win the argument, remove the people making it. For decades, civil society – including the EEB – has played a vital role in these technical discussions alongside governments and industry, helping shape the emissions standards that keep industrial pollution under control. Excluding NGOs would leave the biggest polluters with even greater influence over the rules designed to protect people from the air, water and soil pollution their activities create.

Muzzling NGOs. This is the latest step in a broader effort by powerful vested interests and their political allies to push independent public-interest voices out of decision-making. The bigger question is not what this means for environmental NGOs, but what it means for European democracy.

The illiberal playbook. Democracies rarely erode overnight. They are weakened step by step – often beginning with attacks on watchdogs, independent scrutiny and those who hold power to account. Europe has seen this pattern before. It cannot afford to ignore it now.

Not over yet. Fortunately, this is not the final word. The ITRE vote is only an opinion. The lead ENVI Committee will adopt its position in November, giving MEPs from the pro-European majority (EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens) the opportunity to reject this dangerous precedent and defend the public interest. All eyes will be on them.

Your turn. In the meantime, tell big polluters and their political allies: not in your name. Sign the petition.

🚜 THE AGRI CORNER

Good news at last. This week, the European Commission delivered some welcome news for Europe’s rivers, lakes and drinking water.

After a three-year review – and the first comprehensive evaluation of the Nitrates Directive in its 35-year history – the verdict is clear: the law remains necessary, relevant and effective. Introduced to reduce pollution from excess fertilisers and manure, the Directive has played a key role in protecting the water millions of Europeans rely on for drinking, swimming and healthy ecosystems.

Why does this matter? When too much nitrogen enters rivers, lakes and groundwater, it contaminates drinking water, fuels harmful algal blooms and damages wildlife (here’s a two-minute explainer). The Commission’s evaluation confirms that the Nitrates Directive has helped reduce these impacts while improving the efficient use of fertilisers on farms. Better still, the benefits of cleaner water and lower pollution are estimated to be three to seven times greater than the costs of implementing the rules.

The bigger picture. The evaluation also delivers an important message at a time when vital environmental safeguards are under pressure. Europe does not need weaker laws – it needs stronger implementation and enforcement. With many water bodies still suffering from agricultural pollution, Member States now have a clear opportunity to turn proven legislation into real-world results for people and nature.

Less good news. Unfortunately, not every decision this week followed the evidence. This week, EU Member States also approved new operating rules for Europe’s largest intensive pig and poultry farms.

Despite years of scientific evidence, policymakers largely preserved the status quo for some of the biggest polluters instead of strengthening accountability. It was a missed opportunity to reduce pollution from factory farming and better protect public health, animals, the climate and nature. Instead, the final text contains numerous exemptions, broad flexibilities and lengthy transition periods. Read the full press release here.

⚡ ETS & ELECTRIFICATION 

Crunch time. As you are reading this, the European Commission is unveiling two major climate files that will help determine how quickly Europe can move beyond fossil fuels.

Carbon countdown. If you’ve been following us, you’ll know where the spotlight is: the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This is one of the year’s biggest climate battles. Industrial laggards are lobbying for more free pollution permits and weaker carbon prices. Businesses investing in clean technologies, alongside scientists and civil society, are urging the Commission to stay the course and protect the integrity of Europe’s flagship climate policy.

No spoilers. The ETS proposal has been kept under lock and key (literally, we heard). The key question will finally be answered today: will the Commission reward the biggest polluters or back the companies already investing in Europe’s clean industrial future?

The two files are closely linked. While the ETS determines who pays for pollution, electrification determines what replaces it.

The next frontier. Europe has made remarkable progress in cleaning up its electricity system. Renewables now generate 46% of the EU’s electricity. But much of the economy still runs on fossil fuels – from gas boilers heating our homes to oil powering transport and fossil fuels driving industrial processes. The next phase of the transition is putting clean electricity to work across the economy.

Plug in, baby. That’s the goal of the Commission’s new Electrification Action Plan, also due today. Based on the leaked draft, we welcome measures to accelerate cleaner heating, make electricity more affordable and speed up the deployment of technologies such as heat pumps. But electrification must go hand in hand with more renewable energy and stronger energy efficiency – not become a substitute for either. We’ll dig into the final text once it’s published.

📡 ON OUR RADAR

Farmers aren’t anti-green after all. Fresh research from Project Tempo challenges one of the most common assumptions in Europe’s farming debate. Resistance to the green transition is driven less by opposition to environmental goals than by economic insecurity, unclear rules and too little involvement in decision-making.

The study – based on interviews, focus groups and a survey of more than 2,000 people across France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland – finds that farmers are far more likely to support change when costs are shared fairly, policies are stable and they are treated as partners rather than obstacles. Let’s make the transition fair, predictable and worth investing in!

🧠✨ DOPAMINE HIT

As ever, here are a few happy updates to get your weekend off to a perky start:

• Europe has 15 nations top climate scoreboard. Read more 
• Air quality is improving across Europe as report finds ‘steady decrease’ in major pollutants. Read more
• Record number of dams dismantled in Europe in effort to help wildlife thrive. Read more 
• Solar generated record 25% of EU power needs in June thanks to quick installations. Read more

🧚 THE JOB FAIRY

• An alliance, including the EEB, is hiring a Senior Alliance Coordinator 
• Eurogroup for Animals is looking for a Political Advisor. 
• Pesticide Action Network is looking for a Finance Officer 
• Concord is looking for Strategic communications & Fundraising 
• European Institute of Peace is looking for a Finance Data Analyst 

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By: Roi Gomez. Special thanks to the EEB’s editorial team: Alberto Vela and Ben Snelson. Editor: Christian Skrivervik