We might (or might not) be leaving the EU, but there’s still plenty going on across the Channel.

Last week, the MEP Water Group in cooperation with the World Water Assessment Programme of UNESCO, hosted a public session for its 2018 United Nations World Water Development Report on ‘Nature-based solutions for water’ at the European Parliament.

Chaired by the MEP Paul Rübig, the session focused on informing policy and decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, about the great potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) in addressing contemporary water availability, quality and water management challenges across the sector. Read more and download the presentations here.

EU Green Week 2018 explored ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. It has covered policy developments on air quality, noise, nature and biodiversity, waste and water management, promoting “participatory approaches to urban development, networking schemes, and tools for sharing best practices, engaging local authorities and citizens, and encouraging them to share their vision of a sustainable future”.

The European Commission has published its proposals for the 2021-2027 budget. To implement the Paris Agreement and fully commit to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the European Commission has proposed to raise the level of ambition for climate mainstreaming across all EU programmes. It has set a target of at least 25 % of EU expenditure to contribute to climate objectives over the period 2021-2017. Read more here.

The Commission has also launched the LIFE 2018 call for action grants. The EU’s LIFE programme has launched its 2018 call for proposals for projects that protect the environment and tackle the impacts of climate change. The total budget for action grants in this year’s call is EUR 397 million. Of this, EUR 80 million are earmarked for the sub-programme for Climate Action. Read more here.

The European Commission has adopted a Green Infrastructure Strategy, ‘to promote the deployment of green infrastructure in the EU in urban and rural areas’. It is a key step in implementing the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy. The Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE) has recently published country pages on green infrastructure activities within the Member States. Read more here.