Nature provides all kinds of goods and services that offer economic opportunities, such as a water, food, building materials and recreation areas. However, this 'natural capital' is under pressure due...
Summary for policymakers of the IPBES assessment on scenarios and models of biodiversity and ecosystem services out now
The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) scenarios and modelling assessment was launched on 25 August at the ScenNet...
Plans and policies to achieve the goal set at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015 have yet to be fully developed and implemented. There is an important role for science to feed political discussions by...
Individual country pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would need to be strengthened in order to limit future climate change to well below the 2°C limit included in the Paris climate agreement...
New research by the CER (Centre for European Reform), University of Groningen and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency shows the paradoxical result that eurosceptic regions have the most to...
Europeanisation of Spatial Planning in the Netherlands mapped out
One of the priorities of the Dutch EU presidency is the European Better Regulation Agenda. A particular cause for concern within this agenda is the fragmentation of EU policy. In this context, PBL...
Certifying supply chains of resources helps to conserve natural capital in tropics
Resources imported into the Netherlands, such as soya, palm oil, cacao and tropical wood, are increasingly certified according to international market standards for sustainable production. Such...
The ministers of the EU Member States are meeting today with representatives from EU partner countries and stakeholders to adopt the Pact of Amsterdam. This signals a new step forward in the...
Extra efforts needed to achieve a sustainable food system
If we really want a sustainable food system then we need an integrated approach with a focus on protecting natural resources. This will involve going beyond the current range of individual measures...
New assessment of scenarios to guide UN-led global assessment on biodiversity
The UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) recently announced the start of a three-year global assessment, for completion by 2019, to be guided by...