English references

Neonicotinoid insecticides are a major driver of pollinator decline. Due to their persistence and mobility in soil, they can contaminate non-target vegetation through runoff or dust, reaching pollinator resources. However, predicting soil contamination is challenging, especially where pesticide use data is lacking. This study assessed the potential of using proxies such as cropping history and landscape structure to predict neonicotinoid content in soils. We analyzed seven neonicotinoids in 86 sites in agricultural landscapes of Belgium.

Purpose Animal emissions account for nearly 60% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. To estimate these emissions, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed a dedicated module within the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM). Although previous studies have explored selected inputs for specific animals and emission types, a comprehensive analysis of all 92 inputs (parameters and emission factors) had not been conducted. This study aimed to identify the most influential inputs affecting ruminant emissions in GLEAM.

Major mapping project reveals PFAS have been found at high levels at thousands of sites across Europe. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports. Pollutants known as “forever chemicals”, which don’t break down in the environment, build up in the body and may be toxic, have been found at high levels at thousands of sites across the UK and Europe, a major mapping project has revealed.

Today, the average global temperature has increased by more than 1°C compared to pre-industrial values (Figure 1-1); atmospheric CO2 concentrations have risen from 280 to more than 400 ppm. At the current pace of emissions, the carbon budget that is left for staying below the 2°C target of the Paris Agreement will be depleted in a few tens of years. For the 1.5°C target, this budget will be exhausted before the decade is out.

A Belgian climatologist surveys the wreckage of his hometown. Pierre Ozer has been expecting these floods for decades.

The massive and growing ‘forever chemicals’ scandal in Belgium marks the culmination and possible endpoint of the endless growth logic, not to mention the privatising of profit and the socialising of costs. This was reflected in the leaked secret settlement, reached in 2018, between a Flemish government-owned company (Lantis) and a mega-multinational (3M), which leaves the taxpayers footing the bill, currently estimated at €63 million, for just a small part of the enormous PFOS pollution that seeped into the soil and water around the 3M plant in Zwijndrecht.