Climate and environmental-related challenges have become crucial tasks. The atmosphere  is warming and the climate is changing with each passing year. One million out of the eight million species on the planet are at risk of being lost. Essential resources for humans are being polluted and destroyed.

As a response to these challenges, on 11 December 2019 the EU Commission released The European Green Deal, representing an integral part of the Commission’s strategy to implement the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals. It is a new growth strategy that aims at transforming the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use, improving the quality of life of current and future generations.

ELI can and shall play a crucial role in supporting this transformation process. The proposed Environmental Law SIG aims to bring together experts from Europe and beyond, reshaping existing legal instruments and creating new ones so as to achieve environmental sustainability and a circular economy thus making Europe a standard setter in this field.

For this purpose, the SIG aims to implement new strategies for regulation and standardisation, enhancing dialogue with social partners and international cooperation. The SIG would rethink in particular: (a) production and sales law; (2) legislation on waste and circular materials; (c) instruments for enhancing smart mobility and the sharing economy; (d) the introduction of rules on green finance and investment; (e) policies for clean energy supply; (f) rules on large-scale infrastructure and construction; and (g) taxation and social benefits.

In particular, the SIG aims at addressing and enhancing the synergy between the green and the digital transformation, by exploring measures to ensure that digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud and edge computing and the internet of things can accelerate and maximise the impact of policies to deal with climate change and protect the environment.

Please contact the ELI Secretariat if you are  interested  in  participating  in  this  SIG.