Climate change and the environment

#TheFutureIsYours Leading the way for a more sustainable future

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Make European railway network more accessible and advisable as a replacement for intra-EU connections

PIOTR KOWALIK 19/04/2021 14:55

24/04/2021 10:29 35 comments

- Provide for a pan-EU ticket service where one could buy a ticket for a journey with different operators in different countries
- Develop high-speed rail connections (i.e. at least 400 km/h) among key European cities (at least all capital cities) so it could be a real alternative for intra-EU flights
- Complete electrification of all connections (or hydrogen)
- Ensure wi-fi internet connections on all trains
- Promote night train connections across EU
- Support development of regional autonomous train connections

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Debate open to young volunteers from the SNU (Service National Universel). We are planning to set up a -minute “Europe in 60 minutes” game/quiz presenting the functioning of the European Union and citizens’ rights on a daily basis. We will then invite young people to discuss the future of Europe, through cross-cutting themes, in particular around the European Green Pact. More info: Europe House of Lot-et-Garonne 05 53 66 47 59 animation@maisoneurope47.eu

This year, we celebrate the “European Year of Rail”. In recent years, the European Union has adopted several important laws that have strengthened the rights of rail passengers with disabilities and improved accessibility. While we celebrate achieved success, we highlight that equal and independent access to rail travel for persons with disabilities remains a goal rather than a reality. Ensuring equal access to rail is paramount not only because the EU has obligations to do so under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), but also because it cannot achieve set goals under the EU Green Deal if it does not ensure that more than 100 million of its citizens with disabilities can fully and equally participate in supporting rail as a sustainable way of travelling. We need accessible rail leading to an accessible and green future! The conference will aim to: - Give an overview of EU legislation that already exists in the field of rail accessibility - Create awareness of the current shortcomings to ensuring equal access and needs of persons with disabilities in order to travel independently. - Start the discussion on how we can achieve accessibility.

Since the turn of the millennium, a steady increase of freight volumes and passenger kilometres marked the growing prosperity of our continent. However, citizens across Europe equally witnessed the downside of traffic. Namely congestion, air pollution and noise. Whereas numerous political initiatives on all layers of EU governance addressed these issues, major decisions have been taken especially on the supranational level. Yet, the legwork to achieve the formulated goals and to accomplish the desired outcome has to be implemented on the regional and local level. 2021 marks the European Year of Rail, but also the first year of the implementation of the 4th Mobility Package and the legislative negotiations on the “European Green Deal”. With this window of opportunity, our interactive workshop intends to contribute to the multi-level-discussion by focussing on various specific aspects related to the broader strategies of the European Commission to harmonising European rail systems.

AFEV, the Federative Association of Poitevin Students, is organising a debate at the Centre Info Jeunes Nouvelle-Aquitaine/Europe Direct Poitiers Vienne/Deux-Sèvres, on two themes included in the socio-ecological transition: mobility and housing. Young people and students are invited to give their views on both issues, exchange experiences and propose recommendations on measures to ensure future access to decent housing and sustainable transport.

This Conference on the Future of Europe will deal with the discussions and opinions of EU citizens on the direction of the EU following the commitments made at COP26. The emphasis is on the input of the participants and what their preferences and concerns are. The event will take place in University College Dublin (UCD) in Dublin, Ireland. The event is being organised by the UCD Politics and International Relations Society, it will be introduced by Senator Alice Mary Higgins who is the Leader of the Civil Engagement Group in Seanad Eireann. The event will then be chaired and overseen by a staff member from UCD's School of Politics and International Relations, who will be assisted by a head moderator from the society. The event will take the form of an interactive workshop, with participants organised into several groups, each overseen by a sub-moderator. Participants will be guided by moderators into collaborating with each other so as to identify their areas of interest and propose their ideas. It will be ensured that the emphasis of the event is getting everyone's input equally, and encouraging participants to collaborate together in order to finalise a core policy area of interest and create a subsequent proposal.

The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique opportunity for Europe’s citizens to discuss Europe’s challenges and priorities here and now. For the event in Nova Gorica we chose the theme Climate Change and Environment. Combating climate change and environmental damage is an urgent issue in the European Union and worldwide. To make the world a better world for all, we need a strategy for Europe to continue to lead the world on the road to sustainability and climate neutrality. The event will address the city from a resource efficiency perspective for the circular economy and will address the following topics: — “Farm to Fork” — A healthier future for all based on sustainable agriculture — Clean energy — the energy sources of which we use in our daily lives, especially in view of the increasing number of new digital workloads — Sustainable industry — quest for more environmentally friendly production methods and ways to ensure that European companies benefit from the first-on-market advantages — Construction and renovation — Reducing the environmental impact of the construction sector — Sustainable mobility — Promoting more sustainable means of transport connecting the event: Mija Lorbek, Xcenter Moderator: Jurij Giacomelli, Circular Business Academy 9.00-9.30: Meeting of participants at breakfast 9.30-11.30: — Introductory greetings, presentation of guests and brief description of the discussion, Mija Lorbek — Introduction to the discussion, Jurij Giacomelli (What is circular economy? What is meant by transition and what this dictates at all levels, a different presentation of the central levels of governance in the examples of some European cities and the presentation of examples of good practices, which serves as a starting point for coming to Goriška and addressing the cutting of our reality. The circular economy is a common denominator of the areas that we will address: infrastructure — Geostrategic aspect — Rail — Green sustainable transport — Industry 4.0) — Discussion with guests and participants — Conclusion and brief summary of participants’ views 11.30-12.00 — Informal coffee gathering and late breakfast

The students of the Estonian Keila School and the Dutch CALs College Nieuwegein will discuss climate change together and look for ways to reduce the environmental footprint. The seminar will be introduced by Kaja Tael, Estonian Special Envoy for Climate and Energy Policy. The event is co-organised by the Embassy of Estonia in the Netherlands and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Estonia.

The European Green Deal aims at decarbonising the European economy and setting an example for other global players to combat climate change, while leaving no one behind. Tools for energy transition like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and greener new-generation trade agreements will have an impact on our external relations: the EESC's External Relations section and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) are organising a conference where the EESC members will be able to discuss all this with speakers from the EU, the SDSN, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and various other governmental and non-governmental organisations. The event will be held in hybrid format and will be web-streamed.

As part of this conference on the future of Europe, the subject of which will be “France and Germany in ecological transitions in Europe”, Dr. Franziska Brantner (Member of the German Bundestag) and Frédéric Petit (Member of the National Assembly) will discuss with the citizens present the challenges of Franco-German cooperation in the context of the ecological transition. As Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and Member of Parliament Die Grünen in the Bundestag, Franziska Brantner is an expert on environmental issues and European cooperation. Frédéric Petit is also very involved in European cooperation and cohesion and, in particular, Franco-German cooperation as a member of the MoDem MEP of the French based outside France in Germany, Central Europe and the Balkans. You will not only have the opportunity to participate during the meeting through surveys and your questions, but the results of the debate will also be used for the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Why should we start looking for climate change? And why is this a different problem than nature conservation? What part of the blame for the current situation is the overcrowding of the planet or the Asian industry? Is it warned of the current unsustainable economy by many experts and politicians what the world they offer? And is there anything like green or sustainable economic growth? These and other issues related to climate change will be addressed by Martin Madei, analyst of the Association for International Affairs. The debate will be launched by the European Sustainability Week, which will take place from 30 May to 5 June.

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Climate change and the environment

#TheFutureIsYours Leading the way for a more sustainable future

Make European railway network more accessible and advisable as a replacement for intra-EU connections

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