The European Union is planning tougher restrictions on imported crops treated with pesticides banned in Europe, a draft European Commission document showed, a move that would impact suppliers including the U.S.

EU plans to restrict imported crops treated with banned pesticides, draft shows

EU plans simpler rules for billions worth of farm subsidies, draft shows
The European Union is drawing up plans to simplify rules governing its huge farming subsidy programme, draft documents seen by Reuters showed, as Brussels races to lighten the regulatory burden on local businesses.

Belgian climate scientists grow the pears of the future
Belgian researchers are growing pears in a controlled environment that simulates how climate change will affect the region in 2040. Their aim is to see what global warming has in store for Europe's fruit growers.

EU Parliament approves weakened green rules for farmers
European Union proposals to weaken the green conditions attached to the bloc's subsidies for farmers won backing from the European Parliament on Wednesday, as policymakers attempt to quell protests across Europe.

Europe’s restless farmers are forcing policymakers to act
Polls suggest the general population is on farmers' side; farmers lynchpins of rural economies say leaders
European policymakers have scaled back rules to protect nature, drawn up limits on the import of tariff-free Ukrainian grains and scrapped new legislation limiting pesticide use as farmers' protests resonate with voters ahead of elections.

EU countries to demand bloc does more to help farmers, draft statement says
Reductions in farm inspections, exemptions for small farms under consideration
European Union country leaders will urge the EU to work quickly on more measures to support farmers in response to months of protests by angry agriculture workers, draft conclusions for an EU leaders' summit showed.

EU recommends ambitious 2040 climate target, goes light on farming
In face of farmer protests, EU weakens some recommendations related to agriculture
The European Commission recommended on Tuesday that the EU slash net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, an ambitious target that will test political appetite for the region's fight against climate change ahead of EU elections.

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns
New record highs 'more likely than not'
Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more

Last year tied as world’s fifth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say
Global CO2 emissions continue to rise
Brussels | Reuters — Last year was the world’s joint fifth-warmest on record and the last nine years were the nine warmest since pre-industrial times, putting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C in serious jeopardy, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Last year tied with 2015 as the fifth-warmest year […] Read more

EU parliament committee approves farm subsidy reforms
Brussels | Reuters — The European Parliament’s agriculture committee on Thursday approved a deal to overhaul the European Union’s huge farming subsidies, including new measures aimed at making agriculture greener. The committee approved three pieces of legislation, which from 2023 will govern spending from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — a scheme that will […] Read more