Four children and two young adults from Portugal have filed an unprecedented climate change case with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. They are asking the Court to hold 33 countries accountable for fuelling the climate crisis. The case, which is brought with the support of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), centres on the rising threat which climate change poses to their lives and to their physical and mental wellbeing. If successful, the 33 countries would be legally bound, not only to ramp up emissions cuts, but also to tackle overseas contributions to climate change, including those of their multinational companies.

The activities of the Sahel Alliance since its formation demonstrate some of the wide-ranging ambitions for European and international policy in the region. But the Alliance has also revealed the difficulties facing efforts to coordinate ongoing work and make existing and future policies more effective. Confusion surrounding European programmes and international strategies in the Sahel has been made all the more serious by the worsening security situation there.

It is not just a weird force that wants to smash the EU, or secret agencies and terror groups. It is the proper US that doesn’t like the strong counterpart that has become Europe and the euro. The problems didn’t start with Trump, already under Obama they were spying European governments and its leaders. In wide-ranging interview George Soros shares his concerns about the future of the EU – and the possibility of Italy leaving the bloc. He warns of “numerous” enemies, including China and Russia, which pose a threat to  “ideas of an open society”. But it is the US itself where he lives and makes business that profits from a weak EU.

The Brexit voter “tribes” that were created during the 2016 EU referendum, and that culminated in Boris Johnson’s general election victory last December, are already fading, according to new research published today by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). ECFR’s YouGov and Datapraxis-commissioned polling of UK voters reveals that the coronavirus has changed Britons’ attitudes to the world, Europe, and the state. It suggests that the pandemic may be bringing the “Brexit era” of British politics to a close – ending a four-year escape from normal politics. This presents an opportunity for the Labour Party to revive its fortunes, the paper argues – including in the Red Wall constituencies that were so crucial to the Conservative Party’s landslide victory in 2019.

This Autumn, the school strike movement Fridays For Future calls for a global climate action day. On September 25th, demonstrations and manifestations will take place all across the globe, all adjusted according to Covid-19 circumstances. During the last few months, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced activists to find new ways of protest and use digital activism to demand climate action, as marches have not been appropriate. The 25th of September will be the first global action day of the year.

According to research from Accenture, the circular economy could generate 4.5 trillion US dollars’ worth of additional economic output by 2030. The research identifies circular business models that will help decouple economic growth from natural resource consumption while driving greater competitiveness. The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra is an active fund for the future. We aim to create a fair and sustainable future, in other words, the next era of well-being. We work with partners to ensure that Finland can lead the way in the transition to a fair and competitive carbon-neutral circular economy – a new society in which our everyday lives and well-being are no longer based on excessive consumption and fossil fuel use.