Youth and Environment Europe
YEE
Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) is an independent, non-profit international environmental network of non-governmental youth organisations concerned with youth empowerment on environmental issues and the current triple planetary crisis.
ID: 225130793106-48
Lobbying Activity
Response to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy
22 Jun 2025
The upcoming EU Bioeconomy Strategy should include the following subtopics: 1. Support for Scaling Bio-Based Production: Enable companies - particularly SMEs - to scale up economically viable bio-based production by improving access to financial instruments and awareness-raising campaigns. Special attention should be given to strengthening biomaterial startups that rely on manufacturing capabilities, as they face significant barriers due to limited access to pilot facilities and industrial scaling hubs. Currently, many EU programmes continue to prioritise digital and tech-based innovation, while nature-based solutions remain underfunded and under-supported. 2. Establish Harmonized Standards and Certification: Develop clear, EU-wide standards for biodegradable and bio-based products. The current patchwork of complex and divergent standards across Member States undermines market uptake. Introduce a national or EU-level certification mark for raw materials produced in alignment with circular economy principles. A recognisable, trusted label would empower consumers and purchasers to make informed choices, increasing confidence and demand for sustainable materials. 3. Create Market Incentives for Circular Bio-Based Materials: Introduce economic incentives - such as reduced VAT rates - for circular, nature-based, or regenerated materials. These products often struggle to compete due to higher production costs. Furthermore, embed procurement incentives for state and EU-funded projects that prioritise materials aligned with circular and sustainable principles. 4. Align Biomass Production with Environmental and Food Security Goals: Establish clear eligibility criteria for farmers producing biomass for industrial use. These criteria must ensure that biomass production does not interfere with primary food production and respects the integrity of natural ecosystems. 5. Embed Bioeconomy Education and Training: Integrate bioeconomy education into school curricula and vocational training programmes, with a particular focus on creating opportunities in rural areas. This is essential to ensure that all young people - regardless of geography - can participate in and contribute to the bioeconomy. 6. Strengthen University-Industry Collaboration: Provide funding for university-industry training programmes, internships, and activities organised by student associations in relevant fields. These experiences are crucial for developing the next generation of bioeconomy professionals and innovators. 7. Improve Access to Jobs and Career Opportunities: Enhance digital platforms such as the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy by integrating job-matching tools. A centralised, youth-friendly registry of job opportunities within the bioeconomy would make it easier for young people to enter and navigate this sector. 8. Promote Youth Participation and Leadership: Actively support youth engagement in bioeconomy innovation challenges, hackathons, and governance bodies. Young people should be recognised as key stakeholders whose ideas, energy, and leadership can help drive transformation. 9. Establish a Biomass Mass-Balancing Framework: Introduce a clear mass-balancing framework as part of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy... 10. Ensure Social Inclusion and Equity: To build a truly sustainable bioeconomy, social inclusion must be prioritised. Establish safeguards that define who is involved - such as workers, rural communities, and underrepresented groups - and how they are included in decision-making, benefit-sharing, and access to opportunities... 11. Facilitate Youth Entrepreneurship in the Bioeconomy: Develop a clear and supportive regulatory framework that simplifies the process for young people to launch bioeconomy-related enterprises. Complement this with accessible mentorship programmes that offer hands-on guidance through each stage of business development, from idea to implementation. See attached the full position paper.
Read full responseResponse to The European Oceans Pact
17 Feb 2025
As signatories of the Blue Manifesto for a European Oceans Pact, Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) fully supports its vision for a healthy, resilient, and thriving ocean. We welcome the European Commissions initiative to launch the European Oceans Pact and stress the urgent need to integrate youth voices into ocean governance. Meaningful youth participation, combined with a strong commitment to ecosystem restoration and protection, is essential to ensuring a sustainable future for our ocean. We call on policymakers to prioritize the following key areas: Ocean literacy is fundamental to fostering a European society that understands, values, and protects the ocean. A robust Ocean Literacy framework should be established for formal and non-formal educational systems, ensuring accessibility for diverse stakeholders, particularly youth and coastal or local communities. The EU must provide enhanced funding for expanding ocean literacy, recognising it as both an educational and societal necessity to build a sustainable blue economy. The Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action provides valuable best practices to guide this effort. The role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in ocean governance must be recognised, aligning with the Kunming-Montreal Framework (Targets 21 and 22). Their traditional knowledge and active participation are essential for effective marine conservation and policymaking. The EU should strengthen citizen engagement through initiatives such as citizen science projects, public consultations, and forums. Special attention should be given to involving communities from the EUs outermost regions, landlocked areas, and coastal and inland communities. Ensuring youth participation from all of these regions will bring diverse perspectives to marine governance. Moreover, policy implementation should be more transparent, inclusive, and responsive to European Citizens Initiatives. In line with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the precautionary principle should guide all ocean-related activities. Preventative action must be taken to avoid long-term ecological harm. In line with this principle, the EU must support a moratorium on deep-sea mining to protect marine ecosystems, ensuring further research into its risks. Coupled with that, it shall push for improved transparency within the International Seabed Authority (ISA), ensuring accountability and safeguarding marine biodiversity. The EU must ensure a sustainable, fair, and regenerative fisheries sector by addressing issues such as bycatch, habitat destruction, and carbon emissions. Overfishing must be halted, and harmful fisheries subsidies phased out. Destructive fishing methods, such as bottom trawling, should be banned, starting within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), in line with the EUs commitment to protect 30% of its seas by 2030. Additionally, biodiversity conservation must be enshrined in the CFP, and environmental externalities should be factored into seafood imports to uphold high sustainability standards. Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) must be rooted in an ecosystem-based approach, as required by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This ensures that marine resource management prioritises the health and resilience of ecosystems while balancing conservation, fisheries, and energy generation. The EU must focus on the practical implementation of this scientific approach to MSP, ensuring it is driven by the best available knowledge and aligns with long-term sustainability goals.
Read full responseResponse to Uniform format for national restoration plans
7 Feb 2025
Reference to a core aspect that is key to the success of this Regulation is missing: youth. This omission is particularly significant, as young people will inherit the long-term consequences of environmental policies and have a crucial role to play in driving innovation, advocacy, and community engagement for successful restoration efforts. But we strongly believe that the European Commission's proposed uniform format for National Restoration Plans (NRPs) represents a thoughtful and comprehensive framework to support MS in achieving the ambitious targets set by the Nature Restoration Law (NRL); but for that, it requires the following: Recognition of Youth Input in the Participation Process for NRPs We propose adding a distinct priority under section 2.1, titled "Youth Participation," within the "Public Participation" section. The lack of participation by young people in environmental decision making has been evident in the creation of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). However, the NRL and in particular the NRPs offer a valuable opportunity to address this gap by ensuring clear and dedicated participation pathways for young people within the NRL framework. Following this, and for the purposes of Article 15(3(w)), we recommend more specificities to be added under Public Participation, such as subsections categorising the involvement of different stakeholders and the inputs they put forward. This way, the NRPs could provide a detailed explanation of the views expressed per category of stakeholder. We further recommend the addition of a section detailing the participation methods that the states followed (such as public consultations, multi-stakeholder group meetings, deliberations, etc) and a short summary of each. Youth Contributions to Restoration Targets In addition to youth involvement in public consultations, we recommend that the NRP format include specific sections that highlight youth contributions to project implementation, citizen science, and advocacy efforts for restoration. For example, we suggest adding a new point (e.g., 14.5.5) to the format: "Describe the role of young people in the implementation of this measure." This inclusion would support the alignment of restoration activities with national environmental citizen service programs or youth environmental corps, ensuring that young people are actively contributing to these important efforts. Intergenerational Equity We propose requiring MS to explicitly document how their plans address the rights of future generations. Intergenerational solidarity is recognised as a fundamental principle within the TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. To incorporate this in NRPs and contribute to intergenerational equity, we suggest the following: Section 4.1.4: Include "intergenerational equity" as an example under "Other potential co-benefits." Additionally, we support making this section mandatory instead of optional. Section 2.4: Introduce a new section titled Consideration of Future Generations to emphasize the importance of long-term planning. Section 14.3.4: Add a new section titled Intergenerational Benefits to highlight the advantages of prioritizing sustainability for future generations. Environmentally Harmful Subsidies In addition to Section 4.3.2, which gives an indication of the harmful subsidies that may negatively impact the achievement of the goals set under the regulation, we would like MS to explicitly include what actions are being taken to phase out the subsidies in question. We recommend expanding the section to include Subsection 4.3.2.1 titled Actions taken to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies not in line with meeting the goals of the regulation. In a parenthesis, examples can be included, such as ...(e.g. market-based instruments and green budgeting and financing tools). A reference to the supportive actions a state takes to phase out the specific subsidies [...]
Read full response