The aim of this statement is to give a concrete answer to the numerous citizens’ calls for action and the warnings of the whole scientific community and the IPCC, at the time that opens in New-York, the summit of the UN on the weather. The communal council also wanted to recall which are, in its opinion, the essential policies in the fight against climate change.

In particular, it has set the target that the energy consumption of the City’s buildings has to be provided to 100% by green energy, of which 27% has to be local renewable energy. The communal councilors have also set the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050. There is also the intention of increasing the ambitions of the Climate Plan by implementing the objective of drastic reduction of emissions through several measures, such as its merger with Agenda 21, to ensure cross-cutting in all departments of the administration.

Other policies are the association of a citizen and scientific panel with its regular evaluation and its promotion to the structures that depend on the City of Brussels, the private sector, associations, and the people of Brussels.

From the opposition, the PTB participated in the discussions as well as the MR and the cdH. The motion was supported by all the opposition parties even though the PTB regrets that some of its amendments, such as free public transport, have not been taken into account.

The post City of Brussels declared to be « in a climate emergency » appeared first on Brussels Express.

At certain times, the concentration is higher in the pedestrian zone than in Sainte-Catherine. This can be explained by the winds, the traffic jams or the presence of nearby sites that release nitrogen dioxide.

Brussels Environment has still to carry out a complete analysis of the measures, but at first sight, the air is not purer on the pedestrian zone. Only one exception has been registered during the free car day.

The post Air quality monitoring at De Brouckère: The results are poor appeared first on Brussels Express.

Every inhabitant of Belgium is invited to take part in a comprehensive program of Popular Assemblies, where we will debate how Belgium should respond to the climate and ecological crisis. » states the Extinction Rebellion’s press release.

NO NEUTRAL ZONE ON A DEAD PLANET

All citizens of Belgium are invited to bring a chair and to peacefully occupy the Royal Palace of Brussels by participating in people’s assemblies on Saturday 12th October. These assemblies will be held in the garden at the entrance to the Royal Palace (Place des Palais 6, between the gates overlooking the square and the palace itself).

This is the first in a series of large-scale non-violent civil disobedience actions in Brussels organised by Extinction Rebellion Belgium through spring 2020. These actions follow the example set by Extinction Rebellion UK in April 2019 in the city of London.

Since the garden is located inside the palace grounds in the so-called « neutral » zone, where all demonstrations are prohibited, participating in these popular assemblies constitutes an important twofold political act.

Firstly, it is an act of deliberate civil disobedience which directly addresses the King, thereby condemning the failure of the Belgian political authorities to confront the climate and ecological emergency.

Secondly, it is an act of civic duty, through which citizens undertake without delay to remedy the obvious shortcomings of their governments and to demonstrate the existence of a political alternative: one which could effectively tackle the crisis without undermining our democratic and human rights.

Throughout the occupation, some twenty assemblies will be held in parallel, each welcoming between 30 and 50 people. Each assembly will discuss a particular aspect of what should be done in Belgium to address the climate and ecological emergency. The meetings will last as long as necessary to discuss all these issues in depth, continuing until the next day if necessary.The topics of discussion and schedules will be published in the coming weeks.

Anyone who wishes to join the action is invited to fill out this registration form and to bring a chair to the Royal Palace in Brussels on Saturday 12th October.

AN APPEAL TO THE SOVEREIGN

By inviting citizens to exercise their sovereign democratic power in the garden of the Royal Palace, this non-violent action repudiates elected political powers, who have failed in their duties, and addresses the King directly. This action is a call for a new democratic system capable of responding to the crisis.

Aware of the extraordinary nature of this request, we call on the King to step out of His constitutional reserve, to publicly acknowledge the true gravity of the situation, and to declare a state of climate and ecological emergency in Belgium. With this bold and exceptional act the King can set in motion the implementation of a climate, ecological, and social action plan that is genuinely commensurate to the urgency of the moment.

For more information about the action: https://www.extinctionrebellion.be/docs/Royal-Rebellion-Press-Release-201909.pdf

The post Royal Rebellion for climate action planned on October 12 appeared first on Brussels Express.

« Due to the extreme heat, we are exceptionally closing the ADAM – Brussels Design Museum and Atomium at 2 PM. The ticket office will close at 1.30 PM. If you bought your ticket online, you can use it at any other moment during the same year without any problem. If you cannot come back during the year, please contact the platform (Viator, Tiqets, Get Your Guide, Visit.brussels, Dertour) we’re you’ve bought the ticket. »

This is exceptional as it is the first time the Atomium is closing down due to high temperatures.

The post Atomium and ADAM – Brussels Design Museum close down due to extreme heat appeared first on Brussels Express.

Working with a team from the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) they have explained the positive effects of reforestation.

« It would allow us to return to carbon levels equivalent to those of the beginning of the industrial era , so it could really have a big impact on the climate,  » says Bastin.  He further adds, « It protects the habitat of more than 80% of biodiversity on earth, to fight against landslides, to maintain water in the soil or to create barriers against tsunamis. »

They were able to create a map of areas where it would be possible to replant 900 million hectares of forests all around the world. This massive reforestation would capture 205 billion tonnes of CO2.

The post Planting trees against climate change appeared first on Brussels Express.

The red alert is the maximum level of the heatwave alert.

Temperatures this week are expected to beat the historic record of 1947. The heat wave comes as a result of the hot air coming from Spain.

David Dehenauw, the head of forecasting at MRI, has tweeted: 

Nouveau records journalier à Uccle: tmax provisoire 33,7 degrés (ancien record 31,4 de 2013). Demain (33 de 1994) et après-demain (32,2 de 2006) ces records journaliers seront également et largement battus.

— David Dehenauw (@DDehenauw) July 23, 2019

The red code involves warnings and recommendations, such as drink a lot of water, maintain a salty diet, rest, stay in a cool room, use damp rags in case of dehydration and avoid direct sunlight.

The post Red alert in Belgium as temperature rises appeared first on Brussels Express.

This Thursday temperatures are expected to reach 36.6 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature recorded was 38.8 degrees on June 27, 1947 in Uccle.

The city of Brussels puts the « Heatwave » plan in place as soon as temperatures rise above 28 degrees. When a heat wave is announced,  the CPAS of the City of Brussels states that anyone in a situation of precariousness or dependency, can call or register via a free phone number: 0800 / 35.550 to receive services related to the Plan.. People who have difficulty hearing or who have difficulty speaking can also send a fax to 02 218 32 48 or send an e-mail to info@lmdq.be

The distribution of water and other services is ensured by the CPAS team to these people. « The plan is part of a more global logic to support the most isolated people (seniors, children, sick people, …). A visit, a phone call are all small gestures that bring a breath of fresh air. »

Temperatures today are expected to reach 32 degrees celcius.

The post « Heatwave plan » activated by the city of Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

The Commission has analysed the national projects of the 28 EU Member States to ensure that they are in line with the objectives set by the European Union for 2030.

Under the Paris Agreement, Europeans must, among other things, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, draw a 32% share of their energy from renewable sources, and significantly improve their energy efficiency.

For most Member States, there is still much work to be done, the Commission noted – and Belgium is one of the countries with the most work to do.

Specifically, the Commission is asking Belgium, among other things, to clarify how it intends to meet its objective of reducing greenhouse gases by 35% by 2030 (by the Commission’s calculations Belgium is currently on course to reduce such emissions by only 13%). With regard to renewable energies, the Commission has requested that Belgium “significantly increase its target proportion of usage by 2030 to at least 25%” (the current target is 18.3%). Belgium’s targeted increase in energy efficiency, described by the EU as “unambitious”, also needs to be increased.

The Commission however, has refrained from harsh criticism of the Member States; indeed, it has repeatedly offered to help them reach the prescribed targets. “We will support Belgian policies to improve their plans. We are ready to offer technical assistance so that the recommendations we are making can be implemented,” said Climate Action Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete.

Mr Arias also stressed the importance of developing a final, comprehensive plan by the end of the year. “Governments come and go, but this plan will have to be implemented over the next ten years,” he said.

The post Belgium’s climate plans not ambitious enough for EU appeared first on Brussels Express.

The fiesta will start on Friday night at BEL at Tour & Taxis with the Happy Ears Party . It will continue on Saturday at the same place with Ideate4Climate, a participatory hackathon. On Sunday, at the Parc du Cinquantenaire, take place at the traditional Festival of the Environment .

For its 20 years, the Festival of the Environment will put your eyes, ears and all your senses awake! Judge for yourself … You can introduce yourself to the transformation of clothing, meditation, the manufacture of lacto-fermented vegetables, the use of washable diapers, make you grim …

You rather have the fagot? You will be thrilled with our « roulette activities » (rollers, scooters, skates), obstacle courses, ambulatory bubbles …

Rather fans of music or dancefloor? You will be satisfied: Friday evening, a participatory concert of Sysmo will precede the Happy Ears Party  : Miss Luna and DJ Maestro will battle in battle on turntables, you choose on your headphone the channel that will make you the most groover! Not to mention Pang’s concert and his 100% organic rap on Sunday!

The post The Environment Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary appeared first on Brussels Express.

“Our message – which is to put the climate crisis back at the centre of the political debate – has been heard unevenly. The results of the elections in Wallonia and Brussels suggest the possibility of setting up a coalition government sensitive to climate issues. This is not the case in Flanders, however, where the parties that won the elections do not regard climate change as a serious issue,” says Youth for Climate.

Nevertheless, the movement sees hope at the European level: “Our message seems to have been heard and is reflected in the European Parliament election results. This is all the more important as the European authorities remain a crucial level of power to guide and stimulate the transition to a green economy and to set more ambitious climate objectives.”

After a brief review period, Youth for Climate intends to continue its struggle to place climate change at the heart of the negotiations for the formation of the next federal Belgian government. The recommendations of an expert climate panel, as well as Youth for Climate’s own report, have already been provided to each major party president.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations, less than 12 years remain to avoid irreversible climate disruptions and to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The post Youth for Climate finds Belgian election results “disappointing” appeared first on Brussels Express.