Communities, collaboration are vital in responding to IPCC’s unequivocal 1.5°C report

(8 October 2018) – Responding to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 1.5°C special report published today, Eamon O’Hara, executive director of ECOLISE, said: “The report’s clear message of urgency and hope will only serve to encourage the thousands of communities across Europe and beyond that are already creatively

Making climate a priority in the EU LEADER programme

(8 Oct 2018) –  ECOLISE executive director, Eamon O’Hara (centre, above), recently participated in the LEADER Reloaded conference in Portugal, where he underlined the need to put climate and transition centre stage in the next round of the EU’s LEADER programme for rural development. Organised by ELARD (the European LEADER

Communities in 22 countries are celebrating the European Day of Sustainable Communities on 22nd September

(12th September, 2018; updated 13th & 21st September) – Communities in 22 countries across Europe – from Sweden to Serbia and from Ireland to the Ukraine – are celebrating the 2nd European Day of Sustainable Communities (EDSC) on 22nd September 2018. The EDSC is a celebration of the efforts and

ECOLISE contributes to postgrowth discussions and conference in EU parliament

(10 September 2018) – ECOLISE team members Meera Ghani and Tom Henfrey will attend the upcoming Postgrowth Conference at the EU parliament on September 17th-18th, which will discuss alternatives to growth as the basis for economic policy. The conference was initiated by a group of academic researchers associated with the

A personal view of Global Ecovillage Network Europe’s recent gathering in Estonia

(8 August 2018) – Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) Europe recently held its annual conference in Estonia. Nara Petrovič from Slovenia, who is an ECOLISE council member, was there along with some 600 participants from around Europe and beyond. He wrote a reflective article about his experience for the Slovenian newspaper,

Compilation of first ‘Status Report on Community-led Action on Sustainability and Climate Change in Europe’ continues

(8 August 2018) – Work on ECOLISE’s first Status Report on Community-led Action on Sustainability and Climate Change in Europe is well underway. A small team – involving Gil Penha-Lopes, Tom Henfrey and others – have been assembling core information and creating a framework describing key movements, issues and impacts.

CAN Europe urges EU climate strategy to prioritise lifestyle change and support for community engagement

(12 June 2018) – Europe’s largest coalition working on climate and energy issues, CAN Europe, of which ECOLISE is a member, is calling for lifestyle changes and support for citizen and community engagement to be key priorities for the new EU long term climate strategy. Reflecting the input of ECOLISE,

ECOLISE joins unique coalition to urge EU leaders to step up climate action

(12 June 2018) – A Coalition for Higher Ambition comprising a unique gathering of businesses, investor groups, local and regional authorities, and civil society groups including ECOLISE, today called upon EU leaders to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon Europe and thus limit climate impacts and allow for improvements to

ECOLISE continues to push for climate change and sustainability criteria in Smart Villages

(22 May 2018) – ECOLISE is continuing to input to the EU discussion about Smart Villages, aiming to ensure that the definition of such villages include climate change and sustainability criteria. Executive director, Eamon O’Hara, contributed to the current edition of the EU Rural Review, which this time focuses on

ECOLISE launches open online knowledge and learning meeting series

(21 May 2018; updated 5 July, 12 September, 11 Nov) – The ECOLISE Knowledge & Learning Working Group is launching an open monthly online meeting series in June. The aim of the series is to seed further collaborative developments that help advance the implementation of ECOLISE’s strategy. Each meeting will