The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is the largest European network of citizen organizations dedicated to environmental protection. Its goal is to protect and improve the environment in Europe and beyond. The EEB was founded in 1974 and currently has around 180 member organizations in 40 countries organized into different working groups to address various issues on which it intends to advise and influence European and national institutions: agriculture, biodiversity, mercury, circular economy, energy, and climate, etc. The EEB interacts, among many others, with the following institutions in its daily work: the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union, or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
We visited the EEB so that our students could meet the people working there and firsthand discover the functioning of the organization and the coordination of their work in collaboration with member organizations. We emphasized the importance of citizen participation in environmental issues, promoting a future where humans and nature thrive together.
The students attended a 60-minute presentation facilitated by Davide Sabbadin, deputy head of the Climate department, and Andrea González, in charge of member organizations’ participation. During this hour, Davide Sabbadin explained to the students the main issues faced by the Climate and Energy department today and also highlighted some successful campaigns from the preceding months. Likewise, Andrea González made a presentation about the organizations that make up the EEB network, emphasizing Spanish organizations, and how joint campaigns are carried out to influence the political agenda of European leaders. At the end, students were able to ask questions related to the presentation.
Basic presentation about EEB:
Video about renewable energies:
