Science for Environment Policy (SfEP) is a free news and information service published by the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) of the European Commission. It is designed to help busy policymakers keep up-to-date with the latest environmental research findings needed to design, implement and regulate effective policies.
Our News alert articles, Research Spotlights, and Future Briefs are freely accessible through this site. To access SfEP content published between 2005 and June 2022, please consult the dedicated archive.
News Alerts
The bi-weekly News Alerts are a cornerstone of the SfEP service. Presented in concise and easy-to-understand newsletter articles, SfEP brings the latest updates on key environmental research right into your inbox.
Research Spotlights
Research Spotlights is a carefully curated collection of other scientific papers that could be of relevance to our readers. See all Research Spotlights curated by Science for Environment Policy.
Future Briefs
SfEP also releases regular Future Briefs on the latest environmental topics, such as new technologies and innovations and their impact on the environment. Future Briefs are a series of horizon-scanning policy briefs, which explore the evidence around emerging environmental issues.
News Alerts
A new study suggests that as the Asian tiger mosquito rapidly colonises France and western Europe due to climate change, cities could be at increased risk of vector-borne disease epidemics, triggered by imported cases from endemic areas.
Researchers have developed a machine learning approach to map the areas where 11 potentially toxic chemicals exceed safety guidelines in Czech farmland. The model accurately predicts hazardous areas and identifies important drivers of contamination.
Nitrogen is a key pollutant in European waters. A study explores whether restoring wetlands could help reduce nitrogen levels and improve water quality across the EU, finding it to be an effective solution if applied strategically.
A new global inventory, PlastChem, presents information on more than 16,000 chemicals in plastics – over a quarter of which are hazardous chemicals of concern. This data can aid plastics regulation, but more transparency is still needed.
Future Briefs
This Brief focusses on the lighting design adaptations and mitigation measures tailored for sensitive habitats and taxa. It also highlights ongoing efforts by local governments and communities to address Artificial Light at Night pollution (ALAN).
This Future Brief presents the current science on nanoplastics: their detection, assessment and monitoring; their impacts in the environment, ecotoxicity, and environmental fate; and their potential impacts on human health.
This brief looks at environmental factors that potentially contribute to the emergence of disease and the effects of COVID-19, and environmental impacts that have arisen from COVID-19.
Contact Us
Science for Environment Policy (SfEP) is a European Commission initiative. The secretariat is currently run by Ecorys.
For comments, questions or requests on this service, please contact us at ENV-SFEP
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (ENV-SFEP[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).
To get in touch with the researchers, please refer to the Source section indicated under each News Alert article.