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 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.
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
Renewable energy storage from second-life batteries is viable but may benefit from subsidies
Issue 609: Using recovered electric vehicle batteries to create storage for energy surpluses from wind farms in Tenerife is technically and economically feasible, says a study, although, if energy prices are too low, this would impair profitability.
Restoration offers the biggest ecological benefits to grasslands
Issue 609: Abandoning grassland, as well as a focus on monocultural plantation forests on the habitat, hurts biodiversity and affects its capacity to provide services which enable effective ecosystem functioning, suggests research from Estonia.
The evidence base for plastic pollution policies
Issue 609: Over the last decade policymakers across the world have implemented measures to counter plastic pollution. This independent study analyses these key policy initiatives and concludes that they are backed by science.
Coppicing deciduous woodland promotes diversity of spider species
Issue 608: Field data from a Czech woodland shows how a coppicing regime affects spider diversity over time, providing evidence to suggest the effectiveness of this declining practice for enhancing woodland biodiversity.
Future Briefs
FUTURE BRIEF: Nanoplastics: state of knowledge and environmental and human health impacts – Issue 27
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.
FUTURE BRIEF: COVID-19 and the environment: links, impacts and lessons learned – Issue 26
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.
FUTURE BRIEF: European Forests for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation – Issue 25
Forests are under pressure by inadequate management practices and climate changes. This research is based on the latest scientific evidence to show how biodiversity, the bioeconomy and climate change mitigation are underpinned by Europe's forests.
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.europa.eu.
To get in touch with the researchers, please refer to the Source section indicated under each News Alert article.