Advice

For Europe to achieve its health and sustainability goals, the way we produce and consume food has to change.

Improving crisis management has become an essential issue for protecting and enhancing present and future wellbeing in the EU and globally.

Organised cancer screening programmes save lives. The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the greater the chances of treating it successfully and straightforwardly.

There are many possible pathways towards a carbon-neutral future. Achieving it by 2050 is possible, but this requires urgent action.

Plastic pollution is a worldwide problem, and it is still growing. Each year, more and more plastic ends up in the natural environment, raising concerns of risk to the environment, animal and human health.

This current crisis has taught us that much of Europe was insufficiently prepared. At the same time, we know that COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic or indeed crisis that will emerge.

Responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach, including reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (mitigation) and planning and acting to address those consequences of climate change that cannot be avoided (adaptation).

Food lies at the heart of our lives. It is vital for our survival, and links us to our natural and social environment in a unique way. But our food system is unsustainable. How can we ensure future food security without treating people unfairly or leaving them behind?

Now more than ever, policymakers need good quality science advice to inform their decisions, and the very policy issues for which scientific input is most needed are the ones where the science itself is often complex and uncertain.

In Europe and around the world, people are living longer than ever before. This is one of the greatest achievements of the past century, but it also brings challenges for European societies and the EU as a whole.

The best available evidence suggests that microplastics and nanoplastics do not pose a widespread risk to humans or the environment, except in small pockets. But that evidence is limited, and the situation could change if pollution continues at the current rate.

Existing European authorisation processes for plant protection products might be improved from a scientific perspective. Importantly, regulatory risk assessment must be fair, consistent, transparent, and communicated effectively so as to maintain public trust.

Carbon capture and utilisation may be part of a circular economy scheme where carbon atoms are recycled and reused indefinitely over a long time scale. However, it is neither an indispensable element, nor is it sufficient to contribute significantly to mitigating the effects of climate change.

The only way to obtain significantly more food and biomass sustainably from the ocean is to harvest seafood that on average is from a lower trophic level than we currently harvest.

This advice provides an updated scientific overview of new agricultural biotechnologies compared with existing techniques.

This scientific opinion provides guidance on how to enhance cybersecurity in the context of the European Digital Single Market.

There is a gap between the measurement of CO2 emissions from cars in the laboratory and under real-driving conditions. This reduces consumer trust and the effectiveness of measures to combat climate change.

Glyphosate is an active substance in plant protection products widely used in the European Union.