WWF’s European Policy Office was established in 1989. It is the ‘embassy’ to the European Union for the global WWF network, which is active in 100 countries. The WWF European Policy Office helps realize WWF’s mission to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
Mission statement: “The European Policy Office contributes to the achievement of WWF’s global mission by leading the WWF network to shape EU policies impacting on the European and global environment.”
With its impressive legally binding commitments to nature conservation and sustainable development, the European Union is responsible for approximately 80 per cent of environmental laws in the member states and for policies such as agriculture, fisheries, regional aid, energy, trade and development cooperation.
The EU is also a major player in international environmental agreements – such as the Kyoto Protocol – and in other international arenas that affect nature conservation and environmental sustainability worldwide, such as the World Trade Organisation.
The European Policy Office links its WWF national organisation network in Europe to the EU legislative and policy-making cycles. Working groups specialists exist for subjects such as regional funds, European Neighbourhood Policy, development aid, climate and energy. They bring together WWF experts from both inside Europe and beyond. WWF policy experts working in Brussels take these working group recommendations and feed them into the EU policy-making processes.
Using these techniques, over the years, WWF has helped strengthen and implement the EU Habitats and Water Framework Directives and the EU chemicals regulation, reform the EU fisheries policy, and put new emphasis on environmental protection in the EU’s regional and rural development funds worth tens of billions of euros every year.
WWF has been a pioneer of progressive climate policies for the EU, including the European targets to reduce climate pollution and the Emissions Trading Scheme.
With its global outlook and reach, the WWF European Policy Office has also helped EU development aid and trade policies become more environmentally sensitive.
A distinctive feature of our work has been forging alliances with progressive industrial groups.
The EU’s environmental laws have made an important contribution in protecting nature, but there is still a long way to go before the EU environmental treaty commitments are reflected in all of its policies.
WWF has prioritised the most urgent issues for the EU to tackle. These include:
• Biodiversity
• Chemicals
• Climate Change
• Energy
• European Footprint
• Fisheries
• Forests
• Freshwater
• International Development
• Neighbourhood Policy
WWF European Policy Office has a staff of approximately 30 and is funded by the WWF network, the European Commission, foundations and private and corporate donors.
The “Green 10”
WWF European Policy Office cooperates with other NGOs. It was one of the founding members of the ‘Gang of Four’ environmental organisations in 1990 (the others were EEB, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth). This has since grown and WWF is now part of the ‘Green 10’, an informal coalition of the ten leading environmental NGOs which are active at EU level:
• BirdLife International
• Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe)
• CEE Bankwatch Network
• European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
• European Federation of Transport & Environment (T&E)
• Heath and Environment Alliance
• Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE)
• Greenpeace Europe
• International Friends of Nature (IFN)
The ‘Green 10’ work with EU institutions to ensure environmental issues are central to policy-making. The ‘Green 10’ activities reflect the views of some 20 million European citizens, through their individual networks.
The Green 10 is a member of the Civil Society Contact Group bringing together other NGO ‘platforms’ including development, human rights, social and women’s groups and the arts and heritage.
