Publication

The Case for Updating EU Procurement Policy

Procurement is a powerful market force. Big buyers, be they public or private, can stimulate more sustainable practices by driving demand and developing lead markets for greener products and services. There is both significant potential and responsibility to strengthen procurement as a tool in Europe’s the green transition. 

Procurement is a powerful market force. Big buyers, be they public or private, can stimulate more sustainable practices by driving demand and developing lead markets for greener products and services. There is both significant potential and responsibility to strengthen procurement as a tool in Europe’s the green transition.

Public procurement makes up approximately 14-15% of the EU’s GPD or about EUR 2 trillion (in Germany alone this amounts to about EUR 500 billion a year1) and contributes about 15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions2. However, public procurement as a tool is currently not being used to its full potential. In particular, green public procurement (GPP)3 needs to be significantly strengthened. There should be a shift at EU level from thinking of public procurement as a purely legal compliance matter, to also seeing it as a strategic policy tool in the green transition. Strengthening the framework of green public procurement can also have positive knock-on effects on private (B2B) procurement.   

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The Case for Updating EU Procurement Policy

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The status and future projections of LNG production and use in the Russian Arctic 

In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of the country's proven gas reserves – to raise its share in the international gas trade.