An article co-authored by IES and IRSTEA scientists on the main causes of forest fires in Europe was published in the March edition of Environmental Management. The article analyses the factors driving forest fire ignition in the EU Mediterranean region, where most (85%) of European forest fires are recorded.

The JRC has published a new report on farmland abandonment in the EU, in support to the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. In order to monitor the integration of environmental concerns into the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Commission set up a system of 28 agri-environmental indicators. These indicators help to assess the impact of agricultural policy decisions on the environment and to guide new policy initiatives.

IES scientists R. Abad Vinas, V. Bludjea, G. Grassi and A. Leip and J. Szemesova contributed to a recently published report on EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, that finds that GHG emissions in 2011 were at their lowest level since 1990. This decrease is attributed to lower fuel consumption during the mild winter of 2011, but is also the effect of policy Directives such as the Nitrates Directive.

The 2013 European Space Agency (ESA) Living Planet Symposium will be held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom from 9 to 13 September 2013 and is organised with the support of the UK Space Agency .

The INSPIRE Conference 2013 will take place from Sunday 23 June 2013 – Thursday 27 June 2013 in Florence, Italy. The theme of this year's edition is "The Green Renaissance". The aim of this year's INSPIRE Conference is to take stock of progress, to further exchange views and experiences on how INSPIRE is meeting past and emerging challenges and needs, to identify new opportunities and to reflect collectively on how INSPIRE can further evolve to maximise its benefits for society.