News

The Federal Minister for Climate Zakia Khattabi is traveling to COP29 in Baku (Azerbaijan) this Monday as the head of the Belgian delegation. Given the growing scale and severity of the climate crisis, the annual UN climate conference remains crucial in pursuing ambition.

Belgian Federal Minister of Climate and Environment, Zakia Khattabi, expresses her deep concern and anger following today’s vote in the European Parliament’s plenary. As COP 29 began this Monday in Baku and Spain faces an unprecedented environmental disaster, the one-year delay in the enforcement of the law against imported deforestation is, in the federal minister’s view, an irresponsible act and an extremely negative signal to the entire international community.

On the initiative of Minister of Environment Zakia Khattabi, in collaboration with Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten and Minister of Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke, a royal decree has been signed that bans the export of toxic motor fuels, similar to the measure in the Netherlands. This ban targets oil companies that, primarily from the port of Antwerp, export motor fuels with excessively high sulfur or benzene content worldwide. These are fuels that have long been banned in Europe due…

On the proposal of Federal Minister for Sustainable Development Zakia Khattabi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib, the Council of Ministers on Friday 5 April approved the new national action plan for business and human rights for the period 2024-2029. The implementation of this plan applies on the one hand to Belgian companies operating in Belgium and/or abroad, and on the other hand to international companies operating within our country. With its "mirror clause" approach,…

On this memorial day, two years after the dramatic flooding in our country due to extreme weather, the federal government approved Zakia Khattabi's law proposal that legally anchors the organization, expert advice for and financing of the federal climate policy. The text institutionalizes the new climate governance system. The text establishes a committee of independent experts to ensure its proper implementation and guarantees the more targeted and transparent use of the millions in…

The Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health has concluded with the groundbreaking "Declaration of Budapest", highlighting the vital linkage between health, biodiversity, and climate change. Minister of Environment, Zakia Khattabi, among other key participants, ratified this pivotal declaration.

On Friday 23 June, the Council of Ministers approved the draft proposal "export ban" put forward by Federal Environment Minister Zakia Khattabi and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. The purpose of this Royal Decree is to ban the export of certain hazardous substances banned or strictly regulated on the European market from Belgium to non-EU countries. A measure against double standards that is firmly in line with the protection of health and environment and social justice.

The 45th annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was held from 28 May to 9 June. This time around, the signatory countries of the treaty agreed on a number of important decisions, including the creation of a Specially Protected Area (ASPA) near the Princess Elisabeth Station, at the initiative of the Federal Minister for the Environment, Zakia Khattabi. The meeting also reaffirmed the ban on the exploitation of natural resources provided for in the Madrid Protocol.

An initial analysis of the 2023 registrations of biofuels released for consumption in the Belgian transport sector shows that palm oil consumption will drop to zero. "After years of growth in fuel  consumption of palm oil, the phase out introduced by the minister of energy and myself appears to be well respected," notes Environment Minister Zakia Khattabi with satisfaction. "Belgium's palm oil consumption in diesel required palm oil plantations of more than 100,000…

On Friday 2nd June, the Council of Ministers adopted the draft bill tabled by the Federal Minister for the Environment, Zakia Khattabi, introducing a reparability index. This measure, which stems from the federal action plan for circular economy, is not only a major step forward in the fight against the premature end-of-life of certain objects, it also helps to preserve the natural resources needed to produce them.