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See all EU institutions and bodiesAre you looking for insights on our work or getting to know the experts behind our analyses and data? Take a look at our latest articles, interviews with our experts and editorials by our Executive Director, including those published in our quarterly newsletter.
Interview — Assessing and addressing Europe’s climate risks
15 Mar 2024
The EEA has just published the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), a major report that should help Europe address increasing risks from climate change. We interviewed our colleagues Julie Berckmans, Marianne Dons Tychsen and Hans-Martin Füssel who have worked closely on the report for the past two years.
Editorial — From policy ambition to environment and climate action in Europe
15 Mar 2024
Environmental degradation and climate change are impacting us all — our health, economy and society. To address growing challenges and impacts, Europe has set ambitious policies and targets. A stocktake of progress shows that full implementation of environment and climate policies, additional measures when necessary, and mainstreaming into other policy domains are needed to help the EU progress towards meeting its targets. Adequate finance will be key to unlocking faster progress.
Interview — What is the role of biomass in Europe’s sustainability ambitions?
15 Dec 2023
The European Union and its Member States are increasingly putting focus on biomass and how it can support the transition towards a sustainable, climate-neutral economy. We interviewed Katarzyna Kowalczewska, EEA expert on agriculture and LULUCF integration, about EEA’s recent publication “The European Biomass Puzzle” and why the topic requires careful consideration from policymakers.
Editorial — Cleaner air, a stable climate and healthier lives
15 Dec 2023
The European Union has made substantial progress in improving air quality by adopting and implementing policies and measures since the 1980s. Yet, air pollution continues to pose the greatest environmental risk to people’s health in Europe. This risk is even higher when combined with climate change impacts, such as extreme heat, affecting vulnerable groups, like the elderly and children the most.
Combined effects of air pollution and heat exposure in Europe: time for action
15 Nov 2023
Our health and well-being are significantly impacted by our local environment, and we are exposed to many different sources of environmental risks (e.g. various forms of pollution) in our daily lives. Measures such as reducing air and noise pollution and providing access to high quality green spaces are shown to have a positive influence on health, reducing the occurrence of pollution related illnesses and deaths and improving people’s quality of life. Two of the more significant environmental stressors on our health are exposure to air pollution and exposure to extreme temperatures.
Editorial — Preparing Europe for a changing climate
15 Sept 2023
From wildfires to disastrous floods across southern Europe, the summer of 2023 will be remembered by extreme weather. How prepared are we for such events and their impacts? Relentless heatwaves affecting millions of Europeans across the continent, wildfires and flash floods impacting many communities call for even more ambitious action to prepare a new reality while speeding up the transition towards sustainability.
Interview — EEA looks into public exposure to Bisphenol A
15 Sept 2023
The use of and public exposure to the synthetic chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), used in many plastic and metal food containers and other consumer products, is of growing concern to many people across Europe. We sat down with Magnus L ø fstedt, EEA expert on chemicals, environment and health to discuss the recently published EEA briefing on the risks posed by Bisphenol A.
Interview — Uncovering what geospatial data can tell us about the environment
29 Aug 2023
Over a more than 26-year career with the European Environment Agency, Chris Steenmans, the head of the Data and Information Services programme, has played an instrumental role in shaping the trajectory of satellite-based environmental monitoring across Europe. We sat down to talk with him about his remarkable journey — from his early days as a consultant for an experimental land monitoring programme, to becoming a key figure in the Copernicus programme.
Water quality and quantity are key for well-being
21 Jun 2023
Clean water is critical for nature, and people’s health and well-being. It is also a crucial resource for many economic sectors. Due to over-exploitation and climate change, many areas in Europe increasingly suffer from water scarcity. At the same time, pollution puts additional pressure on this finite resource.
Europe’s air is getting cleaner and improving people’s health
21 Jun 2023
Air quality in Europe is improving. Yet polluted air still worsens health and causes preventable deaths, especially in cities. The good news is that cleaner solutions for transport, heating, industry and agriculture can help.
Are you noticing the harmful noise around you?
21 Jun 2023
Noise is everywhere. From loud sirens to cars on the highway and planes overhead, noise is more widespread than ever in our lives. What many people may not know is that long-term exposure to traffic noise is a lot more than an annoyance — it harms both our physical and mental health.
Safe and sustainable chemicals
21 Jun 2023
Chemicals are everywhere. In fact, rocks, seas, air, plants, animals and us humans are made of chemical elements. The good news is that not all chemicals are toxic. The bad news is that some are. Fortunately, Europe has been working to reduce harm from the hazardous ones.
Heatwaves and other climate-related extremes are threatening health, especially for the most vulnerable
21 Jun 2023
Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods in a changing climate are increasingly affecting our health and well-being. The EU is boosting climate mitigation and adaptation actions at national, city and municipality levels. Will these measures help us withstand weather extremes in the future?
Interview — Investing in safer chemicals
21 Jun 2023
Hazardous chemicals are all around us. Safer alternatives, chemicals in a circular economy, and how knowledge and regulation can help shape consumer and investor decisions were among the topics we covered with Jerker Ligthart of ChemSec, a Swedish NGO aimed to speed up the transition to a world free of hazardous chemicals.
Editorial — Caring for the environment is caring for ourselves
21 Jun 2023
Nature is the foundation of our health and well-being. It gives us clean air, water, food, materials and space for recreation. Spending time in nature is good for our mental health. And if we do not take care of the planet, its climate and ecosystems, we undermine how our societies function, worsen our lives and, perhaps most directly, harm our own well-being.
Interview — What is the European environment and health atlas?
21 Jun 2023
The EEA’s European environment and health atlas is a compilation of data and maps that showcase key information about environmental quality and risks across Europe. We interviewed Gerardo Sanchez, an EEA expert on the environment, health and well-being, about the Atlas and who can benefit from it.
Meet our Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen
15 Jun 2023
Our new Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen joined the EEA on 1 June after extensive experience at national and European levels, working on a wide range of issues. We talked about her childhood fascination with nature and her studies to her rich career and hobbies.
Pesticides: what are the risks to our health and to the environment?
15 Jun 2023
Pesticide pollution still poses significant risks to our health and to the environment. We sat down with Dario Piselli, EEA environment, human health and well-being expert to discuss the problem posed by pesticides and what the European Union is doing to address the challenge.
How to make textile consumption and production more sustainable?
15 Mar 2023
People are increasingly aware of the impacts our consumption has on nature and climate. One of the key consumption categories is clothing and other textiles. We spoke to Lars Mortensen, EEA expert on circular economy, consumption and production, who has worked on several assessment on textiles and their impacts on the environment.
Determined and committed to Europe’s sustainability
15 Mar 2023
Editorial published in EEA newsletter, March issue, no.1/2023. Year 1972: I remember walking home with my father from the Antwerp book fair with loads of books. Three stayed with me: a book about endangered species, the Times Atlas of the World, and Limits to Growth. Over the years, my father continued stimulating my curiosity in nature , a world much bigger than our immediate surroundings, and the type of science that opened critical debates about the future of society .
Pollution in Europe’s rivers: the ecological disaster of the Oder
17 Feb 2023
Endless quantities of dead fish in the Oder hit the media headlines in July and August 2022, making it one of the largest ecological disasters in Europe in recent memory. Two questions followed: what caused the fish to die? And how can such catastrophes be prevented from happening again?
Interview — Methane gas emissions: a greenhouse gas crucial to mitigation efforts
16 Dec 2022
Interview published in the EEA Newsletter, no 4/2022, December 2022 Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are crucial to tackling the impacts of climate change, especially methane gas emissions which are seen as a priority area for action by the EU. The EEA recently published a briefing on methane emissions in the EU which includes a new data visualisation tool. We sat down with Ricardo Fernandez, EEA climate change mitigation expert and coordinator of the EU’s GHG inventory to the UNFCCC, to explain the briefing and why reducing methane emissions is so crucial to wider mitigation efforts.
Climate, nature and people: a shared future for our planet
16 Dec 2022
Editorial by EEA Executive Director, published in the EEA Newsletter, no 4/2022, December 2022 The stakes have never been higher. Our planet is warming and losing species at an alarming rate. Two global conferences over the past two months brought people from across the world around a common topic — climate and biodiversity. The challenges in both areas are symptoms of the same problem: our unsustainable production and consumption. Despite the complexity of the negotiations, these conferences are crucial for global awareness, consensus and urgent action.
Summer 2022: Living in a state of multiple crises
16 Sept 2022
Editorial by EEA Executive Director, published in the EEA Newsletter, no 3/2022, September 2022 It seems as if we have been living through one crisis after another — a pandemic, extreme heatwaves and drought due to climate change, inflation, war, and an energy crisis. This winter is likely to be marked by continued uncertainty, high volatility in global markets like energy and food, which will affect some countries and groups more than others. Tackling these crises, especially in the long term, requires steadfast policy commitment and investments in sustainability to strengthen our societies’ resilience.
Interview — Prosumers and the energy crisis: citizens contributing to Europe’s energy transition
16 Sept 2022
Interview published in the EEA Newsletter, no 3/2022, September 2022 What are energy ‘prosumers’ and what role can they play in boosting the use of renewable energy across Europe? We sat down with EEA energy and environment expert, Javier Esparrago to talk about how citizens, institutions and businesses can help tackle the current energy crisis by becoming prosumers who both produce and consume renewable energy. The EEA published a report earlier this month which provides an overview of the role of renewable energy prosumers and its growing practice in the wake of better and cheaper technology and policies that promote it.