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Consumption and the environment - SOER 2010 thematic assessment: The consumption of goods and services in EEA member countries is a major driver of global resource use and associated environmental impacts. Growth in global trade is resulting in an increasing share of environmental pressures and impacts from European consumption taking place beyond Europe. Food and drink, housing, mobility and tourism are responsible for a large part of the pressures and impacts caused by consumption in the EU. Achieving significant reductions in environmental pressures and impacts will require changing private and public consumption patterns, to supplement gains achieved through better technology and improved production processes.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Consumption and environment — key message 6: Achieving significant reductions in the environmental pressures related to consumption will require sophisticated policy packages, including regulatory and voluntary instruments, providing sustainable infrastructure, technological support; consumer education and information; and green public procurement. Getting the prices right through ecological tax reform could provide the critical fiscal element of such policy packages. Information to consumers is unlikely on its own to result in significant changes to consumption patterns.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Consumption and the environment - SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Material resources and waste — key message 6: Policy has only recently begun to address the challenges of the growing use of resources. Most actions taken to date do not comprehensively address the upstream causes of growth, focusing instead on the downstream consequences. As yet, there are no broadly accepted and robust methods for measuring the impacts of resource use, and few concrete targets or indicators exist. Policies aimed at the prevention of waste remain weak.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Material resources and waste — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Water resources: quantity and flows — key message 5: Europe cannot endlessly increase its water supply, we must reduce demand. Policies are needed to encourage demand management. Demand measures could include the use of economic instruments; water loss controls; water-reuse and recycling; increased efficiency of domestic, agricultural and industrial water use; and water-saving campaigns supported by public education programmes.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Water resources: quantity and flows - SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Urban environment — key message 6: The urban environment is under pressure from sources both inside and outside individual urban areas, and local situations are influenced by national and European legislation as well as programmes. Therefore, a broadly integrated approach from the local to the European level and across sectors would be beneficial for a more sustainable urban development across Europe.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Urban environment - SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Climate change mitigation - Outlook 2020 (Croatia): SOER Common environmental theme from Croatia
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Croatia
Scaling up ecosystem benefits - a contribution to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study: The present report analyses options for scaling up existing estimates of ecosystem service values to larger geographical scales. It also presents a case study of wetlands at the European level and discusses the results and policy applications.
Located in Publications
International spread of environmental policies: The figure compares the proliferation of twenty-three environmental policy innovations between 1945 and 2005 across 43 OECD and Central Eastern European Countries. The colours represent adoption levels from dark blue (less than 4 countries adopting the policy) to brown (more than 40 countries adopting it). The policies are ranked by adoption rate between start year and 2005 (fastest spreading policies first).
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
TERM26 Overview of all non-fuel related charges and internalisation policies in EEA-32: Overview of all non-fuel related charges and internalisation policies in EEA-32
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Green budgets: the potential for economic instruments to power environmental change: The budget is one area where governments can influence our interaction with the environment – encouraging beneficial behaviour, and discouraging environmental destruction. As a conference on environmental fiscal reform opens at the European Environment Agency (EEA), we consider the potential for using financial carrots and sticks to improve the environment.
Located in News