The Environmental Atlas

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Climate change, adaptation is vital: Climate change is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats our planet currently faces. Profound changes are about to affect the mechanisms supporting life on earth, and their impact in the next few decades will be considerable.
Located in Multimedia centre
Sustainable cooling helps fight global warming: In Europe, summer heat waves are becoming harder to bear. The demand for air conditioning is on the rise, especially in office buildings. Yet buildings alone represent 40% of the EU's energy consumption, and air conditioning accounts for a significant part of it. In addition, air conditioning produces greenhouse gas emissions, aggravating global warming and putting at risk European climate protection commitments. The solution: reduce the energy requirements of existing air conditioning systems and change the way buildings are designed and used to achieve sustainable summer comfort without active cooling.
Located in Environmental topics › Energy › Multimedia
Business and environment: Eco-technologies: Green innovation for sustainable development. The European Union’s environmental technologies industry is a promising industrial sector with a vast potential for growth. At present it employs more than 2 million people across the Union and has a market value of roughly €200 billion. The EU is a leading supplier of environmental technologies in the world, representing about one-third of the global market for these technologies. It is for their environmental benefits but also for their contribution to economic growth that the European Commission is actively promoting the development and the uptake of environmental technologies.
Located in Environmental topics › Green economy › Multimedia
Curbing CO2 emissions from road transport: Road transport generates about one fifth of the EU's CO2 emissions, with passenger cars responsible for around 12%. This makes it the second most important source of greenhouse gases. Although there have been significant improvements over recent years in vehicle technology, these have not been enough to neutralise the effect of increases in traffic and car size.
Located in Environmental topics › Transport › Multimedia
Reducing climate impacts from international aviation: Europe leads the way: The European Commission is proposing legislation to bring the aviation sector into the European Union's pioneering emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) in order to control the rapid growth in CO2 emissions from air travel. Until now airlines have not been subject to the constraints on energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions that other businesses have to live with. Emissions from domestic flights are covered by the Kyoto Protocol's emission targets for developed countries, but international aviation - which makes up the vast majority of flights - is not. In addition, jet fuel for international flights has historically been exempted from taxation. Hence the need for policy action.
Located in Environmental topics › Climate change › Multimedia
Environmental technology atlas: Located in Publications
Transport and environment: facing a dilemma - TERM 2005: Indicators tracking transport and environment in the European Union
Located in Publications
Sustainable use and management of natural resources: Located in Publications
Household consumption and the environment: Located in Publications