Publications

Large Combustion Plants (LCP) opted out under Article 4(4) of Directive 2001/80/EC: The Directive on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants (LCP Directive, 2001/80/EC) applies to combustion plants with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 50 MW, irrespective of the type of fuel used (solid, liquid or gaseous).
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Patenting activity for environment related technologies (SCP 041) - Assessment DRAFT created Apr 2012: The indicator addresses the second part of the policy question. The total number of patents applications in environmental technologies has been increasing steadily in EU-27 countries, as has their share in total patents registered in the EU. Total environment-related technology patents increased by 48% between 1999 and 2008, while their share in total patents increased from 6.6% to 8.6% over the same period. Increases have been dominated by a six-fold increase in patent applications in the area of renewable energy technologies. Patents in climate change mitigation and in combustion technologies with impact mitigation potential also saw rapid growth. However, these started from a much lower level and have not had a great influence on overall growth.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Patenting activity for environment related technologies
Evolution of water abstractions, value added and employment in water-intensive industries in Sweden's river basin districts, 2000–2005: -
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Final energy consumption in the industry sectors in the EU27, 1990-2009: The figure shows the development of the final energy consumption in the different industry sectors.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) data from CITL: Data about the EU emission trading system (ETS). The EU ETS data viewer provides aggregated data by country, by sector and by year on the verified emissions, allowances and surrendered units of more than 12 000 installations covered by the EU emission trading system.
Located in Data and maps › Datasets
Final energy consumption by sector (CSI 027/ENER 016) - Assessment published Mar 2012: Between 1990 and 2009, the final energy consumption in the EU-27 increased by 3.2 % at an annual average rate of 0.2% whereas the final energy consumption decreased by 6.6% between 2005 and 2009. Transport remains the sector with the fastest growing energy consumption (30.6% over the period 1990-2009) followed by services (29.7% over the period 1990-2009). Over the same period, household final energy consumption increased by about 8.0% while final consumption in industry fell by 27.0 %. Of this decline in industry, a large decline occurred during the period 2008 to 2009, where there was a decline of 14.7% since 2008. Between 2008 and 2009, EU-27 final energy consumption decreased by 5.2 %. There were declines in all sectors due to the economic recession; there was even a decline in the transport sector (-2.7%) during the same period. On average, one person in the EEA countries used 2.1 tonnes of oil equivalent to meet their energy needs in 2009.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Final energy consumption by sector
Water abstractions by water use sector in the 1990s and the period 1997–2009 (latest year): -
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Final energy consumption in the industry sectors: The figure shows the development of the final energy consumption in the different industry sectors.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Heavy metal (HM) emissions (APE 005) - Assessment published Oct 2010: Across the EEA-32 countries, emissions of lead have decreased by 90%, mercury by 61% and lead by cadmium by 58% between 1990 and 2008. For each substance, the most significant sources in 2008 are from energy-related sources associated with fuel combustion, particularly from public power and heat generating facilities and in industrial facilities. Much progress has been made since the early 1990s in reducing point source emissions of cadmium and lead (e.g. emissions from industrial facilities). This has been achieved through improvements in for example abatement technologies for wastewater treatment, incinerators and in metal refining and smelting industries, and in some countries by the closure of older industrial facilities as a consequence of economic re-structuring. In the case of mercury, the observed decrease in emissions may be largely attributed to improved controls on mercury cells used in industrial processes (e.g. in the chlor-alkali process) including the replacement of old mercury cells by diaphragm or membrane cells, and the general decline of coal use across Europe as a result of fuel switching. The promotion of unleaded petrol within the EU and in other EEA member countries through a combination of fiscal and regulatory measures has been a particular success story. EU Member States have for example completely phased out the use of leaded petrol, a goal that was regulated by Directive 98/70/EC. From being the largest source of lead in 1990 when it contributed around 75% of total emissions, emissions from the road transport sector decreased since then by nearly 99%. Nevertheless, the road transport sector still remains an important source of lead, contributing around 8% of total lead emission in the EEA-32 region. However since 2002 little progress has been made in reducing emissions further; total emissions of lead have remained largely constant. Environmental context: Heavy metals (such as cadmium, lead and mercury) are recognised as being toxic to biota. All have the quality of being progressively accumulated higher up the food chain, such that chronic exposure of lower organisms to much lower concentrations can expose predatory organisms, including humans, to potentially harmful concentrations. In humans they are also of direct concern because of their toxicity, their potential to cause cancer and their potential ability to cause harmful effects at low concentrations. The relative toxic/carcinogenic potencies of heavy metals are compound specific. Specifically, exposure to heavy metals has been linked with developmental retardation, various cancers and kidney damage. Metals are persistent throughout the environment, and cadmium, lead and mercury are among those heavy metals that are already a focus of international and EU action. These substances tend not just to be confined to a given geographical region, and thus are not always open to effective local control. For example, in the case of cadmium, much is found in fine particles which do not readily dry deposit, rather having long residence times in the atmosphere and hence are subject to long-range transport processes.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Heavy metal (HM) emissions
Emissions of acidifying substances (CSI 001) - Assessment published Oct 2010: Emissions of acidifying pollutants (nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulphur oxides (SO 2 ) and ammonia (NH 3 ) have decreased significantly in most of the individual EEA member countries between 1990 and 2008. Emissions of SO 2 have decreased by 74 %, NO X by 34 % and NH 3 emissions by 24 % since 1990. The EU-27 is on track to meet its overall target to reduce emissions of SO 2 and NH 3 as specified by the EU's NEC Directive (NECD). However a large number of individual Member States, and the EU as a whole, anticipate missing the 2010 emission ceilings set for NO X in the NECD, Of the three non-EU countries having emission ceilings set under the UNECE/CLRTAP Gothenburg protocol (Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), both Liechtenstein and Norway also reported NO X emissions in 2008 that were substantially higher than their respective 2010 ceilings.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Emissions of acidifying substances