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Human activities put pressure on every part of Europe’s seas

Many different human activities on land and at sea cause pressures on Europe’s seas. A European Environment Agency’s (EEA) briefing, published today, shows that these pressures have now reached the outermost sea areas and the deepest seafloor. Human activities affect negatively 93 % of Europe’s sea area.

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Use of climate-warming fluorinated gases continues to drop across EU

Demand for and use of climate-warming fluorinated gases continues to drop across the European Union, according to the latest annual update of EU progress in phasing down the use of F-gases, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Industry is substituting these F-gases with more climate-friendly products.

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EU on track to meet greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy 2020 targets, progress in 2019 shows more ambitious long-term objectives are reachable

Thanks to steady improvements in emission reductions and renewables uptake, the European Union is likely to achieve two of its three 2020 climate and energy targets, namely reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting renewable energy, according to the European Environment Agency's (EEA) Trends and Projections report published today. Achieving the third target — reducing energy consumption — still looks unclear.

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European countries taking action on putting in place UN’s environment-related SDGs

A vast majority of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) 39 member and cooperating countries are putting in action United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those focused on climate action, water and sanitation, and affordable and clean energy, according to a pan-European assessment, published today, of how the SDGs are being implemented.

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Marked improvement in Europe's air quality over past decade, fewer deaths linked to pollution

Better air quality has led to a significant reduction of premature deaths over the past decade in Europe. However, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) latest official data show that almost all Europeans still suffer from air pollution, leading to about 400,000 premature deaths across the continent.

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Emerging trends: What are the environmental impacts of artificial meat, delivery drones, blockchain and synthetic biology?

Assessing the environment’s prospects in a fast-changing world requires the consideration of emerging trends. A series of joint European Environment Agency (EEA) and Eionet briefings, published today, explores the potential environmental and policy impacts from four emerging technological innovations.

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Still insufficient progress in making transport fuels more climate friendly, latest EEA data show

Achieving the 2020 target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport fuels remains problematic for most European Union Member States according to the latest reported data up to 2018 released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today.

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Winners of EEA’s ‘REDISCOVER Nature’ photo competition announced

A praying mantis in Cyprus, a huddle of butterflies resembling a flower, galloping Galician horses and an alpine sunset in Slovakia are the winners of this year’s European Environment Agency’s ‘REDISCOVER Nature’ photo competition announced today.

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COVID-19 measures have mixed impacts on the environment

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions imposed to fight the spread of the disease have provided some short-term positive impacts on Europe’s environment, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today. These include temporary improvements in air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower levels of noise pollution. However, the assessment also stresses that there have been negative consequences such as increased use of single-use plastics, and that ways out of the pandemic should focus on reshaping our unsustainable production and consumption systems to achieve long-term environmental benefits.

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EU's Eastern partnership countries face problems with water scarcity and pollution

Freshwater resources are unevenly distributed throughout the European Union’s (EU) six Eastern Partnership countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine — according to a European Environment Agency’s report, published today. The EEA report presents an assessment of freshwater availability and water-use efficiency in the region.

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