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A profound rethink of how we produce food and operate global food chains and related industrial processing sectors is needed to make them resilient and sustainable. Much more must be done to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as well as their pressures on water resources and biodiversity — efforts which are currently almost stagnant — according to European Environment Agency (EEA) briefings on agriculture and food systems, published today.
Average carbon dioxide emissions from new cars registered in Europe decreased by 12% in 2020, final data shows
News 26 Sep 2022Average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of new cars dropped by 12% in 2020 compared to the year before, according to final figures published today by the European Environment Agency. The main reason for the sharp decrease of emissions was a surge in the share of electric vehicle registrations
About 18 million people suffer long-term annoyance from transport noise in the European Union (EU). The European Commission’s zero pollution action aims to reduce the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared to 2017 levels. According to the European Environment Agency’s assessment, published today, reaching this target is unlikely without further regulatory or legislative changes, mainly due to the difficulty in reducing the large number of people exposed to noise from road traffic.
European Aviation Environmental Report 2022: Sustainability crucial for long-term viability of the sector
News 21 Sep 2022The aviation sector has taken some steps to address its impacts on the environment and climate, but projected growth in demand calls for greater and more decisive action aligned with the European Union’s climate and environmental goals. The new European Aviation Environmental Report offers an overview of the current environmental performance of the sector. In addition to reviewing progress made since the 2019 edition, it includes recommendations with a view to reducing the climate change, noise and air quality impacts from aviation.
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Interview — Prosumers and the energy crisis: citizens contributing to Europe’s energy transition
Article 16 Sep 2022What 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 wake of better and cheaper technology and policies that promote it.
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.
Environmental pollution impacts our health and quality of life. The European Environment Agency’s assessments have highlighted these impacts and the potential gains we could get from a cleaner environment. We can prevent some cancer cases; we can improve our quality of life with every action we take towards zero pollution in Europe.
Transport connects people, places, cultures and economies but it also exerts major pressures on the environment and climate. We spoke with two of European Environment Agency's (EEA) transport and environment experts — Rasa Narkeviciute and Tommaso Selleri — about the challenges and opportunities in making Europe's transport system more sustainable and about the report we have recently published.
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While global food chains, market competition, industrial processes and increasing productivity have turned agriculture into a profitable economic sector, it is also one of the biggest contributors to environmental and sustainability challenges in Europe and worldwide. In tandem, the COVID-19 pandemic, recent geopolitical developments in Europe and socio-economic trends have driven attention towards agriculture and food systems. Considering these new challenges, it is even more urgent to rethink agriculture and food systems to make them resilient and sustainable. This briefing reflects on what makes agriculture unsustainable today — and the types of agriculture we may want to preserve and support.
Food systems require urgent and profound transformation to become sustainable, both in Europe and worldwide. Social innovation plays a pivotal role in transforming today’s food systems into ones that are economically and socially feasible, and sustainable within planetary boundaries. This briefing presents the results of a systematic examination of emerging social innovations across the food chain, conducted using horizon scanning, a tool to detect early signs of potentially important developments. It offers insights into the experimentation taking place in alternative ways to produce, trade and consume food.
Progress and prospects for decarbonisation in the agriculture sector and beyond
Publication 06 Oct 2022While total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU have fallen by a third since 1990, reducing emissions in the agriculture sector has been a slower process and has stagnated since 2005. Based on EU countries’ current policies and measures, this trend is projected to continue, with only a 1.5% decrease expected between 2020 and 2040. This briefing explores two recent studies from the European Environment Agency (EEA) looking at current efforts to reduce emissions in the agriculture sector — and prospects for further reductions during the agri-food life cycle.
Outlook to 2030 - can the number of people affected by transport noise be cut by 30%?
Publication 23 Sep 2022Long-term exposure to noise harms physical and mental health. In Europe, the number of people affected by noise from transport is significant, with at least one in five exposed to chronic levels that can cause adverse health effects. Reducing the negative impacts of exposure to transport noise by 30% is a 2030 target under the European Commission's zero pollution plan. This briefing assesses the feasibility of reaching this target based on based on an optimistic and a less ambitious scenario. Results suggest it is unlikely that the target will be met, even with the implementation of substantial number of noise measures.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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