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Agricultural policy needs to secure stronger environmental improvements for water in Europe
News 25 Feb 2021Reducing pressures from agriculture is key to improving the status of Europe’s rivers, lakes, transitional, coastal waters and seas as well as groundwater bodies. A European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment, published today, shows that wider uptake of sustainable agricultural management practices is needed for improving the state of water, as well as biodiversity.
Climate change adaptation is key to avoid disruption of EU agricultural commodities imports
News 11 Feb 2021Stepping up European Union (EU) support for international adaptation, together with trade diversification are key actions the EU can take to lessen the impacts of climate change on agricultural trade, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
River continuity is key to improving the ecological status of Europe’s water bodies. However, very few free-flowing rivers remain and the barriers in them cause significant pressures for about 20 % of Europe’s surface water bodies. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, looks at the issue of river barriers and their impact on ecosystems.
Preventing chemical pollution requires a new approach for designing safe and sustainable products
News 04 Feb 2021The recent European Union chemicals strategy for sustainability aims to ensure that chemicals make a positive contribution to society without harming the environment and people’s health. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, describes key approaches to make chemicals and products safe and sustainable by design, before they enter the market.
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EEA-Eionet Strategy 2021-2030: delivering data and knowledge to achieve Europe’s climate and environment ambitions
Article 15 Dec 2020Our joint Strategy indicates our direction of travel. It introduces a new way of working together and creating knowledge — more agile, more responsive, more pro-active, more actionable — befitting the challenges we will face and the knowledge we will need in the decade to come.
Health and environment, including air and noise pollution — Putting EEA’s work in the spotlight
Article 15 Dec 2020Air pollution, noise pollution and the impacts of climate change are key risks to the everyday health and well-being of Europeans. We talked with Catherine Ganzleben, head of group, air pollution, environment and health, Alberto González, EEA air quality expert, and Eulalia Peris, EEA noise pollution expert to find out more on what the EEA is doing to improve knowledge in this important field of work.
Industrial pollution in Europe is decreasing, thanks to a blend of regulation, developments in manufacturing and environmental initiatives. However, industry continues to pollute and moving towards zero pollution in this sector is an ambitious challenge.
A simple but powerful idea lies at the heart of environmental laws in the EU: the ‘polluter pays’ principle. This principle has been applied in the form of taxes, fines and other measures, such as quotas for pollutant emissions and the Environmental Liability Directive. We talked to Professor Geert Van Calster about this principle, its benefits and shortcomings.
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This report was initiated following the EEA's 2018 assessment of the status of and pressures on European waters, to highlight the role of agriculture in achieving an improved status of surface water and groundwater in future river basin management plans (EEA, 2018b; EC, 2019c).
Global climate change impacts and the supply of agricultural commodities to Europe
Publication 11 Feb 2021The EEA has addressed the consequences of climate change in numerous reports, including Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016, the 2019 report Climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector in Europe and the European environment — state and outlook 2020 report. This briefing analyses the implications for Europe of the impact of global climate change on agricultural trade.
The importance of free-flowing rivers that allow free movement of water, sediment, fish and other organisms is increasingly recognised by EU environmental policy, in particular the Water Framework Directive and the biodiversity strategy for 2030. However, the large number of barriers on our rivers has resulted in a loss of river continuity. This briefing addresses the following questions: What is the density of barriers on rivers? What do we know about their impacts on rivers? How can we improve the European knowledge base on barriers in rivers?
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COVID-19 virus outbreak
Meetings with external participants continue to be held via online platforms until further notice.
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Air pollution, noise pollution and the impacts of climate change are key risks to the everyday health and well-being of Europeans. We talked with Catherine Ganzleben, head of group, air pollution, ...
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