Indicators

Non-indigenous species pose a significant threat to biodiversity and are a key focus of European Union policy efforts. Around 779 have been reported in Europe's seas, with the rate of new introductions steadily rising since 1970. The average annual rate of new introductions quadrupled compared to the 1970's in the last six-year assessment period of 2012-2017. Half of these introductions occurred via the transport-stowaway/shipping pathway, with 14% through corridors such as manmade waterways that connect adjacent non-EU waters. Stronger action is needed to reduce the risk of new introductions, including harmonised monitoring for NIS across Europe's seas.

The transport sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and has shown little progress in emission reduction in recent decades. Despite efforts such as increasing the deployment of electric vehicles and promoting low-carbon fuels, transport emissions have only declined slightly since 2005, with a temporary reduction in 2020 due to COVID-19. Estimates of 2024 indicate a small increase in GHG emissions from transport of 0.7%, compared with 2023 levels. Member States project that domestic transport emissions will meet 1990 levels in 2030. International aviation and maritime emissions are projected to increase further.

Pesticides were assessed against effect or quality thresholds between 2013 and 2022. One or more pesticides were detected above their effect threshold at 9% to 25% of all surface water monitoring sites. Exceedances were often caused by imidacloprid , cypermethrin and metolachlor . Exceedances of one or more pesticides were detected at between 4% and 13% of groundwater monitoring sites, mainly by atrazine and its metabolites, glyphosate and bentazone . Differences in weather, crop type and reporting mean that changes between years may not be significant.

Increasing forest connectivity is crucial for supporting biodiversity. Connectivity within stocked forest areas is limited by elements fragmenting the tree cover. The European Union's average forest connectivity was 80.6% in 2021, a 0.8% decrease from 2018. The EU has effective policies promoting forest connectivity. However, the effects of these policies will take time to appear as pest and fire outbreaks which intensify with climate change lead to immediate, often temporary, losses in connectivity. Therefore, it is unlikely that forest connectivity will increase by 2030.

The EEA's European Climate Risk Assessment concludes that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world. Monitoring impacts of meteorological droughts supports policy measures, targeting greenhouse gas removals and the adaptation of ecosystems to climate change. In 2023 drought impact on European ecosystems eased after the devastating previous year. The European Union aggregated drought impact area was 143,513 km 2 , larger than the 2000-2020 long-term average drought impact. If global mitigation and EU and national adaptation strategies are not effectively implemented, drought impacts will increase.

The 8th Environment Action Programme urges the European Union to significantly reduce its consumption footprint, i.e. the global environmental and climate impacts of EU residents’ consumption. Global impacts from the EU’s consumption showed some variation during 2010-2022, yet the 2022 value increased by 4% since 2010. Rising trends over the past three years indicate challenges ahead in the effort to reduce these impacts in the near future. Consuming differently, consuming less and focusing on product eco-design are effective strategies to reduce environmental impacts of consumption.

The European Commission zero pollution action plan aims to reduce ecosystems at risk of eutrophication caused by atmospheric nitrogen deposition by 25% in the European Union by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The total area where nitrogen deposition exceeded the alleged critical loads for eutrophication - the parameter that measures such a risk - fell by 13% between 2005 and 2022. Initiatives such as the National Emission reduction Commitments Directive, Farm to Fork strategy and Biodiversity strategy for 2030 are key frameworks to further reduce the risk of eutrophication in ecosystems.

Total per capita waste generation remained near stable in the European Union between 2010 and 2022. Waste generation historically follows trends in economic growth, e.g. during the 2020 economic slowdown and recovery thereafter. The EU aims to signficantly decrease its total waste generation by 2030. Although the observed stability and decoupling of waste generation from economic growth is encouraging, the latest data indicates that the link between economic growth and waste generation remains. Therefore, it is unlikely that waste generation will substantially decrease by 2030.

The waste recycling rate in Europe has steadily increased due to EU binding recycling targets, indicating progress towards using more waste as a resource and achieving a circular economy. However, progress has stagnated recently and in some cases reversed, with total waste recycling rates lower in 2022 than a decade earlier. The majority of waste was still disposed of through incineration or landfill operations in 2022. Achieving circularity and minimising environmental impacts from natural resource use requires continuous ambitious waste management policies to incentivise recycling and discourage landfills and incineration.

Most of the emission allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) are auctioned. Revenues from these auctions are primarily distributed to countries covered by the ETS and dedicated European Union level funds. As carbon prices have increased significantly since 2017, so too have the revenues that EU Member States collect from the ETS auctions, from EUR 5 billion in 2017 to EUR 33 billion in 2023. This increasing trend is expected to continue.

The 8th Environment Action Programme calls for fossil fuel subsidies to be phased out without delay. Subsidies were stable from 2015-2021, yet more than doubled in 2022 due to high energy prices post-COVID and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, subsequently falling to EUR 111 billion in 2023. While a significant part of fossil fuel subsidies are due to be phased out by 2030, these are largely crisis measures. The EU is likely not on track to make notable progress by 2030, as most Member States lack concrete plans to phase out the significant fossil fuel subsidies that remain.

Eco-innovation, which is crucial for achieving the European Green Deal objective of transitioning to a carbon-neutral and sustainable economy, has increased in the European Union. The European Commission’s eco-innovation index increased by 27.5% from 2014 to 2024, mainly driven by improvements in resource efficiency. This steady increase in recent years is expected to continue, as the European Green Deal has set ambitious environment- and climate-related objectives. Its associated initiatives are very likely to create favourable conditions for more eco-innovation.

Global mean sea level (GMSL) has risen about 21cm since 1900, at an accelerating rate. GMSL reached its highest value ever in 2023. GMSL will likely rise by 0.28-0.55m under a very low emissions scenario (SSP1-1.9) and 0.63-1.02m under a very high emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5) by 2100, relative to the 1995-2014 average. GMSL simulations that include the possibility of fast disintegration of the polar ice sheets project a rise of up to 5m by 2150. Most coastal regions in Europe have experienced an increase in sea level relative to land, except for the northern Baltic Sea coast.

The Water Framework Directive promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources. Total freshwater abstraction decreased by 19% in the EU-27 between 2000 and 2022. Surface water abstraction declined by 25%, while groundwater abstraction increased by 6%, highlighting the growing pressure on groundwater resources. This shift raised groundwater’s share of total freshwater abstraction from 20% in 2000 to 26% in 2022. Abstraction for agriculture, industry, and public supply has risen since 2010, highlighting the need to enhance water use efficiency across these sectors.

Water scarcity affected 34% of the European Union territory during at least one season in 2022. Despite water abstraction declining by 19% in the EU between 2000 and 2022, there has been no overall reduction in the area affected by water scarcity conditions. In fact, the situation has intensified since 2010. This, compounded with the fact that climate change is expected to further increase the frequency, intensity and impacts of drought events, makes it somewhat unlikely that water scarcity will reduce by 2030. Additional effort is required to ensure sustainable water use.

Persistent overfishing threatens Europe’s marine ecosystems, food security and biodiversity. While the EU's integrated approach to managing fisheries has recovered some stocks, the overall situation remains critical. Only 28% of assessed stocks are sustainably fished and in good biological condition, with clear regional disparities. These conditions are met by 41% of stocks in the North-East Atlantic and Baltic Seas, compared to 9% in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The EU's aim to restore healthy fish populations and ensure sustainable use have not been achieved, highlighting the need for urgent action.

Human activities and climate change place increasing pressure on the marine environment, leading to shifts in marine primary productivity, food-web dynamics and species’ geographical distributions. The proportion of warm-favouring species in the Greater North and Celtics Seas has risen to 64%, surpassing cold-favouring species since the late-1980s and is positively correlated with recent sea surface temperature increases . Ocean warming, acidification and eutrophication are expected to drive changes further, impacting biodiversity, ecosystems and fishing opportunities.

Imperviousness negatively affects biodiversity, carbon storage and sequestration, soil hydrological properties, ecosystem services and nature conservation. In 2018, the sealed area in the European Union Member States was 110,702km 2 (2.7%). The increase in this area was 3,606km 2 (3.4%) between 2006 and 2018. The largest sealing increase of 1,156km 2 during 2009-2012 fell to half during 2012-2015, yet picked up again from 2015 to 2018 (796 km 2 ). Although most sealing happened in settlements, sealing in cropland was also substantial with 1,383km 2 agricultural area sealed from 2006 till 2018.

The European Commission zero pollution action plan sets a target to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 2005. Between 2005 and 2022, the number of premature deaths in the EU attributable to PM 2.5 fell by 45%. If this trend continues, the target will be achieved and likely exceeded. The European Commission has separately projected that this target will be surpassed if EU policies on air, climate and energy are adequately implemented. Despite ongoing improvement, 239,000 premature deaths attributable to PM 2.5 occured in the EU during 2022.

At the EU level, only 15% of habitat assessments have a good conservation status, with 81% having poor or bad conservation status. Grasslands, dunes, and bog, mire and fen habitats show strong deteriorating trends, while forests have the most improving trends. The EU did not meet the 2020 target of improving the conservation status of EU protected species and habitats. At the EU Member State level, the majority of assessments indicate a low number of habitats with a good conservation status. Intensive agriculture, urban sprawl and pollution are the top reported pressures to habitats.