Publications

Europe’s groundwater — a key resource under pressure

‘Groundwater: making the invisible visible’ is the World Water Day theme for 22 March 2022. In recognition of this, this briefing provides an overview of the state of groundwater in the EU. Groundwater stores almost one third of total global freshwater resources and, in the EU, supplies 65% of drinking water and 25% of water for agricultural irrigation. Groundwater pollution is a serious threat to this resource. Recovery from pollution is not easy, as removing pollutants is difficult, meaning that they can accumulate. Groundwater resources are also under increasing pressure from water abstraction and climate change.

Resource nexus and the European Green Deal

Resource nexus assessments analyse the direct and indirect interconnections between different natural resources, their management, use and governance, as well as the synergies and trade-offs that can be generated through policy interventions. By building on the insights provided by a growing body of knowledge and selected case studies, this briefing reflects on the role of the resource nexus in supporting policy coherence and integration in the context of the European Green Deal.

Monitoring the circular economy using emerging data streams

The EU is tracking its transition to a more circular economy using a monitoring framework. This framework is based on existing data and covers only essential elements of the transition. This enabled the framework to be set up quickly and avoid unnecessary costs. To complement this overview, the EEA is exploring opportunities to collect and use data from new sources to better understand how the EU economy is changing. This briefing discusses four data sources used to develop new indicators for circular economy processes that are difficult to monitor with current data.

Managing air quality in Europe

Air quality remains a persistent problem in Europe, harming health and ecosystems. This briefing reviews the status of countries’ air quality plans, put in place for situations where air pollution limits are exceeded. It also identifies the sources behind such exceedances. The assessment covers 21 EU Member States, as well as Norway and the United Kingdom. The European-level assessment is complemented by case studies providing examples of measures that have led to improvements in air quality in seven European cities or regions.

The role of (environmental) taxation in supporting sustainability transitions

This briefing looks at the role of environmental taxes through two lenses. First, it analyses past and current trends in taxes in their ability to raise revenues, and their use as a basis for reform programmes that aim to shift taxes from labour and capital to resource use and environmental pollution. Second, it considers the potential for generating revenue from energy taxes and carbon pricing in the coming decade and their role in achieving the EU’s aim of being climate neutral by 2050, and the implications of this for tax shifting programmes.

Textiles and the environment: the role of design in Europe’s circular economy

From the perspective of European consumption, textiles have on average the fourth highest negative life cycle impact on the environment and climate change, after food, housing and mobility. A shift to a circular textile production and consumption system with longer use, and more reuse and recycling could reduce those impacts along with reductions in overall consumption. One important measure is circular design of textiles to improve product durability, repairability and recyclability and to ensure the uptake of secondary raw materials in new products.

Microplastics from textiles: towards a circular economy for textiles in Europe

Awareness is increasing about the presence of microplastics in our seas, land and air — and of their negative effects on ecosystems, animals and people. Microplastics can be released directly into the environment or can result from the degradation of larger pieces of plastic. The wearing and washing of textiles made from synthetic (plastic) fibers is one recognised source of microplastics in the environment. Textiles and plastics are among the key value chains in the EU circular economy action plan.

Economic losses and fatalities from weather- and climate-related events in Europe

The EU adaptation strategy aims to build resilience and ensure that Europe is well prepared to manage the risks from and adapt to the impacts of climate change, including limiting economic losses and other harm. All regions of Europe face economic losses and fatalities from weather and climate extremes every year. To support policy processes on climate change adaptation, data on these losses must be collected and reported across EEA member countries and in a coherent way over decades.

Who benefits from nature in cities? Social inequalities in access to urban green and blue spaces across Europe

Parks, urban forests, tree-lined streets and riverbanks support urban well-being by providing space for rest, relaxation and exercise, and by keeping temperatures down. However, not everyone across Europe enjoys equal access to green space in cities. This briefing reviews the evidence of socio-economic and demographic inequalities in access to the health benefits derived from urban green and blue spaces across Europe. It showcases examples of green spaces that were designed to meet the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged social groups.

The EU Emissions Trading System in 2021: trends and projections

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on carbon emissions in Europe. In 2020, emissions from stationary installations covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) declined by 11.4% (surpassing the 9% decrease seen in 2019). Aviation was even more acutely impacted. The risk of a rebound in emissions remains, and we must take further measures to bring ETS emissions onto a path to achieve climate neutrality. Reduced demand resulted in more allocations than emissions, but carbon prices recovered quickly.

COVID-19: lessons for sustainability?

This briefing belongs to the ‘Narratives for Change’ series, which explores the diversity of ideas needed to move our society towards sustainability and fulfil the ambitions of the European Green Deal. The briefing reflects on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. It asks how these lessons can be applied to our quest for sustainability and how we can govern our societies in a way that respects planetary health as a precondition for human and economic health.

Linking cross-border shipments of waste in the EU with the circular economy

This briefing provides a snapshot of the status of trading non-hazardous, recyclable waste within the EU, to provide knowledge and information to support the review of the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation. The information and knowledge in the briefing aims to improve the functioning of secondary material markets by offering insights and potential solutions to help ensure that waste is treated in the best possible way in line with the principles of the waste hierarchy.

With people and for people: Innovating for sustainability

Innovation is both a primary source of systemic environmental and sustainability challenges and an essential element in society’s response to such challenges. Technological innovation, which is a policy priority across Europe, has historically been a major ‘driver of change’ for society and the ecosphere. Although technological innovations deliver a multitude of benefits, they are also associated with significant collateral hazards and new challenges.

National Emission reduction Commitments Directive reporting status 2021

This briefing presents progress made by the EU and its 27 Member States towards reducing emissions of key air pollutants regulated under EU legislation. Specifically, it assesses progress towards meeting annual maximum emission levels set for the period 2010-2019, known as 2010 emission ceilings under the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive. It also assesses the effort still needed by each Member State to reach the emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029 and for 2030 onwards under the NEC Directive. This briefing is based on 2019 data, the latest year for which data have been submitted.

Fluorinated greenhouse gases 2021

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) contribute to climate change and in 2019 made up 2.3% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. F-gases have a range of applications, particularly in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector. Most F-gases have much higher global warming potentials than other greenhouse gases. This briefing outlines the important trends in the EU supply of F-gases for the period 2007-2020 and monitors progress under the hydrofluorocarbon phase-down schemes of the F-gas Regulation and the Montreal Protocol.

Impacts of COVID-19 on single-use plastic in Europe’s environment

The COVID19 pandemic is having immense effects on societies across the world. It has caused millions of deaths worldwide and challenged our health systems and economies. The pandemic - and responses to it, involving lockdowns, use of personal protection equipment, and stay-at-home measures - has far reaching health and economic consequences. This briefing deals with the less visible impacts on our environment and climate originating from changed use of single use-plastics because of the pandemic.

Eionet core data flows 2020

The European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries. This briefing presents the results of data collected in 2020 for 11 Eionet core data flows. It summarises the evaluation of hundreds of data deliveries received from reporting countries. The purpose of the briefing is to show progress against agreed reporting criteria (timeliness and data quality) in order to allow countries to identify and prioritise the resources they need for regular reporting procedures. The provision of high-quality data by Eionet is fundamental for the EEA to achieve its mission to provide timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.

Emerging waste streams: Opportunities and challenges of the clean-energy transition from a circular economy perspective

Renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels and batteries, are essential for Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. Deployment, maintenance and replacement of this infrastructure requires significant resources, including many substances included in the EU list of critical raw materials. Waste arising from end-of-life clean energy infrastructure is projected to grow up to 30-fold over the next 10 years, presenting significant opportunities to reduce consumption of scarce raw materials by recycling metals and other valuable resources back into production systems. Circular economy approaches such as repair and upgrading of equipment and recycling of end-of-life infrastructure can underpin the sustainability credentials of Europe’s renewable energy transition.

Urban sustainability in Europe – opportunities for challenging times

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to influence Europe’s transition towards more environmentally sustainable urbanisation patterns for years to come. European cities have been at the forefront of the crisis from the very beginning, not only bearing the worst impacts but also becoming key actors in advocating for a green and just recovery. This briefing provides an initial overview of how the ongoing pandemic is reshaping urban life and discusses some of the key opportunities for achieving urban environmental sustainability in the aftermath of the crisis.

The contribution of national advisory bodies to climate policy in Europe

Effective action to curb climate change depends on well-defined and efficient governance systems. An increasing number of European countries have been adopting national frameworks to organise their climate actions, often in the form of climate laws. In some cases, these include dedicated advisory bodies to support policy-making. This briefing summarises key findings from research on the landscape of climate advisory bodies in European countries. It highlights the importance of ensuring the work of such bodies is effective by equipping them with a clear mandate, adequate resources and formally integrating them into regular cycles of climate policy-making, planning and progress monitoring.