Publications

The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) ensures public access to information on pollutant releases to the environment from Europe’s largest industrial facilities. This briefing, based upon recently updated E-PRTR data, provides details of Europe’s largest emitting facilities for selected key pollutants in 2015. A more detailed assessment of the large combustion plants (LCP) sector also highlights the ongoing shift away from certain fossil fuels in the sector over the past decade, as well as improvements made to the sector’s environmental performance.

This report provides an overview of progress in renewable energy in Europe, based on official statistics until 2015 and preliminary estimates for 2016.

This report complements the findings shown in the "Trends and Projections in Europe 2015 - Tracking progress towards Europe's climate and energy targets" report with details about the 2013 renewable energy sources (RES) progress at EU and at country level, and for key RES technologies. Furthermore, it provides approximated estimates for RES development in 2014 and seeks to answer the following key questions: Which fossil energy sources were substituted by the growth of RES consumption since 2005 and what would have been their GHG emissions? How do European RES developments compare against renewable energy transformations occurring in other parts of the world?

Addressing climate change requires a globally coordinated, long-term response across all economic sectors. The 2015 Paris Agreement provides the framework for limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and for pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Early in this process, the European Union has adopted ambitious and binding climate and energy targets for 2020 and 2030. Member States have set the strategic objective of building an Energy Union, which aims to provide affordable, secure and sustainable energy (European Council, 2014) and which has a forward‑looking climate policy at its core (European Council, 2015). The most recent package of legislative measures, adopted by the European Commission in November 2016, aims to consolidate and match national climate and energy efforts, and facilitate the delivery of the 2030 targets for climate, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (RES). This report provides information about progress in RES in 2014 at the EU, country, energy market sector and RES technology levels.

This report introduces several methods the European Environment Agency (EEA) has developed for assessing and communicating early RES growth and the important knock-on effects that RES growth has on the energy sector and related areas. The report provides specific information at EU and country level on estimated RES progress in 2013, estimated gross avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and avoided fossil fuel use due to the additional use of renewable energy since 2005, as well as an assessment of the statistical impacts of growing RES use on primary energy consumption.

The 2015 report introduces several methods the European Environment Agency (EEA) has developed for assessing and communicating early RES growth and the important knock-on effects that RES growth has on the energy sector and related areas. The report provides specific information at EU and country level on estimated RES progress in 2013, estimated gross avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and avoided fossil fuel use due to the additional use of renewable energy since 2005, as well as an assessment of the statistical impacts of growing RES use on primary energy consumption.

The European energy system is undergoing rapid changes to set the EU economy on a low-carbon and resource-efficient path. Renewable energy is instrumental to this transformation. EU efforts to double the share of renewable energy in its consumption have paid off, having reduced significantly the amount of fossil fuels used and their associated greenhouse gas emissions. Concerning air pollutant emissions however, the outcomes were not always positive: in countries where biomass burning has increased considerably since 2005, emissions of certain air pollutants have also increased. This briefing presents an estimate of the impact of renewable energy consumption on fossil fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and air pollution since 2005.

This report describes both the eleven biogeographical regions and the seven regional seas around Europe in comparable chapters. The main focus of the chapters is on wild-living species, on the major ecosystems and some selected natural or semi-natural habitat types. The geographical coverage of the report is Europe to the Urals with surrounding regional seas.

The introduction of the European Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 December 2011 (laying down rules for the air quality directives in force as regards the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air quality) provides an opportunity to modernise data reporting, improve data quality, facilitate information sharing and reduce the administrative burden of reporting. This report is a fundamental part in the transition process towards a new reporting mechanism for reporting and sharing ambient air quality data and information, called e-Reporting. This mechanism is based on the Implementing Decision and a shared information system for electronic reporting — aligned with the INSPIRE directive and considering inputs and outputs from the GMES Atmospheric Services. The report presents the operational logic for the e-Reporting system versus the current reporting system. It discusses the options available for e-Reporting and documents the underlying rationale, routines, procedures or concepts that are required or beneficial within the e-Reporting system. The report is aimed at data providers in the Member States and other European countries linked to EIONET. It is also intended to contribute to the Air Quality Directives’ review process.

This report provides an overview of resource efficiency policies and instruments in 31 member and cooperating countries of the EEA’s Eionet network. A detailed survey was conducted during the first half of 2011 to collect, analyse and disseminate information about national experiences in developing and implementing resource efficiency policies, with the goal to facilitate the sharing of experiences and good practice. The report reviews national approaches to resource efficiency and explores similarities and differences in policies, strategies, indicators and targets, policy drivers and institutional setup. It concludes with some EEA considerations for development of future policies on resource efficiency at the EU and country levels. The analysis is illustrated with short examples of policy initiatives in the countries, described in more detail in the country profiles published together with the report.

The report introduces the concept of urban metabolism, the circular model and the role of compactness in urban resource efficiency. Cities require natural resources and energy to sustain the activities and daily life of the urban population. Nevertheless, there are opportunities to minimise the use of resources needed to sustain urban life and to reduce waste and emissions. As the urban form shapes the way people live, work and move, compact cities offer great potential to reduce the dependence on natural resources and energy. Urban planning, based on a vision of the future and developed with local stakeholders and crossing administrative borders, is a key factor in increasing the density of urban areas.

Cities are key players in minimising the use of resources and in developing the circular model. Generally, municipalities provide utilities and control public services for citizens and businesses that influence the majority of resource and energy use and the production of emissions and waste. Local authorities have the capacity to implement responses at multiple scales. This report analyses both the supply and the demand issues. It is divided into two parts: the first is devoted to how to avoid, prevent and reduce the use of resources; the second addresses reuse, recycling and harvesting.

This report highlights the major forces fostering the shift to a resource-efficient green economy in Europe, including the role of EU policies. Currently, the economic and technological changes leading towards green economy objectives across the EU economy are proceeding too slowly; what is required is a much bigger, deeper, and more permanent change in the EU economy and society to create both new opportunities and substitution processes across the economic structure. To bring this about, it is important to study and understand enabling factors and mechanisms at the crossroads of policies and real economy dynamics that could accelerate and direct the transformation.

This report aims to raise awareness about the range of risks to human health associated with changes in water quantity and quality under the changing climate. It assesses our preparedness for ongoing and future impacts by examining the current policy landscape in Europe. At the same time, it seeks to inspire action by showing examples of practical measures implemented across various sectors and on various scales in the EEA member and collaborating countries.