Publications

Long-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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Soils play an important role in the fight against climate change. Soil management affects the biological processes that lead to soils losing or gaining carbon. It is therefore important that information on the status of and trends in soil carbon is readily available to inform policymaking. This briefing presents the information on soil carbon that can be extracted from the 2021 national greenhouse gas inventories, as reported by EU Member States for the year 2019. It also gives an overview on the status of soil carbon pools across Europe.

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Heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU. Emissions in this sector have increased every year since 2014, dropping only in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For trucks, the primary cause of this trend is a growing demand for freight transport. It is partly offset by the improved energy efficiency of road freight transport. To contribute to the goal of a climate-neutral EU, a combination of changes is needed, including faster improvements in energy efficiency, a shift to vehicles with lower emissions and/or more efficient transport modes.

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Renewable technologies create new opportunities for citizens to become energy producers themselves and to actively contribute to the energy transition. This report provides an overview of the role of renewable energy prosumers in Europe, including case studies on successful initiatives.

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This briefing describes the progress made by the EU and its 27 Member States towards reducing emissions of the five main air pollutants regulated under the National Emission reduction Commitments Directive.

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This document is the annual EU emission inventory report under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) (UNECE, 1979). The report and its accompanying data constitute the official submission to the UNECE secretariat from the European Commission (EC) on behalf of the EU as a Party to the UNECE Executive Secretary (Box ES.1). The EEA compiled the report in cooperation with the EU Member States and the EC.

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Buildings are important in EU environmental and climate policy for several reasons, including their greenhouse gas emissions and high consumption of material resources. Improved design and building techniques will produce highly efficient new buildings but more than 85% of today’s buildings are likely to still be in use in 2050.

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Sewage treatment is an essential service that can deliver clean water, nutrients and organic fertiliser. It can and should contribute to delivering the broad goals of the Green Deal, with a key role in supporting the ambition to achieve zero pollution.

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Despite efforts to adapt to climate change in Europe, the most vulnerable groups in society are still the most affected. Projected climate change, an ageing society and persisting socio-economic inequalities mean that differences in vulnerability and exposure to climate change are likely to continue.

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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 2021 for 11 Eionet core data flows.

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Cancer affects the lives of many Europeans. Environmental and occupational exposure to air pollution, radon, UV radiation, chemical carcinogens, asbestos and other risks contributes significantly to the high burden of cancer in Europe.

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The EEA's annual work programme 2021, which is structured around the Agency's four strategic areas (SAs) as set out in the Agency's multiannual work programme 2014-2021, established the framework for 2021.

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The CAAR is the EEA’s annual report, providing detailed information on the year’s activities, performance and achievements, as well as operational, budgetary and management reporting.

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Bathing is an extremely popular and important leisure activity in Europe. This annual assessment of European bathing sites shows how well environmental protection measures are implemented, allowing people to make informed decisions on where to bathe without health risks at 21 551 officially identified bathing sites in the EU as well as 119 in Albania and 189 in Switzerland.

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Decarbonising road transport — the role of vehicles, fuels and transport demand

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Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2020 and inventory report 2022 Submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat

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Influencing consumer choices towards circularity

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It is now widely understood that achieving a sustainable Europe will require far-reaching societal change, engaging all areas of the economy and society. The European Green Deal identifies the need for ‘deeply transformative’ policies and actions in the coming decades to put the EU onto a sustainable path. Like the EEA’s 5-yearly report, SOER 2020, it highlights the need to fundamentally transform the production-consumption systems that meet Europe’s demand for energy, food, mobility and shelter. Yet there is also a growing recognition that achieving the EU’s vision of ‘living well, within environmental limits’ will require a deeper transformation of the socio-economic system.

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This report analyses data from the Urban Atlas of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. It focuses on land use changes (land take, soil sealing) and socio‑economic trends in 662 functional urban areas — cities and their commuting zones — in the EU and the UK.

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Carbon stocks and sequestration rates in marine and terrestrial ecosystems: a lever for nature restoration

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