[1]\u00a0Emissions data reported by EU Member States under NECD is used for comparison with NECD ceilings, and data reported under CLRTAP is used for all other calculations unless otherwise stated.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea-32-nitrogen-oxides-nox-emissions-1/assessment.2010-08-19.0140149032-3", "code": "APE002", "key_question": "What progress is being made in reducing emissions of NOx?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea-32-nitrogen-oxides-nox-emissions-1", "specification_name": "Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions (APE 002)", "label": 1, "key_message": "\u00a0
\n[1] Emissions data reported by EU member states under NECD is used for comparison with NECD ceilings, while data reported under CLRTAP is used for all other calculations unless otherwise stated.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea-32-ammonia-nh3-emissions-1/assessment-4", "code": "APE003", "key_question": "What progress is being made in reducing emissions of NH3?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea-32-ammonia-nh3-emissions-1", "specification_name": "Ammonia (NH3) emissions (APE 003)", "label": 2, "key_message": "[1]\u00a0Emissions data reported by EU Member States under NECD is used for comparison with NECD ceilings, and data reported under CLRTAP is used for all other calculations unless otherwise stated.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea32-heavy-metal-hm-emissions-1/assessment-4", "code": "APE005", "key_question": "What progress is being made in reducing emissions of heavy metals?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/eea32-heavy-metal-hm-emissions-1", "specification_name": "Heavy metal emissions (APE 005)", "label": 3, "key_message": "Since 1990, EU-28 F-gas emissions have experienced significant growth, more than offsetting an intermittent decrease between 1997 and 2001. While PFCs and SF6\u00a0emissions have reduced by a significant degree, a major rise can be observed for HFCs emissions, which have almost tripled since 1990.
\nIn 2013, the net supply of F-gases to the EU declined for the third consecutive year since 2010, both in terms of metric tonnes and CO2-equivalents. The 2013 net supply levels are slightly below the low levels of the \u2018economic crisis\u2019 year, 2009. EU production appears to have stabilised slightly above 2008 levels after the sharp decline that was observed from 2007 to 2009. Imports of F-gases grew from 2007 to 2008, experienced a dip in the 'economic crisis' year of 2009 and have been on the decline from 2010 to 2012. However, in 2013 imports rose back to 2011 levels. Exports of F-gases have been on the rise since 2009 when expressed in metric tonnes, however, they are still below 2007 levels. Expressed in CO2-equivalents, however, 2013 exports dropped slightly.
\nContext: Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) covered by the UNFCCC\u2019s Kyoto Protocol comprise hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).\u00a0These F-gases typically have very long lifetimes in the atmosphere and high global warming potentials (GWPs). F-gases are mostly produced for use in products and equipment in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, electrical equipment, foams, fire protection or as aerosols etc. Emissions take place mainly due to leakage during the use phase or due to failure to fully recover the F-gases at the end of the product/equipment lifetime. Future F-gas emissions are thus largely determined by (i) present day use of F-gases and (ii) measures to prevent leakage and encourage recovery.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/production-and-consumption-of-ozone/production-and-consumption-of-ozone-4", "code": "CLIM049", "key_question": "Are ozone-depleting substances being phased out according to the agreed schedule?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/production-and-consumption-of-ozone", "specification_name": "Production and consumption of ozone depleting substances (CSI 006/CLIM 049)", "label": 41, "key_message": "The total production and consumption of ozone depleting substances in EEA member countries has decreased significantly since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 - \u00a0nowadays it is practically zero. Globally, the implementation of the Montreal Protocol has led to a decrease in the atmospheric burden of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) in the lower atmosphere and in the stratosphere.
\nMany of the ODS are also potent greenhouse gases in their own right, but as they are governed through the Montreal Protocol, they are not separately regulated under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Thus the phasing out of ODS under the Montreal Protocol has also avoided global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, it has been estimated that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions \u00a0achieved under the Montreal Protocol was 5 to 6 times larger than that which will result from the UNFCCC's Kyoto Protocol first commitment period, 2008-2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/greenhouse-gas-emission-trends-5/assessment-1", "code": "CLIM050", "key_question": "What is the progress in Europe towards international commitments regarding GHG emissions?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/greenhouse-gas-emission-trends-5", "specification_name": "Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends and projections (CSI 010/CLIM 050)", "label": 42, "key_message": "At the end of 2011, almost all European countries were on track towards their Kyoto targets for 2008\u20132012. The EU\u201115 is on track towards this 8 % reduction target, compared to base-year levels under the Kyoto Protocol.
\nProjections from EU Member States indicate that their emissions outside the EU ETS will be lower than their national targets set under the Climate and Energy Package. Total EU emissions are projected to fall slightly until 2020. With the current set of national domestic measures in place, Member States are expected to reach a level in 2020 which is 19 % below 1990 levels and close to the 20 % reduction target.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-4/assessment", "code": "CLIM052", "key_question": "Will the atmospheric concentration of all greenhouse gases remain below 450 ppm CO2-equivalent, giving a 50% probability that the global temperature rise will not exceed 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-4", "specification_name": "Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (CSI 013/CLIM 052)", "label": 44, "key_message": "In the period 2000-2012, a significant proportion of the urban population in the EU-28 was exposed to ambient concentrations of pollutants above the EU limit (LV) or target (TV) values for the protection of human health. The numbers of people exposed was even higher in relation to the more stringent World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The figures (minimum-maximum in the period) are:
\nAir quality has slowly improved over past years. Following the decreasing tendencies, in 2012 fewer people (urban population) were exposed to concentrations above the PM10 EU LV and WHO guideline; the O3 EU TV; the NO2 EU LV and WHO guideline; and the SO2 EU LV and WHO guideline values.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/exposure-of-ecosystems-to-acidification-3/assessment", "code": "CSI005", "key_question": "What progress is being made towards the targets for reducing the exposure of ecosystems to acidification, eutrophication and ozone?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/exposure-of-ecosystems-to-acidification-3", "specification_name": "Exposure of ecosystems to acidification, eutrophication and ozone (CSI 005)", "label": 48, "key_message": "The total production and consumption of ozone depleting substances in EEA member countries has decreased significantly since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 - \u00a0nowadays it is practically zero. Globally, the implementation of the Montreal Protocol has led to a decrease in the atmospheric burden of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) in the lower atmosphere and in the stratosphere.
\nMany of the ODS are also potent greenhouse gases in their own right, but as they are governed through the Montreal Protocol, they are not separately regulated under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Thus the phasing out of ODS under the Montreal Protocol has also avoided global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, it has been estimated that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions \u00a0achieved under the Montreal Protocol was 5 to 6 times larger than that which will result from the UNFCCC's Kyoto Protocol first commitment period, 2008-2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/species-of-european-interest/species-of-european-interest-assessment", "code": "CSI007", "key_question": "What is the conservation status of species of Community interest?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/species-of-european-interest", "specification_name": "Species of European interest (SEBI 003/CSI 007)", "label": 50, "key_message": "Around half of the species of Community interest (those species which, within the territory of the European Union are listed in Annexes II, IV and V of the Habitats Directive) have an unfavourable conservation status, with variation across biogeographic regions (1).The designation of protected areas is a cornerstone for the conservation of biodiversity worldwide, from genes to species, habitats and ecosystems. In June 2006, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) re-affirmed the role of protected areas as cornerstones of biodiversity conservation, but also highlighted that many are \"beset with managerial and financial difficulties that impede their effective management\".
In addition to quantitative signals it is important to also keep in mind the crucial need to have a qualitative view on the efficiency of the network of designated areas.
At the end of 2011, almost all European countries were on track towards their Kyoto targets for 2008\u20132012. The EU\u201115 is on track towards this 8 % reduction target, compared to base-year levels under the Kyoto Protocol.
\nProjections from EU Member States indicate that their emissions outside the EU ETS will be lower than their national targets set under the Climate and Energy Package. Total EU emissions are projected to fall slightly until 2020. With the current set of national domestic measures in place, Member States are expected to reach a level in 2020 which is 19 % below 1990 levels and close to the 20 % reduction target.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-4/assessment", "code": "CSI013", "key_question": "Will the atmospheric concentration of all greenhouse gases remain below 450 ppm CO2-equivalent, giving a 50% probability that the global temperature rise will not exceed 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations-4", "specification_name": "Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (CSI 013/CLIM 052)", "label": 54, "key_message": "Land take by the expansion of\u00a0residential\u00a0areas and construction sites is the main cause of the increase in the coverage of\u00a0urban land at the European level. Agricultural zones and, to a lesser extent, forests and semi-natural and natural areas, are disappearing in favour of the development of artificial surfaces. This affects biodiversity since it decreases habitats, the living space of a number of species, and fragments the landscapes that support and connect them. The annual land take in European countries assessed by 2006 Corine land cover project (EEA39 except Greece) was approximately 108 000 ha/year in 2000-2006. In 21 countries covered by both periods (1990-2000 and 2000-2006) the annual land take decreased\u00a0by 9 % in the later period.\u00a0The composition of land taken areas\u00a0changed, too.\u00a0More arable land and permanent crops and less pastures and mosaic farmland\u00a0were taken\u00a0by artificial development then in 1990-2000. Identified trends are expected to change little when next assessment for 2006-2012 becomes available in 2014.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/progress-in-management-of-contaminated-sites-3/assessment", "code": "CSI015", "key_question": "How is the problem of contaminated sites being addressed (clean-up of historical contamination and prevention of new contamination)?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/progress-in-management-of-contaminated-sites-3", "specification_name": "Progress in management of contaminated sites (CSI 015/LSI 003)", "label": 56, "key_message": "Local soil contamination in 2011 was estimated at 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites in the EEA-39, of which about 45\u00a0% have been identified to date. About one third of an estimated total of 342 000 contaminated sites in the EEA-39 have already been identified and about 15 % of these 342\u00a0000 sites have been remediated. However, there are substantial differences in the underlying site definitions and interpretations that are used in different countries.
\n\u00a0
\nFour management steps are defined for the management and control of local soil contamination, namely site identification (or preliminary studies), preliminary investigations, main site investigations, and implementation of risk reduction measures. Progress with each of these steps provides evidence that countries are identifying potentially contaminated sites, verifying if these sites are actually contaminated and implementing remediation measures where these are required. Some countries have defined targets for the different steps.
\n\u00a0
\nThirty of the 39 countries surveyed maintain comprehensive inventories for contaminated sites: 24 countries have central national data inventories, while six countries, namely Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden, manage their inventories at the regional level. Almost all of the inventories include information on polluting activities, potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites.
\n\u00a0
\nContaminated soil continues to be commonly managed using \u201ctraditional\u201d techniques, e.g. excavation and off-site disposal, which accounts for about one third of management practices. In-situ and ex-situ remediation techniques for contaminated soil are applied more or less equally.
\n\u00a0
\nOverall, the production sectors contribute more to local soil contamination than the service sectors, while mining activities are important sources of soil contamination in some countries. In the production sector, metal industries are reported as most polluting whereas the textile, leather, wood and paper industries are minor contributors to local soil contamination. Gasoline stations are the most frequently reported sources of contamination for the service sector.
\n\u00a0
\nThe relative importance of different contaminants is similar for both liquid and solid matrices. The most frequent contaminants are mineral oils and heavy metals. Generally, phenols and cyanides make a negligible overall contribution to total contamination.
\n\u00a0
\nOn average, 42\u00a0% of the total expenditure on the management of contaminated sites comes from public budgets. Annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites are on average about EUR\u00a010.7 per capita. This corresponds to an average of 0.041 % of the national GDP. Around 81\u00a0% of the annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites is spent on remediation measures, while only 15\u00a0% is spent on site investigations.
\nIt should be noted that all results derive from data provided by 27 (out of 39) countries that returned the questionnaire, and not all countries answered all questions.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources/use-of-freshwater-resources-assessment-2", "code": "CSI018", "key_question": "Is the abstraction rate of water sustainable?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources", "specification_name": "Use of freshwater resources (CSI 018/WAT 001)", "label": 57, "key_message": "Over the last 10-17 years the Water Exploitation Index (WEI) decreased in 24 EEA countries (Fig.1), as a result of water saving and water efficiency measures.
Total water abstraction decreased about 12 %, but one fifth of Europe's population still lives in water-stressed countries (approx. 113 million inhabitants).
Concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total ammonium have decreased in European rivers in the period 1992 to 2012 (Fig. 1), mainly due to general improvement in waste water treatment.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-freshwater/nutrients-in-freshwater-assessment-published-6", "code": "CSI020", "key_question": "Are concentrations of nutrients in our freshwaters decreasing?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-freshwater", "specification_name": "Nutrients in freshwater (CSI 020/WAT 003)", "label": 59, "key_message": "Between 1985 and 2012, most stations in European Seas that reported to the EEA\u00a0showed no change in trends of concentrations of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) or\u00a0orthophosphate.\u00a0In addition, a decrease in concentrations was observed for 14% and 13% respectively, while only a minority of stations showed an increase.
\nThese trends mostly refer to stations in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea, however, due to lack of reported data for other regional seas. Available data shows nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are decreasing in the southern North Sea which is an area with a recognised eutrophication problem. In the Baltic Sea, also affected by eutrophication, nitrogen concentrations are decreasing but phosphate concentrations show an increase at some stations.\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/bathing-water-quality/bathing-water-quality-assessment-published-4", "code": "CSI022", "key_question": "Is bathing water quality improving?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/bathing-water-quality", "specification_name": "Bathing water quality (CSI 022/WAT 004)", "label": 61, "key_message": "Wastewater treatment in all parts of Europe has improved during the last 15-20 years. The percentage of the population connected to wastewater treatment in the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe has increased over the last ten years. Latest values of population connected to wastewater treatment in the Southern countries are comparable to the values of Central and Northern countries, whereas the values of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe are still relatively low compared to Central and Northern Europe.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/final-energy-consumption-by-sector-8/assessment-2", "code": "CSI027", "key_question": "Is final energy consumption decreasing in Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/final-energy-consumption-by-sector-8", "specification_name": "Final energy consumption by sector and fuel (CSI 027/ENER 016)", "label": 64, "key_message": "Over the period 1990 and 2012 final energy consumption in EU28 increased by 2.3% (6.5% in EEA countries). Between 2005 and 2012 the final energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 7.1% (5.0% in EEA countries). The services sector is the only sector where the energy consumption increased by 3.5% over the period 2005-2012. Between 2005 and 2012, the energy consumption dropped by 14% in industry, 5.1% in transport and 4% in households. The implementation of energy efficiency policies and the economic recession played an important part in the reduction of energy consumption. On average, each person in the EEA countries used 2.1 tonnes of oil equivalent to meet their energy needs in 2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel-5/assessment", "code": "CSI029", "key_question": "What are the trends concerning the energy mix in gross inland energy consumption Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel-5", "specification_name": "Primary energy consumption by fuel (CSI 029/ENER 026)", "label": 65, "key_message": "Primary energy consumption in EU 28 in 2012 was almost the same as in 1990 and amounted to 1585 Mtoe. Between 2005-2012, primary energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 7.3% particularly due to the economic recession and energy efficiency improvements.
\nPrimary energy consumption in the non-EU EEA countries doubled from 71 Mtoe in 1990 to 146 Mtoe in 2012. The main reason for the difference in the trend for this group of countries was the large increase in primary energy consumption in Turkey and, to a lesser extent, in Norway.
\nFossil fuels (including non-renewable waste) continued to dominate primary energy consumption in EU28, but their share declined from 82.1% in 1990 to 73.9% in 2012. The share of renewable energy sources more than doubled over the period, from 4.5% in 1990 to 11.6% in 2012, increasing at an average annual rate of 4.4%/year. The share of nuclear energy in gross inland energy consumption increased slightly from 13.1% in 1990 to 14.4% in 2012.
\nIn 2012, the share of renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption[1] in the EU28 was 24.1%. Hydropower accounted for 11% of all electricity generation in 2012, followed by wind (6%), biomass and wastes (3%), solar power (2%), and geothermal and other renewables (2%). Overall, renewable electricity grew at an annual average rate of 4.1% since 1990, and slightly faster (7.1%/year) since 2005.
\nThe EU28 has met its indicative 21% target for renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption by 2010, as specified in the Renewable Electricity Directive (2001/77/EC). At Member State level, 14 EU-countries met their indicative national renewable electricity targets under that Directive.
\nFrom 2012, the Renewable Electricity Directive has been repealed by the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC), which establishes binding targets for Member States to meet a certain share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2020 (see ENER 28).
\n[1] Gross (national) electricity consumption includes the total gross national electricity generation from all fuels (including auto-production), plus electricity imports, minus exports. Auto-production is defined as a natural or legal person generating electricity essentially for his/her own use. Gross electricity generation is measured at the outlet of the main transformers, i.e. it includes consumption in the plant auxiliaries and in transformers.
\nThe EU fishing fleet displays strong regional differences in terms of its composition, but it is mostly made up of small vessels (59%). There has been a marked decrease in fishing fleet capacity (i.e. number of vessels) between 2004 and 2001, during which time small vessels decreased at an annual rate of approximately 1% and large vessels at 7% .
\nMost of the EU fishing effort is deployed by large vessels (74%) with mobile gears, of which the majority (61%) disturbs the seafloor. The decrease in capacity has been followed by a decrease in the effort of large vessels only (over 7% between 2004-2011), while the effort of small vessels has increased by approximately 5%. This is reflected in an overall shift towards gear with less impact on the seafloor.
\nThe observed change of EU fishing effort and the shift towards gear with less impact is indicative of an overall decrease in fishing pressure\u00a0and impact in European seas between 2004 and 2011.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freight-transport-demand-version-2/assessment-4", "code": "CSI036", "key_question": "Is freight transport demand being decoupled from economic growth?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freight-transport-demand-version-2", "specification_name": "Freight transport demand (CSI 036/TERM 013)", "label": 70, "key_message": "Freight transport volumes in the EU\u201128 decreased by 2\u00a0% between 2011 and 2012, mainly due to a 3\u00a0% reduction in road freight transport (with Italy leading the road drop by 13.8\u00a0% compared to its 2011 figure). Rail transport also decreased by 4\u00a0% between 2011 and 2012, whereas IWW transport increased by 6\u00a0%. Maritime and air transport did not vary significantly. Overall, total freight transport volumes in the EU\u201128 are now 10\u00a0% below the peak volumes experienced in 2007. The modal share remains constant; road transport dominates land freight transport at 75\u00a0%, followed by rail (18\u00a0%) and IWW (7\u00a0%).
\nSwitzerland experienced a decrease of 4\u00a0% in road and rail transport, whereas Norway and Turkey\u2019s overall land freight transport increased (by 4\u00a0% and 6\u00a0% respectively), and Iceland\u2019s demand remained roughly constant between 2011 and 2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-cleaner-and-alternative-fuels/use-of-cleaner-and-alternative-7", "code": "CSI037", "key_question": "Is EU's progress towards promoting cleaner and alternative fuels satisfactory?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-cleaner-and-alternative-fuels", "specification_name": "Use of cleaner and alternative fuels (CSI 037/TERM 031)", "label": 71, "key_message": "All EU Member States are to achieve a 10 % share in renewable energy by 2020 for all transport options. Individual Member States progress towards this
target varies. As a reference, the average share of renewable energy across the EU\u201128 consumed in transport between 2010 and 2011 increased from 3.5 % to 3.8 %. These figures include only those biofuels which met the sustainability criteria.
In 2011 EUROSTAT has for the first time published the share of biofuels in transport energy use which meet the sustainability criteria of the Renewables Directive (Art. 17 & Art. 18, 2009/28/EC). The data shows that in 2011 3.8% of the energy consumed in transport was renewable, most of it from biofuels meeting the sustainability criteria. Most Member States require significant further increases in order to reach the Directive\u2019s target for a 10% share of renewable energy in transport by 2020.
\nIn 2011, the unweighted average EU-27 sulphur content was 5.7 ppm for petrol, and 7.0 ppm for diesel. An EU specification came into force on 1 January 2009, which limits the sulphur content of all automotive road fuels to a maximum of 10 ppm. Reductions in the sulphur content of fuels are expected to have a large impact on exhaust emissions as they will enable the introduction of more sophisticated after-treatment systems.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/main-anthropogenic-air-pollutant-emissions/assessment", "code": "CSI040", "key_question": "What progress is being made in reducing emissions of the main air pollutants across Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/main-anthropogenic-air-pollutant-emissions", "specification_name": "Emissions of the main air pollutants in Europe (CSI 040/APE 010)", "label": 72, "key_message": "European economic production and consumption have become less waste intensive, even after the economic downturn since 2008 is considered in the analysis.
\nFrom the production side, waste generation from manufacturing in the EU-28 and Norway declined by 25% in absolute terms between 2004 and 2012, despite an increase of 7% in sectoral economic output. Waste generation by the service sector declined by 23% in the same period, despite an increase of 13% in sectoral economic output.
\nTurning to consumption, total municipal waste generation in EEA countries declined by 2% between 2004 and 2012, despite a 7% increase in real household expenditure.
\nOne of the objectives in EU waste policy is to reduce waste generation in absolute terms, within the overall goal to decouple economic growth from resource use and environmental impacts. Waste prevention efforts across Europe seems to contribute to the waste objectives; with considerable differences between the countries. Wider analysis across different economic sectors within and beyond EU borders will be needed in order to provide more comprehensive conclusions.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/final-energy-consumption-by-sector-8/assessment-2", "code": "ENER016", "key_question": "Is final energy consumption decreasing in Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/final-energy-consumption-by-sector-8", "specification_name": "Final energy consumption by sector and fuel (CSI 027/ENER 016)", "label": 74, "key_message": "Over the period 1990 and 2012 final energy consumption in EU28 increased by 2.3% (6.5% in EEA countries). Between 2005 and 2012 the final energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 7.1% (5.0% in EEA countries). The services sector is the only sector where the energy consumption increased by 3.5% over the period 2005-2012. Between 2005 and 2012, the energy consumption dropped by 14% in industry, 5.1% in transport and 4% in households. The implementation of energy efficiency policies and the economic recession played an important part in the reduction of energy consumption. On average, each person in the EEA countries used 2.1 tonnes of oil equivalent to meet their energy needs in 2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/efficiency-of-conventional-thermal-electricity-generation-3/assessment", "code": "ENER019", "key_question": "Is the European energy production system becoming more efficient?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/efficiency-of-conventional-thermal-electricity-generation-3", "specification_name": "Efficiency of conventional thermal electricity and heat production (ENER 019)", "label": 75, "key_message": "Between 1990 and 2012 the efficiency of electricity and heat production in public conventional thermal power plants in the EU28 improved from 42.2% in 1990 to 47.6% in 2012. In the non-EU EEA countries, this efficiency improved from 34.4% in 1990 to 42.1% in 2012. Between 2005 and 2012, the efficiency in public conventional thermal power plants stabilized more or less in both the EU28 and the non-EU EEA countries. An efficiency improvement in the EU28 of about 2 percentage points between 2005 and 2010 is attributed to an increased use of natural gas. Between 2010 an 2012 the efficiency in the EU28 dropped by the same amount, due to increased use of coal in stead of gas in combination with the use of existing, low efficiency coal plants.
\nThe efficiency of electricity and heat production from autoproducers conventional thermal power plants in the EU and non-EU EEA countries decreased between 2005 and 2012 by about 5\u00a0percentage points, from about 60% in 2005 to about 55% in 2012.
\nSince 2000, the EU28 final energy intensity has decreased by 16% at an annual average rate of 2%/year. Since 2005, final energy intensity decreased by 11.9% at an annual rate of 1.8%/year, showing an absolute decoupling, between economic growth and final energy consumption. Since 2005, final energy intensity in industry, services and agriculture sectors decreased by 2.5%/year, 2.0%/year and 1.8%/year, respectively. In the transport sector the final energy intensity has decreased by 1.5%/year since 2005. In the household sector the final energy intensity decreased by 1.1%/year since 2005.\u00a0Since 2000, the final energy intensity in non-EU EEA countries has decreased by 14% at an annual average rate of 2%/year. The annual decrease is slightly smaller than in the EU-28 due to an increase of the industry energy intensity in Turkey and Iceland.
\nPrimary energy consumption in EU 28 in 2012 was almost the same as in 1990 and amounted to 1585 Mtoe. Between 2005-2012, primary energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 7.3% particularly due to the economic recession and energy efficiency improvements.
\nPrimary energy consumption in the non-EU EEA countries doubled from 71 Mtoe in 1990 to 146 Mtoe in 2012. The main reason for the difference in the trend for this group of countries was the large increase in primary energy consumption in Turkey and, to a lesser extent, in Norway.
\nFossil fuels (including non-renewable waste) continued to dominate primary energy consumption in EU28, but their share declined from 82.1% in 1990 to 73.9% in 2012. The share of renewable energy sources more than doubled over the period, from 4.5% in 1990 to 11.6% in 2012, increasing at an average annual rate of 4.4%/year. The share of nuclear energy in gross inland energy consumption increased slightly from 13.1% in 1990 to 14.4% in 2012.
\nThe share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption in the EU28 reached 14.1% in 2012, representing 70% of the EU\u2019s 20% renewable energy target for 2020. Renewable energy sources represented 15.6% of gross final energy consumption for heating and cooling, 23.5% of final electricity consumption and 5.1% of transport fuels consumption in 2012.
\nIn 2012, the share of renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption[1] in the EU28 was 24.1%. Hydropower accounted for 11% of all electricity generation in 2012, followed by wind (6%), biomass and wastes (3%), solar power (2%), and geothermal and other renewables (2%). Overall, renewable electricity grew at an annual average rate of 4.1% since 1990, and slightly faster (7.1%/year) since 2005.
\nThe EU28 has met its indicative 21% target for renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption by 2010, as specified in the Renewable Electricity Directive (2001/77/EC). At Member State level, 14 EU-countries met their indicative national renewable electricity targets under that Directive.
\nFrom 2012, the Renewable Electricity Directive has been repealed by the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC), which establishes binding targets for Member States to meet a certain share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2020 (see ENER 28).
\n[1] Gross (national) electricity consumption includes the total gross national electricity generation from all fuels (including auto-production), plus electricity imports, minus exports. Auto-production is defined as a natural or legal person generating electricity essentially for his/her own use. Gross electricity generation is measured at the outlet of the main transformers, i.e. it includes consumption in the plant auxiliaries and in transformers.
\nThe EU28 is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which accounted in 2012 for 74.6% of the total gross inland energy consumption compared to renewables at only 11%. The share of fossil fuels (gas, solid fuels and oil)[1] in the total gross inland energy consumption of the EU28 declined from 83.0% in 1990 to 74.6% in 2012. at an annual rate of 0.3\u00a0% per year. Between 2005 and 2012, the share of fossil fuels in gross inland energy consumption decreased slightly faster at 0.6 % per year.
\nThe EU\u2019s dependence on imports of fossil fuels from non-EU countries remained relatively stable between 2005 and 2012. In 2012, EU28 net import of fossil fuels was 53.4% of its total gross inland energy consumption with 58.2% for oil, 28.3% for gas and 13.6% for solid fuels.
\nIn 2012 only 71.4% of the total gross inland energy consumption in the EU28 reached the end users. Between 1990 and 2012, energy losses in transformation and distribution were about 29% of total gross inland energy consumption and did not show a significant trend.
\nThe average efficiency of electricity and heat production of conventional thermal power stations and district heating plants in the EU28 improved over the period 1990 and 2012 by 4.8\u00a0percentage points to reach 49.4% in 2012. The main increase was seen between 1990 and 2010 with an increase of 6.3\u00a0percentage points (from 44.6% in 1990 to 50.9% in 2010). The improvement before 2010 was due to the closure of old inefficient plants, improvements in existing technologies, often combined with a switch from coal power plants to more efficient combined cycle gas turbines. Between 2010 and 2012, there was a slight fall in the efficiency of electricity and heat production from conventional thermal power plants and district heating plants of 1.5 percentage points (from 50.9% in 2010 to 49.4% in 2012) because of increased power production from coal and lignite and due to lower heat production.
\n[1] Definitions are provided in the meta data.
\nOver the period 1990-2012, final energy efficiency increased by 25% in EU28 countries at an annual average rate of 1.3%/year, driven by improvements in the industrial sector (1.7%/year) and households (1.5%/year). Half of the efficiency gains achieved through technological innovation in the household sector have been offset by increasing number of electrical appliances and larger homes. One third of total savings in space heating in the residential sector is due to new building codes, since a building built in 2012 consumed approximately 40% less energy than one built in 1990. \u00a0
\nEnergy Trends in Europe
\nIn 2012, the final energy consumption reached 1,104 Mtoe at EU-level (see also ENER 16). Buildings (households and services) consumed almost 40% of final energy consumption in 2012 (of which 26% for households), transport 32% (+6 points compared to 1990) followed by industry with 26% (-8 points compared to 1990) and agriculture with 2%.
\nLand take by the expansion of\u00a0residential\u00a0areas and construction sites is the main cause of the increase in the coverage of\u00a0urban land at the European level. Agricultural zones and, to a lesser extent, forests and semi-natural and natural areas, are disappearing in favour of the development of artificial surfaces. This affects biodiversity since it decreases habitats, the living space of a number of species, and fragments the landscapes that support and connect them. The annual land take in European countries assessed by 2006 Corine land cover project (EEA39 except Greece) was approximately 108 000 ha/year in 2000-2006. In 21 countries covered by both periods (1990-2000 and 2000-2006) the annual land take decreased\u00a0by 9 % in the later period.\u00a0The composition of land taken areas\u00a0changed, too.\u00a0More arable land and permanent crops and less pastures and mosaic farmland\u00a0were taken\u00a0by artificial development then in 1990-2000. Identified trends are expected to change little when next assessment for 2006-2012 becomes available in 2014.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/progress-in-management-of-contaminated-sites-3/assessment", "code": "LSI003", "key_question": "How is the problem of contaminated sites being addressed (clean-up of historical contamination and prevention of new contamination)?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/progress-in-management-of-contaminated-sites-3", "specification_name": "Progress in management of contaminated sites (CSI 015/LSI 003)", "label": 83, "key_message": "Local soil contamination in 2011 was estimated at 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites in the EEA-39, of which about 45\u00a0% have been identified to date. About one third of an estimated total of 342 000 contaminated sites in the EEA-39 have already been identified and about 15 % of these 342\u00a0000 sites have been remediated. However, there are substantial differences in the underlying site definitions and interpretations that are used in different countries.
\n\u00a0
\nFour management steps are defined for the management and control of local soil contamination, namely site identification (or preliminary studies), preliminary investigations, main site investigations, and implementation of risk reduction measures. Progress with each of these steps provides evidence that countries are identifying potentially contaminated sites, verifying if these sites are actually contaminated and implementing remediation measures where these are required. Some countries have defined targets for the different steps.
\n\u00a0
\nThirty of the 39 countries surveyed maintain comprehensive inventories for contaminated sites: 24 countries have central national data inventories, while six countries, namely Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden, manage their inventories at the regional level. Almost all of the inventories include information on polluting activities, potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites.
\n\u00a0
\nContaminated soil continues to be commonly managed using \u201ctraditional\u201d techniques, e.g. excavation and off-site disposal, which accounts for about one third of management practices. In-situ and ex-situ remediation techniques for contaminated soil are applied more or less equally.
\n\u00a0
\nOverall, the production sectors contribute more to local soil contamination than the service sectors, while mining activities are important sources of soil contamination in some countries. In the production sector, metal industries are reported as most polluting whereas the textile, leather, wood and paper industries are minor contributors to local soil contamination. Gasoline stations are the most frequently reported sources of contamination for the service sector.
\n\u00a0
\nThe relative importance of different contaminants is similar for both liquid and solid matrices. The most frequent contaminants are mineral oils and heavy metals. Generally, phenols and cyanides make a negligible overall contribution to total contamination.
\n\u00a0
\nOn average, 42\u00a0% of the total expenditure on the management of contaminated sites comes from public budgets. Annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites are on average about EUR\u00a010.7 per capita. This corresponds to an average of 0.041 % of the national GDP. Around 81\u00a0% of the annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites is spent on remediation measures, while only 15\u00a0% is spent on site investigations.
\nIt should be noted that all results derive from data provided by 27 (out of 39) countries that returned the questionnaire, and not all countries answered all questions.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/soil-organic-carbon-1/assessment", "code": "LSI005", "key_question": "What is the trend in soil organic carbon in Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/soil-organic-carbon-1", "specification_name": "Soil organic carbon (CLIM 027/LSI 005)", "label": 84, "key_message": "In 2012, the concentrations of the eight assessed hazardous substances were generally: Low or Moderate for Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and lindane; Moderate for cadmium, mercury, lead, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and 6-Benzylaminopurine BAP; and Moderate or High for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).\u00a0
\nA general downward trend was found between 2003 and 2012 in the North-East Atlantic for cadmium, lead, lindane, PCB, DDT and BAP, and also in the Baltic Sea for lindane and PCB. No trends could be calculated for the other regional seas.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-marine-alien-species-mas-2/assessment", "code": "MAR002", "key_question": "Are marine non-indigenous species increasing in European Seas?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-marine-alien-species-mas-2", "specification_name": "Trends in marine non-indigenous species (MAR 002)", "label": 88, "key_message": "Available data shows that the seas around Europe currently harbor 1 416 non-indigenous species (NIS), almost 81% (1 143) of which have been introduced after 1950. These consist mostly of invertebrates (approx. 63%).
\nThe rate of new introductions of NIS is continually increasing with 323 new species recorded since 2000 at pan-European level.
\nAn increase in NIS introductions is observed for all regional seas. The most affected seas are in the Mediterranean, in particular\u00a0in the Aegean-Levantine Sea. In this region\u00a0over 160 new species have been recorded from 2000 to 2010.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-marine-alien-species/assessment", "code": "MAR003", "key_question": "What are the main pathways of introduction of marine non-indigenous species?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-marine-alien-species", "specification_name": "Pathways of introduction of marine non-indigenous species (MAR 003)", "label": 89, "key_message": "The main pathways for marine non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction in Europe\u00b4s seas are shipping (51%) and the Suez Canal (37%). These are followed by aquaculture related activities (17%) and, to a much lesser extent, aquarium trade (3%) and inland canals (2%).\u00a0This is a pattern observed in all regional seas, except for the Eastern Mediterranean where introductions via the Suez Canal exceed those by shipping.
\nTrends in pathways show an increasing rate of introductions by shipping and corridors (in particular the Suez canal) since the 1990s, while aquaculture mediated introductions have been decreasing since the 2000s. This can be attributed to the adoption of effective EU regulation. Aquarium trade emerges as a lower but increasing pathway since the 2000s.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-transitional-coastal-and-3/assessment", "code": "MAR005", "key_question": "Are nutrient concentrations in European transitional, coastal and marine waters decreasing?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-transitional-coastal-and-3", "specification_name": "Nutrients in transitional, coastal and marine waters (CSI 021/MAR 005)", "label": 90, "key_message": "Between 1985 and 2012, most stations in European Seas that reported to the EEA\u00a0showed no change in trends of concentrations of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) or\u00a0orthophosphate.\u00a0In addition, a decrease in concentrations was observed for 14% and 13% respectively, while only a minority of stations showed an increase.
\nThese trends mostly refer to stations in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea, however, due to lack of reported data for other regional seas. Available data shows nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are decreasing in the southern North Sea which is an area with a recognised eutrophication problem. In the Baltic Sea, also affected by eutrophication, nitrogen concentrations are decreasing but phosphate concentrations show an increase at some stations.\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/chlorophyll-in-transitional-coastal-and-2/assessment", "code": "MAR006", "key_question": "Is eutrophication in European transitional, coastal and marine waters decreasing?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/chlorophyll-in-transitional-coastal-and-2", "specification_name": "Chlorophyll in transitional, coastal and marine waters (CSI 023/MAR 006)", "label": 91, "key_message": "The EU fishing fleet displays strong regional differences in terms of its composition, but it is mostly made up of small vessels (59%). There has been a marked decrease in fishing fleet capacity (i.e. number of vessels) between 2004 and 2001, during which time small vessels decreased at an annual rate of approximately 1% and large vessels at 7% .
\nMost of the EU fishing effort is deployed by large vessels (74%) with mobile gears, of which the majority (61%) disturbs the seafloor. The decrease in capacity has been followed by a decrease in the effort of large vessels only (over 7% between 2004-2011), while the effort of small vessels has increased by approximately 5%. This is reflected in an overall shift towards gear with less impact on the seafloor.
\nThe observed change of EU fishing effort and the shift towards gear with less impact is indicative of an overall decrease in fishing pressure\u00a0and impact in European seas between 2004 and 2011.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/gdp-outlook-from-oecd-1/assessment", "code": "Outlook041", "key_question": "What are the current and projected global trends in economic growth (GDP)?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/gdp-outlook-from-oecd-1", "specification_name": "Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Outlook from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Outlook 041)", "label": 95, "key_message": "Following the turbulence of the late 2000s, global GDP is projected to grow steadily up to 2050. Rapid growth is projected for China, with it overtaking the USA as the biggest single economy before 2020. India is also expected to grow rapidly surpassing the EU before 2050.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/total-population-outlook-from-unstat-2/assessment", "code": "Outlook042", "key_question": "What are the main population trends globally and within specific world regions?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/total-population-outlook-from-unstat-2", "specification_name": "Population change \u2013 Outlook from UN DESA (Outlook 042)", "label": 96, "key_message": "The world\u2019s population increased from 2.5 billion in 1950 to around 7 billion in 2010, and is expected to continue to rise until 2050/2100 under most UN projection variants. Assuming the \u2018medium fertility\u2019 projection variant, global population might increase to 9.6 billion by 2050, rising to 10.9 billion by 2100. However, if fertility and mortality rates stay at current levels (i.e. assuming the \u2018no change\u2019 projection variant), growth rates would be substantially higher, and the global population could rise to 10.2 billion by 2050 and 19.9 billion by 2100.
\nExpected global population growth is projected to be largely driven by increases in Asia and particularly in Africa. While the Asian population is expected to peak by 2050, Africa\u2019s population is projected to grow strongly and continuously, from about 1 billion today to more than 4 billion by 2100, under \u2018medium fertility\u2019 assumptions.
\nThe total population of the 28 EU Member States is projected to slightly increase from the current figure of 505 million to 520 million by 2030, and then to decrease in the subsequent decades to some 475 million by 2100, under \u2018medium fertility\u2019 assumptions. The age structure is projected to change substantially, with an increase of the share of people aged 65 years or older from the current figure of 17% to over 30% by 2050, under \u2018medium fertility\u2019 assumptions.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-share-of-expenditure-1/assessment", "code": "SCP013", "key_question": "Are Europeans switching consumption patterns to goods and services with less environmental pressures per Euro?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/trends-in-share-of-expenditure-1", "specification_name": "Household expenditure on consumption categories with differing environmental pressure intensities (SCP 013)", "label": 97, "key_message": "Between 1996 and 2012, trends in household spending patterns were mixed. The trend, however, is towards an increasing share of consumption categories with reduced environmental pressures per Euro spent. In addition, almost all consumption categories have also seen reductions in environmental pressure intensities.\u00a0Together, these two developments are likely to have caused a relative decoupling of environmental pressures from growth in household consumption expenditure.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/number-of-organisations-with-registered/assessment", "code": "SCP033", "key_question": "Are private companies and public institutions increasingly engaging in environmental management and corporate social responsibility?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/number-of-organisations-with-registered", "specification_name": "Number of organisations with registered environmental management systems according to EMAS and ISO 14001 (SCP 033)", "label": 98, "key_message": "The number of organisations registered under the EMAS standard rose by 50% during the period 2003-2010, while organisations from EU countries certified according to the international ISO 14001 standard more than quadrupled in the period 2001-2009. This indicates that private companies and public institutions in the EU are increasingly engaging in environmental management.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/abundance-and-distribution-of-selected-species/abundance-and-distribution-of-selected-2", "code": "SEBI001", "key_question": "Have the declines in common species in Europe been halted?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/abundance-and-distribution-of-selected-species", "specification_name": "Abundance and distribution of selected species (SEBI 001)", "label": 99, "key_message": "Since 1990, common bird populations have decreased by around 12% in 27 European countries.\u00a0 The decline of common farmland birds was more pronounced at 30%, whereas common forest birds declined by 8%.
\nGrassland butterflies have also declined dramatically (50%) since 1990 in 19 European countries and this reduction shows no sign of levelling off.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/red-list-index-for-european-species/red-list-index-for-european", "code": "SEBI002", "key_question": "Has the risk of extinction for European birds changed?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/red-list-index-for-european-species", "specification_name": "Red List Index for European species (SEBI 002)", "label": 100, "key_message": "To date, the Red List Index has been calculated only for bird species at a European level, so the information in the current indicator is limited to European birds.
The overall risk of extinction among Europe's birds has generally been on the rise over the last decade. While the status of some species has due to conservation action, many more have deteriorated because of worsening threats and/or declining populations.
Between 2000 and 2006 the highest absolute increase in ecosystem coverage occurred in transitional woodland, mostly at the expense of woodland and forest. A decrease was observed in vulnerable ecosystems such as wetlands, heathland and sparsely vegetated land. Agricultural land coverage also decreased, with the majority of changes caused by urbanisation and intensification of agriculture, affecting, particularly, grassland and agricultural mosaics.\u00a0 Urban areas continued to increase dramatically. Rivers, lakes and coastal areas increased to a minor extent.
\n\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/habitats-of-european-interest/habitats-of-european-interest-assessment", "code": "SEBI005", "key_question": "What is the conservation status of habitats of Community interest?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/habitats-of-european-interest", "specification_name": "Habitats of European interest (SEBI 005)", "label": 103, "key_message": " Conservation status(1) is quite variable across the regions. A relatively large proportion of habitats (35 %) have a favourable status in the Alpine region but the situation is much worse in the Atlantic region where more than 70 % have an unfavourable status.That means their range and quality are in decline or do not meet the specified quality criteria.
There are still significant gaps in knowledge on marine areas, except for the Baltic.
(1) The reporting format uses three classes of conservation status. 'Good' (green) indicates that the species or habitat is at Favourable Conservation Status as defined in the Directive and the habitat or species can be expected to prosper without any change to existing management or policies. Two classes of 'Unfavourable' are also recognised. 'Unfavourable-Bad' (red) signifies that a habitat or species is in serious danger of becoming extinct (at least locally) and 'Unfavourable-Inadequate' (amber) is used for situations where a change in management or policy is required but the danger of extinction is not so high. The unfavourable category has been split into two classes to allow improvements or deterioration to be reported. (Assessment, monitoring and reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive: Explanatory Notes & Guidelines DRAFT 2 January 2006).
The total area of nationally-designated protected areas in Europe[1] has increased over time and amounted to over 1,1 million square kilometres in 39 European countries in 2014. With more than 95 000 sites, Europe still has more protected areas than any other region in the world.
\n[1] A \u201cNationally designated area\u201d is an area designated by a national designation instrument based on national legislation. If a country has included the sites designated under the EU Birds and Habitats directive in its legislation, the Natura 2000 sites of this country are included in the figure.
\n\u00a0
\nSince 2002, there has been a steady increase in the cumulative area of the Natura 2000 network. Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) increased in coverage from 450 000 to 810 000 square kilometres and Special Protected Areas (SPAs) increased from approximately 180 000 to 670 000 square kilometres. Ten countries have designated more than 20% of their territory.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/critical-load-exceedance-for-nitrogen/critical-load-exceedance-for-nitrogen", "code": "SEBI009", "key_question": "What are the trends in nitrogen emissions and where in Europe does atmospheric nitrogen deposition threaten biodiversity?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/critical-load-exceedance-for-nitrogen", "specification_name": "Critical load exceedance for nitrogen (SEBI 009)", "label": 107, "key_message": "Nitrogen emissions and deposition of nitrogen compounds have decreased since 1990 but relatively little compared to sulphur emissions. Agriculture and transport are the main sources of nitrogen pollution (EEA, 2007c). In addition, nitrogen components can lead to eutrophication of ecosystems. When this pollution exceeds certain levels ('critical load'), it is damaging to biodiversity. Critical load exceedance is still significant(1).The cumulative number of alien species introduced has been constantly increasing since the 1900s . While the increase may be slowing down or levelling off for terrestrial and freshwater species, this is certainly not the case for marine and estuarine species. A relatively constant proportion of the alien species establishedcause significant damage to native biodiversity, i.e. can be classified as invasive alien species according to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This increase in the number of alien species established thus implies a growing potential risk of damage to native biodiversity caused by invasive alien species.
While the majority of the approximately 10 000 alien species recorded in Europe (DAISIE project) have not (yet) been found to have major impacts, some are highly invasive. To identify the most problematic species to help prioritise monitoring, research and management actions, a list of 'Worst invasive alien species threatening biodiversity in Europe' (15), presently comprising 163 species/species groups, has been established.
While invasive alien species are recognised as a major driver of biodiversity loss, the issue of 'alien species' may in the future need to be considered in the context of climate change and particularly adaptation. For example, as agricultural food production adapts to a changing climate, farmers may welcome the arrival of pollinator species that match the new plant varieties that are used. Indeed, the movement of plant and animal species together may be necessary to facilitate adaptation.
(5) A species, subspecies or lower taxon, introduced outside its natural past or present distribution; includes any part, gametes, seeds, eggs or propagules of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce. An invasive alien species is an alien species whose introduction and/or spread threaten biological diversity www.cbd.int/invasive/terms.shtml, accessed on 2 December 2008).
(15) Based on expert opinion in the SEBI 2010 expert group on invasive alien species.
Climate change is having a detectable effect on bird populations at a European scale, including both negative and positive effects.
The number of bird species whose populations are observed to be negatively impacted by climatic change is three times larger than those observed to be positively affected by climate warming in this set of widespread European land birds.
The Climatic Impact Indicator, which illustrates the impact of climate change on bird populations, has increased strongly in the past twenty years, coinciding with a period of rapid climatic warming in Europe. Potential links between changes in bird populations and ecosystem functioning and resilience are not well understood.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/marine-trophic-index-of-european-seas/marine-trophic-index-of-european", "code": "SEBI012", "key_question": "What is the impact of existing fisheries and maritime policies on the health of fish stocks in European seas?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/marine-trophic-index-of-european-seas", "specification_name": "Marine trophic index of European seas (SEBI 012)", "label": 110, "key_message": "In the majority of European seas, the Marine Trophic Index (MTI) has been declining since the mid - 1950s, which means that populations of predatory fishes decline to the benefit of smaller fish and invertebrates.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fragmentation-of-natural-and-semi/fragmentation-of-natural-and-semi", "code": "SEBI013", "key_question": "Are European natural/semi-natural lands becoming more fragmented? Are forest landscapes becoming more fragmented?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fragmentation-of-natural-and-semi", "specification_name": "Fragmentation of natural and semi-natural areas (SEBI 013)", "label": 111, "key_message": "European ecosystems are literally cut to pieces by urban sprawl together with a rapidly expanding transport network. The increase of mixed natural landscape patterns due to the spread of artificial and agricultural areas into what used to be core natural and semi-natural landscapes is more significant in south-western Europe.
Fragmentation is in many places caused by forest harvesting and has a dynamic and cyclic nature but in south-western Europe, losses towards agricultural and artificial surfaces are more frequent. In the period 1990 - 2000 the connectivity for forest species was stable in approximately half of Europe's territory and increasing or decreasing slightly for another 40 %. The decrease was significant in about 5% of provinces spread in Denmark, France, the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Lithuania.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-transitional-coastal-and-1/nutrients-in-transitional-coastal-and", "code": "SEBI015", "key_question": "What is the status of transitional, marine and coastal waters in Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-transitional-coastal-and-1", "specification_name": "Nutrients in transitional, coastal and marine waters (SEBI 015)", "label": 112, "key_message": "In countries that reported data, 85 % of stations reported no changes in oxidised nitrogen levels in transitional, coastal and marine waters in the period 1985 - 2005 and 82 % reported no change for orthophosphate. At stations that identified changes, decreases were more common than increases.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freshwater-quality/freshwater-quality-assessment-published-may-2010", "code": "SEBI016", "key_question": "What is the status of freshwater quality in Europe?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freshwater-quality", "specification_name": "Freshwater quality (SEBI 016)", "label": 113, "key_message": "Pollution of rivers with organic matter and ammonium is decreasing as are the levels of other anthropogenic nutrients in freshwater generally (rivers, lakes and groundwater). This reduces stress on freshwater biodiversity and improves ecological status.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/forest-growing-stock-increment-and-fellings/forest-growing-stock-increment-and-4", "code": "SEBI017", "key_question": "Is forestry in Europe sustainable in terms of the balance between increment of growing stock and felling?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/forest-growing-stock-increment-and-fellings", "specification_name": "Forest: growing stock, increment and fellings (SEBI 017)", "label": 114, "key_message": "The ratio of felling to increment is relatively stable and remains under 80% for most of the countries across Europe. This utilisation rate has allowed the forest stock to increase.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/agriculture-nitrogen-balance/agriculture-nitrogen-balance-assessment-published", "code": "SEBI019", "key_question": "Is the nitrogen surplus from agriculture being reduced?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/agriculture-nitrogen-balance", "specification_name": "Agriculture: nitrogen balance (SEBI 019)", "label": 115, "key_message": "Agricultural nitrogen surpluses (the difference between all nutrient inputs and outputs on agricultural land) show a declining trend, thereby potentially reducing environmental pressures on soil, water and air. Many countries, however, still maintain a large surplus.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/agriculture-area-under-management-practices/agriculture-area-under-management-practices-2", "code": "SEBI020", "key_question": "To what extent is European agriculture geared towards the prevention of biodiversity loss?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/agriculture-area-under-management-practices", "specification_name": "Agriculture: area under management practices potentially supporting biodiversity (SEBI 020)", "label": 116, "key_message": "Europe has considerable areas of High Nature Value (HNV) farmland, which provide habitats for a wide range of species. Such areas are under threat, however, from both the intensification of farming and land abandonment. The mere presence of HNV farmland is not proof of sustainable management but promoting conservation and sustainable farming practices in these areas is crucial for biodiversity.
\nOrganic farming has developed rapidly since the beginning of the 1990s and continues to do so. Between 2002 and 2011, the total area under organic agriculture in the EU-27 increased by 6% per year and in 2011 amounted to an estimated 5.4% of the utilised agricultural area (UAA) (EC, 2013).
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fisheries-european-commercial-fish-stocks/fisheries-european-commercial-fish-stocks", "code": "SEBI021", "key_question": "What is the status of European commercial fish stocks?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fisheries-european-commercial-fish-stocks", "specification_name": "Fisheries: European commercial fish stocks (SEBI 021)", "label": 117, "key_message": "Of the assessed European commercial stocks, about 45 % are outside safe biological limits(1).Aquaculture production in Europe has increased in the EU since 1990, levelling off slightly since 2000 although Norway and Iceland continue to show large increases. This overall increase implies a rise in pressure on adjacent water bodies and associated ecosystems resulting mainly from nutrient releasefrom aquaculture facilities. Annual production in the current version of the indicator is a proxy for the environmental impacts of aquaculture. Work is underway to develop a more advanced indicator to assess the sustainability of aquaculture.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/ecological-footprint-of-european-countries/ecological-footprint-of-european-countries-2", "code": "SEBI023", "key_question": "Are Europeans using more than their share of the world's resources?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/ecological-footprint-of-european-countries", "specification_name": "Ecological footprint of European countries (SEBI 023)", "label": 119, "key_message": "The total ecological footprint for the EU-28 countries increased rapidly during the 1960s and 70s, and has remained relatively constant since the 1980s. The region\u2019s total biocapacity, however, has changed very little since 1961. The picture is similar for the EEA-33 countries.
\nThe pan-European ecological footprint has been increasing almost constantly since 1961, while biocapacity(1) has decreased. This results in an ever larger deficit, with negative consequences for the environment within and outside Europe.
(1) The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies.
Biodiversity has served as a major resource for patent activity across a wide swathe of science and technology sectors ranging from agriculture to cosmetics, functional foods, traditional medicines, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and emerging developments such as synthetic biology. About 9 % of European patent activity relates to biodiversity, rising to 16 % if the full spectrum of pharmaceutical activity is included. After rapid growth, patent activity for biodiversity now shows a declining trend.
The decrease from 2005 seen in Figure 1 is due to the time lag between the filing of a patent and its publication (2 years and more). This means that for recent years, the data may not yet be in the database (see Oldham and Hall, 2009). Additional work is required to link the data with wider economic and geographical information.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/financing-biodiversity-management/financing-biodiversity-management-assessment-published", "code": "SEBI025", "key_question": "How much public funds are being committed to conservation of biodiversity?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/financing-biodiversity-management", "specification_name": "Financing biodiversity management (SEBI 025)", "label": 121, "key_message": "This indicator currently has a limited scope and only contains information from EU funding of projects using the LIFE financial instrument for the environment. The amount of the EU contribution per LIFE project varies significantly among Member States. Newer Member States tend to spend less money through the LIFE Nature programme (with a small number of notable exceptions). Further detail is required (e.g. on project size) in order to interpret these figures. The LIFE Nature project represents a very small proportion of the total EU budget.
European funding benefiting biodiversity may also be 'hidden' in budget lines within other policy areas, such as agriculture, rural development and research. Finally, the indicator currently does not show national funding for biodiversity.
Understanding and awareness of biodiversity have increased slightly since 2007. Citizens are also more aware of the threats and challenges facing biodiversity, but change in levels of awareness is slow. In 2013, more than two-thirds of EU citizens had heard of biodiversity, but only 44% know the meaning of the word. This is, however, 10% more than in 2007.
\n62% of EU citizens (against 58% in 2010) very much agree that it is important to halt biodiversity loss because our well-being and quality of life is based upon nature and biodiversity (TNS, 2013).
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/exceedances-of-air-quality-objectives/exceedances-of-air-quality-objectives-5", "code": "TERM004", "key_question": "Is the contribution of the transport sector to air quality reducing?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/exceedances-of-air-quality-objectives", "specification_name": "Exceedances of air quality objectives due to traffic (TERM 004)", "label": 123, "key_message": "The data analysed from selected stations in major urban agglomerations indicate that during the period 1999-2008 mean values of NO2 concentrations at road traffic stations remain relatively stable (trend is smaller than the statistical uncertainty on estimate). An increase is observed after 2003 in the maximum observed concentrations and although a slight reduction is observed in 2007, a further increase is noted in 2008. The background concentrations remain relatively stable throughout the period 1999-2008. For PM10, a slight increase was observed in 2003 in the maximum background concentrations, but these have followed a downward trend since. The trend in the maximum PM10 concentration at traffic stations varies during the period 2002-2008, with a downward trend observed between 2002-2004, an increase in 2006 and a downward trend thereafter. Throughout the period 2002-2007 mean traffic and mean background concentrations remain relatively stable, with a slight downward trend observed in recent years.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freight-transport-demand-version-2/assessment-4", "code": "TERM013", "key_question": "Is freight transport demand being decoupled from economic growth?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/freight-transport-demand-version-2", "specification_name": "Freight transport demand (CSI 036/TERM 013)", "label": 124, "key_message": "Freight transport volumes in the EU\u201128 decreased by 2\u00a0% between 2011 and 2012, mainly due to a 3\u00a0% reduction in road freight transport (with Italy leading the road drop by 13.8\u00a0% compared to its 2011 figure). Rail transport also decreased by 4\u00a0% between 2011 and 2012, whereas IWW transport increased by 6\u00a0%. Maritime and air transport did not vary significantly. Overall, total freight transport volumes in the EU\u201128 are now 10\u00a0% below the peak volumes experienced in 2007. The modal share remains constant; road transport dominates land freight transport at 75\u00a0%, followed by rail (18\u00a0%) and IWW (7\u00a0%).
\nSwitzerland experienced a decrease of 4\u00a0% in road and rail transport, whereas Norway and Turkey\u2019s overall land freight transport increased (by 4\u00a0% and 6\u00a0% respectively), and Iceland\u2019s demand remained roughly constant between 2011 and 2012.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/capacity-of-infrastructure-networks/capacity-of-infrastructure-networks-assessment", "code": "TERM018", "key_question": "Is the existing infrastructure capacity being optimised? Are we optimising the use of existing transport infrastructure capacity and moving towards a better-balanced intermodal transport system?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/capacity-of-infrastructure-networks", "specification_name": "Capacity of infrastructure networks (TERM 018)", "label": 125, "key_message": "Spending on transport infrastructure has increased over the decade to 2008 for the 20 Member States included in the EEA-32 analysis, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of GDP. Road infrastructure continues to receive the majority of investment, and although other modes of transport (rail, sea and air) have increased their share of investment overall in the last decade, the most recent five years have seen a return to increasing proportions of investment in road infrastructure. The EU-12 Member States have seen proportionally much greater rises in the level of transport investment than the EU-15 Member States in all modes except sea transport infrastructure. Overall investment in transport infrastructure grew by almost 3% in 2007-2008 for the EEA-32 Member States included in the analysis, despite a general economic recession and reduction in transport activity in that year.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/real-change-in-transport-prices/assessment", "code": "TERM020", "key_question": "Are passenger transport prices increasing at a higher rate than consumer prices? Are transport prices givin appropriate signals to transport users?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/real-change-in-transport-prices", "specification_name": "Real change in transport prices by mode (TERM 020)", "label": 127, "key_message": "On average over the period 1998 to 2009, passenger transport prices have increased at a higher rate than consumer prices. However, in 1998, 2001 and now again in 2009, the relative volatility of the transport market has been highlighted, as overall transport prices fell at a faster rate than consumer prices. This is primarily due to significant drop in the average crude oil price between 2008 and 2009, which led to reductions in fuel prices. In particular, 2009 saw a decline in prices for air passenger transport and the operation of personal transport equipment, both of which increased in the previous year. In addition, the purchase price of motor cars continued the downward trend that has been consistent over the past decade. For freight transport prices, no EU-wide data exists, but as an example UK road freight prices have increased by a small amount over this period; transport of goods into the UK by sea have continually declined as economies of scale continue to take effect (larger ships travelling longer distances).
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fuel-prices-and-taxes/assessment-3", "code": "TERM021", "key_question": "Are fuel prices sending the appropriate signals?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/fuel-prices-and-taxes", "specification_name": "Fuel prices (TERM 021)", "label": 128, "key_message": "\u00a0Since 1980 the real price of transport fuel (all transport fuels, expressed as the equivalent consumption in unleaded petrol, corrected for inflation to 2005 prices) has fluctuated between EUR 0.75 and 1.25 per litre, with an average of EUR 0.96. Real prices per litre peaked in July 2008 at around EUR 1.25, but then fell by around a third later that year, largely due to a significant drop in the price of crude oil. Another peak occurred in April 2012 when fuel prices reached EUR 1.24. Since then fuel prices have fallen again. The average real price in May 2013 was EUR 1.14 \u2013 still significantly above the long term average of EUR 0.96. The price of fuel is an important determinant of the demand for transport and the efficiency with which fuel is used. However, despite rising real prices over the last two decades transport demand increased.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/energy-efficiency-and-specific-co2-emissions/energy-efficiency-and-specific-co2-5", "code": "TERM027", "key_question": "Are the various passenger and freight transport modes becoming more energy efficient?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/energy-efficiency-and-specific-co2-emissions", "specification_name": "Energy efficiency and specific CO2 emissions (TERM 027)", "label": 129, "key_message": "For countries where data is available (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK), load factors have generally declined for road freight transport (Figure 1). Load factors are generally under 50 % (by weight). However some freight transport companies achieve much higher load factors than others in the same sector. This suggests that load factors can be improved. Road freight empty running (Figure 2) shows increases and decreases across different countries, although it is important to note that the response rate for the two variables is different (fewer and/or different countries have reported empty running). If load factors were increased, freight traffic volumes could be considerably reduced.
Rail freight load factors (Figure 3) have remained fairly constant across the last few years, with only small increases and decreases observed for individual countries. There is limited data available for shipping freight, and this shows increasing load factors for the Czech Republic and Lithuania, and slight decreases for Hungary and Poland (Figure 4).
All EU Member States are to achieve a 10 % share in renewable energy by 2020 for all transport options. Individual Member States progress towards this
target varies. As a reference, the average share of renewable energy across the EU\u201128 consumed in transport between 2010 and 2011 increased from 3.5 % to 3.8 %. These figures include only those biofuels which met the sustainability criteria.
In 2011 EUROSTAT has for the first time published the share of biofuels in transport energy use which meet the sustainability criteria of the Renewables Directive (Art. 17 & Art. 18, 2009/28/EC). The data shows that in 2011 3.8% of the energy consumed in transport was renewable, most of it from biofuels meeting the sustainability criteria. Most Member States require significant further increases in order to reach the Directive\u2019s target for a 10% share of renewable energy in transport by 2020.
\nIn 2011, the unweighted average EU-27 sulphur content was 5.7 ppm for petrol, and 7.0 ppm for diesel. An EU specification came into force on 1 January 2009, which limits the sulphur content of all automotive road fuels to a maximum of 10 ppm. Reductions in the sulphur content of fuels are expected to have a large impact on exhaust emissions as they will enable the introduction of more sophisticated after-treatment systems.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/size-of-the-vehicle-fleet/size-of-the-vehicle-fleet-2", "code": "TERM032", "key_question": "Is the vehicle fleet expanding?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/size-of-the-vehicle-fleet", "specification_name": "Size of the vehicle fleet (TERM 032)", "label": 133, "key_message": "Over the last 10-17 years the Water Exploitation Index (WEI) decreased in 24 EEA countries (Fig.1), as a result of water saving and water efficiency measures.
Total water abstraction decreased about 12 %, but one fifth of Europe's population still lives in water-stressed countries (approx. 113 million inhabitants).
Concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total ammonium have decreased in European rivers in the period 1992 to 2012 (Fig. 1), mainly due to general improvement in waste water treatment.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-freshwater/nutrients-in-freshwater-assessment-published-6", "code": "WAT003", "key_question": "Are concentrations of nutrients in our freshwaters decreasing?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/nutrients-in-freshwater", "specification_name": "Nutrients in freshwater (CSI 020/WAT 003)", "label": 138, "key_message": "Wastewater treatment in all parts of Europe has improved during the last 15-20 years. The percentage of the population connected to wastewater treatment in the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe has increased over the last ten years. Latest values of population connected to wastewater treatment in the Southern countries are comparable to the values of Central and Northern countries, whereas the values of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe are still relatively low compared to Central and Northern Europe.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/untitled-indemission-intensity-of-agriculture/assessment", "code": "WREI001", "key_question": "Is the emission of nutrients from agricultural land to water decoupling from economic growth?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/untitled-indemission-intensity-of-agriculture", "specification_name": "Emission intensity of agriculture in Europe (WREI 001)", "label": 141, "key_message": "Nitrogen emission to water: Absolute decoupling of nitrogen emissions from GVA is observed in seven countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia ). This means that these countries succeeded in economy growth while reducing emissions to water. As the area of agriculture land remained constant during the analyzed period, the decrease in emission can be attributed to decrease in specific gross nutrient balance per hectare.
\nRelative decoupling was observed in the Czech Republic, and Poland. This means that the resource efficiency has increased, however with higher absolute emissions. \u00a0Decreases in emissions coupled with a decrease in GVA occurred in 11 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom). In six out of those 11 countries, the rate of emission decrease was greater than the rate of the GVA decrease.
\n
Phosphorus emission to water: Absolute decoupling of phosphorus emissions from the GVA is observed in five countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and Slovenia). Decrease in emission coupled with decrease in GVA occurred in ten countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom). In all these countries except Denmark, the rate of emission decrease was greater than the rate of the decrease of GVA.
The ranges of nutrient emission intensity of agriculture are quite wide and reflect varieties of agriculture practices across European countries.
\nValues of nitrogen emission intensity for 2008 range from 6,0 to 176 tons of total nitrogen per million EUR GVA per year. Significant decrease in nitrogen emission intensity between 2000 and 2008 was recorded in Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2008 Bulgaria, Portugal and Romania reported (in Eurostat) the lowest values of the specific nitrogen balance per hectare. In creased emission intensity was observed in Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom, however, this was due to a falling GVA not to emissions, which actually were reduced. Calculation of emission intensity based on GVA diminished by subsidies, which reflects better the actual economic performance from \u00a0agriculture, result in much higher emission intensities for countries, e.g., \u00a0Norway, Finland , Lithuania and Poland with relatively high contributions from subsidies to the economy.. The increment in emission intensity associated with excluding subsidies is significant namely in Norway (106 t/mio EUR/y) and Finland (38,8 t/mio EUR/y).
\nThe 2008 values for total phosphorus emission intensity range from 0,47 to 13,03 tons per million EUR GVA per year. Significant decrease in the phosphorus emission intensity (decrease by more than 50%) over the last decade was recorded in nine countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech republic, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia). Moreover, Austria, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Portugal, reported (Eurostat) the lowest values of the specific phosphorus balance per hectare comparable to the EU-27 average, being 1 kg of total phosphorus per hectare per year. The impact of subsidies on phosphorus emission intensity (based on 2008 data), was most significant in Norway and Finland, where the increment in emission intensity associated with excluding subsidies accounted for 16,24 and 3,49 t/mio EUR/y respectively , whereas the increment in remaining countries did not exceed 1 t/mio EUR/y.
\nSubsidies: The analysis of subsidies on the output of the agricultural industry for the studied years showed that 13 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia and the United Kingdom) reduced the proportion of subsidies in relation to the GVA of their agricultural sector between 2000 and 2008. On the other hand, 5 countries (Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) increased this proportion during the same period. Information was incomplete for Bulgaria and Germany, where subsidy levels for years 2000 and 2008 respectively were reported as zero (Eurostat). Noteworthy is the sharp increase in the proportion of subsidies as part of GVA \u00a0(being in the range between 12-26 % of GVA) in new Member States like Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia accompanied by the increase of GVA values. And, on the other hand, the significant reductions in old Member States like Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
\nGiven the multiple factors that affect both the change in sectoral GVA and in nutrient balance, it is complicated to draw direct relationships between these two variables. Some key descriptors which could aid in explaining the behavior of these are the structure of the sector (e.g. farm size, standard gross margins, crop type, stocking rate), the socioeconomic characteristics of the area (e.g. rural population, income and employment levels) and the policy measures in place (e.g. subsidies). However, it must be noted that the specific context of each country could result in varying combinations of the mentioned factors and their aggregate effects.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/emission-intensity-of-domestic-sector/assessment", "code": "WREI002", "key_question": "Is nutrient emission in water from the domestic sector decoupling from population growth?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/emission-intensity-of-domestic-sector", "specification_name": "Emission intensity of the domestic sector in Europe (WREI 002)", "label": 142, "key_message": "Absolute decoupling of nutrient emissions from domestic sector and the population growth over the period of almost two decades (1990-2009) is observed in thirteen countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey). The actual extent of decoupling, and the differences in trends among countries, may be partially explained by different levels of numbers of inhabitants connected to tertiary wastewater treatment technologies
\nWhen making the EU wide comparison of the extend of decoupling of nutrient emissions from population growth, the actual rate of population connected to different types of treatment (elaborated in the CSI 024) should be taken into consideration, and completeness of the data available on population connected to collecting systems without treatment. The status of the implementation of the UWWTD which protects the water environment from the adverse effects of discharges of urban waste water, the level of investment in the water and wastewater management ,as well as the status of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Groundwater Directive may have an impact.\u00a0\u00a0 Furthermore household patterns as well as the household income level \u00a0affecting the production and composition of waste water should be considered as well.
\nIt is assumed that the use of actual data on loads discharged from wastewater treatment plants combined with the load values calculated for population not connected to the waste water treatment would add value to the decoupling indicator, as it would better reflect the real situation..
\n\u00a0
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/emission-intensity-of-manufacturing-industries-1/assessment", "code": "WREI003", "key_question": "Is the emission to water of nutrients and heavy metals from manufacturing decoupling from economic growth?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/emission-intensity-of-manufacturing-industries-1", "specification_name": "Emission intensity of manufacturing industries in Europe (WREI 003)", "label": 143, "key_message": "The manufacturing\u00a0industry\u00a0in 11 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden) has achieved absolute decoupling of nutrient emissions from economic growth (GVA). A decrease in emissions coupled with a decrease in gross value added (GVA) occurred in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium and Finland. However, in all cases (except Finland), the rate of emissions decrease was greater than that of GVA. An increase in nutrient emissions, accompanying the growth in GVA, was observed in Slovakia and Poland.
\nThese developments arise from different absolute levels of emissions intensities and depend on there being no major changes in data coverage - such as including more facilities in the most recent reporting year despite them already existing in the earliest reporting year - within the countries during the reporting period. It should be noted that, as some industrial emissions may vary considerably from year to year, the comparison of just two selected years might be subject to variations, and not be representative of a consistent trend.
\nThe achievement of absolute decoupling of manufacturing industries' heavy metals emissions from economic growth (GVA) was observed again in 12 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden). A decrease in emissions, coupled with a decrease in GVA occurred in the United Kingdom, Italy and Belgium. In all cases, the decrease in the rate of emissions was greater than that of GVA (relative decoupling). An increase in emissions, despite a drop in GVA, was observed in Finland and France.\u00a0Finally, a growth in emissions accompanying economic growth occurred in the manufacturing industry in Hungary.
\nGiven the multiple factors that affect both sectoral GVA and the pollution pressure originating from manufacturing, it is complicated to draw direct relationships between these two variables. Some key descriptors, which could aid in explaining this behaviour, are the structure of the sector (e.g. facility size distribution, production technology, relative proportion reported as E-PRTR releases), the socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. salary levels) of the area and the policy and/or economic measures in place (e.g. treatment requirements, pollution charges, taxes). However, it must be noted that the specific context of each country could result in varying combinations of the factors mentioned and their aggregate effects.
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment/assessment-1", "code": "WST003", "key_question": "Are we improving the collection and management of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE)?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment", "specification_name": "Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WST 003)", "label": 144, "key_message": "Data indicates that while reuse and recycling of the collected waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) seems to be on track in the majority of the EU and EFTA member countries, the collection of the WEEE has shown varying but generally improving results. It appears that the amounts of WEEE that are collected, are largely reused (either as a whole appliance or components) or recycled although there is still room for improvement in some countries. However, more attention should be given to the improvement of collection systems. The level of collection is still very low in many countries, especially when compared to the amount put on the market (Figure 1).
" }, { "last_assessment": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-generation-1/assessment", "code": "WST004", "key_question": "Is the generation of waste in Europe declining?", "specification": "http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-generation-1", "specification_name": "Waste generation (CSI 041/WST 004)", "label": 145, "key_message": "European economic production and consumption have become less waste intensive, even after the economic downturn since 2008 is considered in the analysis.
\nFrom the production side, waste generation from manufacturing in the EU-28 and Norway declined by 25% in absolute terms between 2004 and 2012, despite an increase of 7% in sectoral economic output. Waste generation by the service sector declined by 23% in the same period, despite an increase of 13% in sectoral economic output.
\nTurning to consumption, total municipal waste generation in EEA countries declined by 2% between 2004 and 2012, despite a 7% increase in real household expenditure.
\nOne of the objectives in EU waste policy is to reduce waste generation in absolute terms, within the overall goal to decouple economic growth from resource use and environmental impacts. Waste prevention efforts across Europe seems to contribute to the waste objectives; with considerable differences between the countries. Wider analysis across different economic sectors within and beyond EU borders will be needed in order to provide more comprehensive conclusions.
" } ], "properties": {"code": {"valueType": "text", "order": 0}, "specification_name": {"valueType": "text", "order": 1}, "specification": {"valueType": "url", "order": 2}, "last_assessment": {"valueType": "url", "order": 3}, "key_question": {"valueType": "text", "order": 4}, "key_message": {"valueType": "text", "order": 5}} }