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The Concept of Environmental Space

Implications for Policies, Environmental Reporting and Assessments

EXPERTS' CORNER NUMBER 1997/2

Prepared by John Hille

August 1997

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Table of contents
Foreword
1. THE ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE CONCEPT
1.1 Background
1.1.1 Definition of the concept
1.1.2 Why an input-oriented concept of environmental space?
1.2 Quantification of environ-mental space - The example of "Towards Sustainable Europe"
1.2.1 Equity principles in "Towards Sustainable Europe"
1.2.2 Limits to resource exploita-tion in "Towards Sustainable Europe"
1.2.3 Discussion
1.2.4 Quantification of environ-mental space - concluding remarks
1.3 Environmental space, efficiency and economic growth
1.4 Implications for policy-making and reporting
2. ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE AND SECTORAL POLICIES - THE CASES OF TRANSPORT AND AGRICULTURE
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Transport
2.2.1 Background
2.2.2 Transport and environmental space
2.2.3 Factors influencing trans-port's claim on environmental space
2.2.4 Transport volumes
2.2.5 Transport modes
2.2.6 Resource efficiency within modes
2.2.7 Capacity utilisation
2.2.8 Speed
2.2.9 Conclusions
2.3 Agriculture
2.3.1 Materials consumption
2.3.2 Energy consumption
2.3.3 Land consumption (1): Re-ducing agricultural area
2.3.4 Land consumption (2): Sustainable management
2.3.5 Land consumption (3): Reducing net "imports" of foreign land
2.3.6 Conclusion
3. ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE AND INDICATOR SYSTEMS
3.1. Background
3.1.1 Environmental indicator systems
3.1.2 Indicators of sustainable development
3.1.3 More resource indicators needed - not to the exclusion of others
3.2 What to measure? - Resource consumption, driving and braking forces
3.3 Performance indicators, background indicators and >
3.4 How many indicators - for whom?
3.5 Performance indicators - Resource consumption
3.5.1 Land
3.5.2 Materials
3.5.3 Energy
3.5.4 Water
3.5.5 Marine resources
3.6 Background indicators (1): Driving and braking forces
3.6.1 Introduction
3.6.2 Resource consumption by sectors
3.6.3 Consumption patterns and technologies
3.7 Background indicators (2) : Factors affecting driving or braking forces
3.8 Background indicators (3): Policy responses
3.9 Background indicators (4): Effects of resource (over)- consumption
3.10 Conclusion
Appendix to Chapter 3: Overview of suggested indicators and data availability
4. ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ASSESSMENTS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Application to environmental impact assessment
4.3. Application to strategic environmental assessment
4.4 Potential for better integration of project-level and strategic environmental assessment within the EU and Europe
4.5 Conclusion
Legal notice

The contents of this report does not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the European Environment Agency, the European Commission or other EU institutions. Neither the European Environment Agency, nor any person or company acting on behalf of the Agency is responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained in this report.

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1997.
ISBN XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ó EEA, Copenhagen 1997

Reproduction is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.