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Interview — "Our job is to help shape the environment of tomorrow"

At the end of this very busy year for the European Environment Agency (EEA), we sat down with André Weidenhaupt, EEA Management Board Chair and Director-General at Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development , to discuss the European Environment Agency’s role in shaping the future of Europe’s environment and climate.

Editorial — Innovating and working together for a more sustainable future in Europe

The year 2025 has been marked by significant collective achievement around our five-yearly report, renewed strategic direction and a deepened sense of shared purpose across the EEA-Eionet community. The past months have showcased not only the strength of our network but also the increasing importance of innovation, agility and digitalisation in how we generate, create and deliver environmental knowledge for Europe.

Interview — Satellites and co-creation: 35 years of mapping Europe together

As the European Environment Agency (EEA) marks 35 years of CORINE Land Cover (CLC), we spoke with Andrus Meiner, head of the Earth Observation Unit at the EEA and one of the longest-serving contributors to the dataset, about how it began, how it has evolved, and why it continues to matter today.

Editorial — Europe’s environment 2025: Providing knowledge for action

We are getting ready to publish our five-yearly flagship report ‘Europe’s environment 2025’. It is the most comprehensive assessment of the state and outlook of Europe’s environment, climate and sustainability, providing trusted knowledge and data, co-created with our Eionet partners. At the European Environment Agency, our strength lies in our knowledge and our country network. Together, we provide evidence-based insights to inform the decisions that will shape Europe’s future.

Interview — Co-created by 38 countries: the story behind Europe’s environment 2025

The European Environment Agency’s most comprehensive assessment of Europe’s environment, climate and sustainability has been co-created with 38 countries. More than 1,000 experts from over 600 institutions contributed to the upcoming Europe’s environment 2025 report, to be published at the end of September. We asked project coordinator Tobias Lung how he brought it all together and what makes this edition different.

Editorial — Water for people, nature and the economy

Water sustains every aspect of our lives — from the health of our citizens to the productivity of our industries and the health of our natural environment. From extended droughts and pollution to mounting demand and inefficient use, our freshwater systems are under unprecedented stress. How can we ensure that we continue to have access to sufficient amounts of clean water in the future?

Interview — Assessing the health and environmental impacts of noise

Noise — we all know that persistent levels of it can be annoying. But how harmful is it to our health and the environment? T he EEA will soon publish a comprehensive assessment of the impact noise pollution from transport is having on our health and on our environment. We asked Eulalia Peris, environmental noise expert at the EEA, to give a sneak preview of the report as well as key facts about noise pollution.

Editorial — Europe's sustainability compass in times of uncertainty

The past few years have tested us in ways not many of us could have predicted. The pandemic and its health and economic impacts were followed by war on the European continent. Now, hardly a week passes without another major shock, such as shifts in global alliances or possible trade wars, fuelling further instability and uncertainty in political systems and economies worldwide.

Interview — The data behind our knowledge: what and how

Karl Hamilton heads our Agency’s Digital department and his team’s work is crucial to the EEA’s knowledge work which relies on the use of high-quality data. The EEA handles over 140 data flows and 200 data sets, all requiring coordinated collection, processing and analysis. We asked him how the Agency works with this data and what exactly it is used for.

Interview — International cooperation to strengthen biodiversity

Frank Wugt Larsen, EEA expert on biodiversity knowledge and networks, is part of the European Union delegation at the plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in Windhoek, Namibia, 10-16 December 2024. We interviewed him to understand what IPBES does and how this work relates to other international efforts to improve the state of nature.

Editorial — Why Europe needs to stay the course to sustainability in a changing world

The stakes could not be higher. Climate change is not a distant or theoretical threat — it is here. The past two years have been a stark reminder of this reality, with 2023 clocking in as the hottest year on record, only soon to be surpassed by 2024. From unprecedented flooding in Valencia and central Europe to droughts across southern Europe, the warning signs are clear: we must act now. Beyond the human suffering — which has no price — all of these events show that the cost of inaction far greater than the cost of taking action now.

Editorial — Time to speed up towards a sustainable and resilient Europe

Europe’s economy and wellbeing of its citizens depend crucially on a healthy and resilient natural environment, a stable climate and long-term sustainable use of resources. As Europe’s new policy cycle begins, Commission President-elect’s political guidelines and mission letters to future Commissioners reaffirm the course towards sustainability, while adding extra focus on competitiveness and security to boost Europe’s resilience to current and future crises.

Interview — What satellites can tell us about Earth: Sentinels and Copernicus

With the recent launch of Sentinel—2C, the European Union's Copernicus programme takes another leap in revolutionising Earth observation. Usue Donezar Hoyos, project lead at the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) at the EEA, who was invited to the satellite launch as representative of the Sentinel—2 users, discusses the importance of this mission, its role in ensuring data continuity and how it will shape environmental monitoring and policy across Europe.

Interview — Working on solutions to climate change: adaptation plays a key role

The impacts of climate change and how our societies can cope and better prepare for the threats and risks posed to our health and wellbeing have been key areas of work for the EEA this year. We sat down with three experts, Ine Vandecasteele, Aleksandra Kazmierczak and Eline Vanuytrecht, who have looked specifically at how we can improve our adaptation and build resilience in cities as well as identifying emerging climate health risks posed by floods, droughts and water quality.

Deciding on Europe’s direction

Citizens across Europe are about to elect the new European Parliament and set the course for EU policies over the next five years. We asked Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) about the significance of these elections and environment and climate challenges ahead.

Interview — Assessing and addressing Europe’s climate risks

The EEA has just published the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), a major report that should help Europe address increasing risks from climate change. We interviewed our colleagues Julie Berckmans, Marianne Dons Tychsen and Hans-Martin Füssel who have worked closely on the report for the past two years.

Editorial — From policy ambition to environment and climate action in Europe

Environmental degradation and climate change are impacting us all — our health, economy and society. To address growing challenges and impacts, Europe has set ambitious policies and targets. A stocktake of progress shows that full implementation of environment and climate policies, additional measures when necessary, and mainstreaming into other policy domains are needed to help the EU progress towards meeting its targets. Adequate finance will be key to unlocking faster progress.

Interview — What is the role of biomass in Europe’s sustainability ambitions?

The European Union and its Member States are increasingly putting focus on biomass and how it can support the transition towards a sustainable, climate-neutral economy. We interviewed Katarzyna Kowalczewska, EEA expert on agriculture and LULUCF integration, about EEA’s recent publication “The European Biomass Puzzle” and why the topic requires careful consideration from policymakers.

Editorial — Cleaner air, a stable climate and healthier lives

The European Union has made substantial progress in improving air quality by adopting and implementing policies and measures since the 1980s. Yet, air pollution continues to pose the greatest environmental risk to people’s health in Europe. This risk is even higher when combined with climate change impacts, such as extreme heat, affecting vulnerable groups, like the elderly and children the most.

Combined effects of air pollution and heat exposure in Europe: time for action

Our health and well-being are significantly impacted by our local environment, and we are exposed to many different sources of environmental risks (e.g. various forms of pollution) in our daily lives. Measures such as reducing air and noise pollution and providing access to high quality green spaces are shown to have a positive influence on health, reducing the occurrence of pollution related illnesses and deaths and improving people’s quality of life. Two of the more significant environmental stressors on our health are exposure to air pollution and exposure to extreme temperatures.

Editorial — Preparing Europe for a changing climate

From wildfires to disastrous floods across southern Europe, the summer of 2023 will be remembered by extreme weather. How prepared are we for such events and their impacts? Relentless heatwaves affecting millions of Europeans across the continent, wildfires and flash floods impacting many communities call for even more ambitious action to prepare a new reality while speeding up the transition towards sustainability.

Interview — EEA looks into public exposure to Bisphenol A

The use of and public exposure to the synthetic chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), used in many plastic and metal food containers and other consumer products, is of growing concern to many people across Europe. We sat down with Magnus L ø fstedt, EEA expert on chemicals, environment and health to discuss the recently published EEA briefing on the risks posed by Bisphenol A.

Interview — Uncovering what geospatial data can tell us about the environment

Over a more than 26-year career with the European Environment Agency, Chris Steenmans, the head of the Data and Information Services programme, has played an instrumental role in shaping the trajectory of satellite-based environmental monitoring across Europe. We sat down to talk with him about his remarkable journey — from his early days as a consultant for an experimental land monitoring programme, to becoming a key figure in the Copernicus programme.

Water quality and quantity are key for well-being

Clean water is critical for nature, and people’s health and well-being. It is also a crucial resource for many economic sectors. Due to over-exploitation and climate change, many areas in Europe increasingly suffer from water scarcity. At the same time, pollution puts additional pressure on this finite resource.

Europe’s air is getting cleaner and improving people’s health

Air quality in Europe is improving. Yet polluted air still worsens health and causes preventable deaths, especially in cities. The good news is that cleaner solutions for transport, heating, industry and agriculture can help.