Publication

The first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) identifies 36 climate risks that pose a threat to Europe’s energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability, and people’s health. It shows that many of these risks have already reached critical levels and can become catastrophic without urgent and decisive action. The knowledge in this first-of-its-kind assessment is synthesised to support strategic policymaking.

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The circular economy is now a widely accepted concept. It goes beyond just managing waste: it is more about keeping the value of materials high and making them last longer in their intended use. It also seeks to design unnecessary material use out of the economy. This requires new business models and a more decisive transition from ownership models to service-based solutions. A comprehensive set of new circularity policies has been introduced at EU level and there is evidence of increased circular activities in EU Member States.

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Air pollution is currently the most important environmental health risk factor in Europe. It remains an important cause of poor health and contributes in particular to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This briefing presents information for 2021 of the estimated harm to human health caused by three key air pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). This year’s assessment also presents an estimation of the health impacts associated with specific diseases to which air pollution contributes. Such impacts are expressed using burden of disease metrics, namely ‘morbidity’ (the state of having a disease or disability) and ‘mortality’ (deaths that have occurred due to a specific disease or a group of diseases).

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The EU's long-term transition to environmental, social and economic sustainability runs alongside several large-scale crises. Amidst the 'triple crisis' of climate change, biodiversity loss and the impact of environmental pollution on human health (UNEP, 2020), we also face crises in the political, economic and social spheres, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the 'slowbalisation' of the global economy and trade (European Parliament, 2020) and growing societal fragmentation over values and identities.

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Technical guidance to prepare national emission inventories. This joint EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook supports the reporting of air emissions data under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and the EU National Emission reduction Commitment Directive. It provides expert guidance on how to compile an atmospheric emissions inventory. The Guidebook is published by the EEA with the CLRTAP Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections responsible for the technical content of the chapters. This Technical guidebook is considered valid for the estimation of air emissions going forward in relation to Decision 2022/2 of the Executive Body of the Air Convention.

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