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From the perspective of European consumption, textiles have on average the fourth highest negative life cycle impact on the environment and climate change, after food, housing and mobility. A shift to a circular textile production and consumption system with longer use, and more reuse and recycling could reduce those impacts along with reductions in overall consumption. One important measure is circular design of textiles to improve product durability, repairability and recyclability and to ensure the uptake of secondary raw materials in new products.
Awareness is increasing about the presence of microplastics in our seas, land and air - and their negative effects on ecosystems, animals and people. Microplastics are directly released into our environment or result from degradation of larger pieces of plastic. Wearing and washing of textiles from synthetic (plastic) fibres is a recognised source of microplastics in the environment. Textiles and plastics are among the key value chains identified in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and are addressed in its implementation.
This briefing discusses the role of environmental taxes through two lenses. The first, by analysing past and current trends for such taxes in terms of their revenue raising performance as well as their foundation for any reform programme that shifts taxes from labour and capital to resource use and environmental pollution. The second by analysing prospects for energy tax revenues in the coming decades, their role as a component of EU decarbonisation policy towards a climate-neutral Union by 2050, and the implications for future tax shifting programmes.
The EU adaptation strategy aims to build resilience and ensure that Europe is well prepared to manage the risks and adapt to the impacts of climate change, including limiting economic losses and other harms. Europe is facing economic losses and fatalities from weather and climate extremes every year and in all regions of Europe. The data on losses and fatalities is not yet collected or reported in sufficient quality across the EU Member States to support policy decisions, however some private companies collect these data. EEA has access to 2 of these private sources with data for 1980-2020: NatCatSERVICE from Munich Re (since 2012) and CATDAT from Risklayer (since 2021).
Parks, urban forests, tree-lined streets and riverbanks support urban well-being by providing space for rest, relaxation and exercise and keeping temperatures down. But not everyone across Europe enjoys equal access to green spaces in cities. This briefing reviews the evidence of socio-economic and demographic inequalities in access to the health benefits derived from urban green and blue spaces across Europe. It showcases examples where green spaces have been designed to meet the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged social groups.
This briefing belongs to a series called ‘Narratives for Change’, which explores the diversity of ideas needed to move our society towards sustainability and fulfil the ambitions of the European Green Deal. The briefing reflects on the lessons learned from COVID-19, asking how these lessons can be applied to our quest for sustainability, and how we can achieve a model of societal governance that respects planetary health as the pre-condition for human and economic health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on carbon emissions in Europe. In 2020, emissions from stationary installations covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) declined by 11.4% (surpassing the 9% decrease seen in 2019). Aviation was even more acutely impacted. The risk of a rebound in emissions remains, and we must take further measures to bring ETS emissions onto a path to achieve climate neutrality. Reduced demand resulted in more allocations than emissions, but carbon prices recovered quickly.
SPD 2022-2024 adopted by EEA’s Management Board at its 94th meeting on 9th December 2021
This briefing provides a snapshot of the status of the traded non-hazardous, recyclable wastes within the EU in order to provide knowledge and information in support of the review of the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation. The information and knowledge in the briefing aims at improving the functioning of secondary material markets by offering insights and potential solutions so that waste is treated in the best possible way in line with the principles of the waste hierarchy.
Waste prevention is the best waste management policy option, according to the waste hierarchy, the EU's main rule for the environmental ranking of waste management policies. Its main objective is to reduce waste generation, the environmental impacts of waste management and the hazardousness of the waste generated. It is mainly expressed as the aspiration to break the link between waste generation and economic growth (decoupling). To support this objective, the EU and all is Member States have put in place legislation that promotes activities in products' life cycles aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated. At the national level, these policies are described in national or regional waste prevention programmes, which have been in place in most of the countries examined since at least 2013.
This report presents the detailed analysis of eight urban environmental sustainability nexus. These constitute examples to help understand the complexity of urban systems and explore how, in practice, using nexus analysis can help identifying existing challenges, potential trade-offs and co-benefits on actions to achieve urban sustainability objectives and opportunities to move towards better coordinated and integrated policy and action. Findings have been summarized in the main Urban Sustainability in Europe – Avenues for change report.
For the EEA urban environment sustainability means encouraging revitalization and transitions of urban areas and cities to improve livability, promote innovation and reduce environmental impacts while maximizing economical and social co-benefits. This report is based on the EEA conceptual framework for urban environmental sustainability and brings together results of a combined analytical approach based on literature review (a top-down assessment based on nexus analysis) together with results from a survey and interviews with selected cities (a bottom-up approach) on drivers of urban transitions.
Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and has significant impacts on the health of the European population, particularly in urban areas. While emissions of key air pollutants and their concentrations in ambient air have fallen significantly over the past two decades in Europe, air quality remains poor in many areas.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) contribute to climate change and in 2019 made up 2.3% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. F-gases have a range of applications, particularly in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector. Most F-gases have much higher global warming potentials than other greenhouse gases. This briefing outlines the important trends in the EU supply of F-gases for the period 2007-2020 and monitors progress under the hydrofluorocarbon phase-down schemes of the F-gas Regulation and the Montreal Protocol.
Climate change is happening and we need to get ready for more intense heatwaves, floods and storms, wildfires and water scarcity. Different climate-related hazards affect regions, sectors of the economy and members of society in different ways. Decision-makers need the best data and information to help them understand the imperatives and make the necessary preparations — adapted to the different scenarios and likely consequences, at European, national and sub-national levels. Europe’s changing climate hazards, an interactive index-based EEA report, brings it all together with an overview of past and projected changes in Europe’s most important climate hazards.
For climate change mitigation policies to be successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions their potential social implications need to be considered and addressed. Together with multiple-level governance coordination and societal participation, these are the key success factors to achieve win-win social-climate policies, minimise the unfair impacts of carbon and energy taxes, and maximise environmental and health benefits.
This report aims to update our knowledge of water stress (a general term that includes drought and water scarcity) in Europe to inform policymakers and interested stakeholders about the current state of play.
The year 2020 saw remarkable progress towards meeting the EU's climate and energy targets. Rarely in the publication of the annual Trends and projections in Europe report has this executive summary presented such substantial progress as this edition does. Preliminary estimates indicate that, in 2020, we witnessed the full achievement — and even overachievement — of Europe's 20-20-20 goals for climate change mitigation, renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency gains. This keeps Europe well on track in its journey towards climate neutrality by mid-century.
Addressing Europe’s unprecedented environmental challenges will require policies, investments and knowledge to be brought together to transform the systems driving unsustainability while maximising the environmental, social and economic co benefits. This raises the question of whether it is sufficient to address the existing knowledge gaps — or do we need a new knowledge system for systemic transformation?
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