Under the European Union’s (EU) Air Quality Directive, Member States have to implement and report on the measures they put in place in areas where air quality limit and target values are exceeded. This briefing provides an overview of the different types of abatement measures reported. It focuses mainly on measures designed to reduce people’s exposure to the two air pollutants that most commonly exceed air quality standards: particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In general, the road transport sector is the largest contributor to total nitrogen dioxide emissions in the EU, while fuel combustion in the commercial, institutional and households sector is the largest contributor to total primary particulate matter emissions, particularly in some eastern European countries. Most reported measures address the road transport sector.
Air pollution is a key environmental and social issue, the management and mitigation of which pose multiple challenges. It is the single largest environmental risk to human health in Europe, causing respiratory problems and shortening lifespans. Air pollution also affects ecosystems through, for example, the eutrophication of sensitive areas and the effect of ozone on vegetation. In addition, air pollution has negative impacts on the built environment and several atmospheric pollutants contribute to climate change (EEA, 2017).
Information reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that more than 1 500 national policies and measures have either been adopted, implemented or are being planned in the European Union (EU) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve climate change and energy targets. However, quantitative evidence on the effectiveness and costs of these measures remains insufficiently reported. This briefing presents an overview of the main characteristics of these policies and measures, such as their status, main objectives, type and estimated effects. This information is also made available online by the EEA.
This document is the annual European Union (EU) emission inventory report under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) (UNECE, 1979). The report and its accompanying data constitute the official submission by the European Commission on behalf of the EU as a Party to the Executive Secretary of UNECE. The European Environment Agency (EEA) compiled the report in cooperation with the EU Member States and the European Commission.
In line with EU legislation, Member States report information on their policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This information is used to monitor climate action at a national level. It is also important for supporting policy evaluation and informing policy decisions. This briefing presents the results of two case studies analysing policies and measures targeting energy efficiency in buildings.
Technical overview of the information reported by Member States under the European Union's climate Monitoring Mechanism Regulation.
The 2018 edition of the European Environment Agency (EEA) report National policies and measures on climate mitigation in Europe presents an overview of the information on 1 513 national policies and measures (PaMs) on climate change mitigation reported in 2017 by Member States under the European Union (EU)'s climate Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (MMR). It also takes stock of the progress made at national level to plan, adopt and implement new policies since the 2015 reporting exercise.
The main aim of EU water policy is to ensure that a
sufficient quantity of good-quality water is available for
both people's needs and the environment. The Water
Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in
2000, established a framework for the assessment,
management, protection and improvement of the
quality of water resources across the EU. Since
December 2015, EU Member States have been
publishing the second river basin management plans
(RBMPs) for achieving the environmental objectives of
the WFD. These plans are updates of the first RBMPs,
which were published in 2009.
This is the fourth EEA report in a series of annual reviews of waste prevention programmes in Europe as stipulated in the European Union (EU) Waste Framework Directive (EU, 2008). This year's review focuses on reuse and covers 33 national and regional waste prevention programmes that had been adopted by the end of 2017
This document describes the work carried out by the EEA in 2017
This briefing highlights the work and results of the Marine Litter Watch clean-up activities held on the beaches of Europe’s four regional seas (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the North-East Atlantic Ocean) between 2014 and 2017. It also presents the top ten litter items found and attempts to link them to the most likely litter sources.
This report provides an evaluation on how the growing knowledge on adaptation in Europe has been captured and how it is presented on the web-based European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT) and shared across Europe.
Submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat
Official data for 2016 confirm the long-term reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across Europe. This briefing describes the key trends in EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, based on national submissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It also includes an analysis of the main drivers underpinning these trends.
The report assesses bathing water quality in 2017, indicating where the quality of bathing water is expected to be good in 2018. The report was compiled using information from more than 21 000 bathing waters in the 28 EU Member States. The report also covers bathing waters in Albania and Switzerland. The report is a joint production of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission.
Statement of revenue and expenditures
This briefing presents the results of data collected in 2017 for 10 Eionet core data flows. It summarises the evaluation of close to 1 000 data deliveries received from reporting countries. The purpose of the briefing is to show progress against agreed reporting criteria (timeliness and data quality) in order to allow countries to identify and prioritise the resources they need for regular reporting procedures. The provision of high-quality data by Eionet is fundamental for the EEA to achieve its mission to provide timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.
The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) ensures public access to information on pollutant releases to the environment from Europe’s largest facilities. Updated E-PRTR data have recently been published by the EEA, including information on pollutant releases to the environment from some 33 000 facilities in Europe for the period 2007-2016. This briefing, based on updated E-PRTR data for 2016, presents information on heavy metal releases to air and water. It applies an eco-toxicity approach (USEtox model) to illustrate spatially the combined environmental pressures on Europe’s environment caused by releases of the selected pollutants.
This report provides the first systematic review of national climate change impact, vulnerability and risk assessments across Europe. It is based on information about relevant multi-sectoral assessments reported from EEA member countries. The purpose of the report is to share experiences and knowledge and to highlight approaches and practical solutions that countries have used to produce and present their assessments.
Financial incentives set by Member States, such as taxes, can drive reductions in average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in Europe. This briefing describes how these measures affect the sales of vehicles with lower CO2 emissions and examines the extent to which differences in average CO2 emissions between countries may be attributable to differences in the taxation and incentives systems in place.
The overall ambition of this report is to provide an initial analytical overview of framings, conceptualisations and selected analytical tools relating to sustainability transitions and transformations, bringing together insights from multiple academic communities. The report aims to illustrate how these different perspectives relate to each other and to begin to explore what potential guidance they offer for policymaking and governance more broadly.
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