News

About 18 million people suffer long-term annoyance from transport noise in the European Union (EU). The European Commission’s zero pollution action aims to reduce the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030, compared to 2017 levels. According to the European Environment Agency’s assessment, published today, reaching this target is unlikely without further regulatory or legislative changes, mainly due to the difficulty in reducing the large number of people exposed to noise from road traffic.

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The aviation sector has taken some steps to address its impacts on the environment and climate, but projected growth in demand calls for greater and more decisive action aligned with the European Union’s climate and environmental goals. The new European Aviation Environmental Report offers an overview of the current environmental performance of the sector. In addition to reviewing progress made since the 2019 edition, it includes recommendations with a view to reducing the climate change, noise and air quality impacts from aviation.

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Soils can both remove carbon from the atmosphere or emit greenhouse gas emissions. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, European soils are currently a net source of greenhouse gas emissions and, if not addressed, this could pose a risk to the European Union (EU) climate targets. Mitigation actions can reduce the loss of carbon and have important co-benefits on biodiversity, but some actions can also have trade-offs such as emissions of other greenhouse gases.

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Greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles — trucks, buses and coaches — have increased in the European Union (EU) almost every year since 2014, mainly due to increasing demand for freight transport. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, efficiency improvements have not been enough to stop growth in total emissions and a shift to greener transport modes is needed.

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Citizens, institutions and businesses can help deploy renewable energy and reduce fuel imports by becoming prosumers who both produce and consume energy. A European Environment Agency (EEA) report, published today, shows that prosumption already exists in many forms and it is expected to grow with enabling policies and better and cheaper technology.

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The cleanest cities in Europe in terms of air quality during 2020 and 2021 were Umeå in Sweden, and Faro and Funchal in Portugal according to the updated European city air quality data viewer published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today. In addition to the viewer, the EEA also published two reports looking at emissions of air pollutants, targeted by different EU and UNECE requirements.

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Building renovation is a key contributor to improving energy efficiency and to achieving a climate neutral European Union (EU) by 2050. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, investigates how circular economy principles can enhance the benefits of building renovation. It finds that, through 2050, circularity can significantly reduce the use of materials and contribute significant additional reductions in the CO2 emissions embedded in Europe’s buildings.

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Sewage treatment can play a key role in Europe’s shift to a zero-pollution future by becoming more resource efficient and contributing to the circular economy, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today.

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Climate change affects all Europeans but vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, children, low-income groups and people with health problems or disabilities, are the most affected. One in ten European schools and hospitals may also be at flood risk and about half of those facilities in cities are within intense urban heat islands. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, looks at these inequalities and how to address them through equitable climate change adaptation.

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Exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke, radon, ultraviolet radiation, asbestos, certain chemicals and other pollutants causes over 10% of all cancer cases in Europe, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. The good news is that these risks are preventable.

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