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In March 2023, EU Member States were mandated for the second time to report their national adaptation actions under the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action. For the first time they also reported on adaptation aspects in the progress reporting of their national energy and climate plans. Non-EU EEA member countries were invited to provide similar information on a voluntary basis. This briefing presents the current status of national adaptation actions across Europe, with an emphasis on recent developments and lessons learned since the reporting in 2021.
Public participation in environmental decision-making is a legal right in Europe. This principle was established two decades ago by the Aarhus Convention. Since then, it has been increasingly recognised that participation is not only a matter of justice and democracy but also a practical necessity for transitioning into sustainability. This briefing focuses on different forms of public participation from a sustainability transitions perspective, highlights its core tenets, principles and pitfalls.
The EEA′s annual environmental statement report for 2022 conforms to requirements stipulated in the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Regulation and takes into account the sectoral reference document for the public administration sector. The report contains information on the EEA′s environmental management system (EMS), its environmental performance in the year 2022, and the updated environmental targets and an action plan for 2023.
The European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries. This briefing presents the results of data collected in 2022 for 13 Eionet core data flows. It summarises the evaluation of hundreds of data deliveries received from reporting countries. The purpose of the briefing is to show progress against agreed reporting criteria (timeliness and data quality), allowing 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.
Several EEA assessments make the link between environment and well-being very clear. Despite progress over the past decades, pollution and other environmental risks continue to harm people’s health in Europe while improving the state of our environment and mitigating climate change can deliver both direct and indirect benefits for everyone in Europe.
Europe and the world face unprecedented sustainability challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion and pollution. These challenges are largely caused by unsustainable consumption as countries strive for economic growth and people pursue well-being. Household consumption pressures and impacts the environment and drive climate change.
Climate change is happening. To reduce its economic impact, adaptation and mitigation actions are urgently needed. Decision-makers need to understand their benefits and costs compared to not acting at all. This briefing summarises the main assessment concepts, key methods and related challenges and constraints, and provides practical examples of approaches relevant to the EU.
We’ve all seen the photos. Piles of plastic waste drifting in the open sea. A daily tide of plastic and other detritus washed up on our beaches. Scenes of turtles and fish tangled in discarded fishing nets. Yet all of it is preventable. This web report traces the problem of marine litter from source to sea to help policymakers and citizens understand what we can do about it.
Advancing towards climate resilience in Europe: status of reported national adaptation actions in 2021
Across Europe, rising temperatures, combined with an ageing population and urbanisation, mean that the population is becoming more vulnerable to heat and that demand for cooling in buildings is rising rapidly. Buildings, as long-lasting structures, can offer protection from heatwaves and high temperatures if appropriately designed, constructed, renovated and maintained. The summer of 2022, with its successive long heatwaves and high energy prices, may have raised the sense of urgency given to the alleviation of heat stress. But there is a gap in knowledge on the extent of overheating in buildings and data and information is scarce regarding the share of EU citizens unable to keep their homes comfortably cool during the summer. This briefing examines key elements of sustainable cooling policy, and its potential impacts on vulnerable groups, by reducing health risks, inequalities and summer energy poverty.
This report draws on knowledge developed for the European Climate and Health Observatory. It focuses on the impact high temperatures are having on the population, as well as another emerging threat: the spread of climate-sensitive infectious diseases.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the complex and interrelated challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and rising inequality will not be solved without a fundamental transformation of our societies. Many systemic environmental and social challenges are felt acutely in cities, and the COVID-19 pandemic showed the vulnerability of cities and the need for urban resilience.
The CAAR is the EEA’s annual report, providing detailed information on the year’s activities, performance and achievements, as well as operational, budgetary and management reporting.
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).
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.
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?
Working with nature can help prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss. Nature-based solutions offer ways to do this. Science and policy have begun to recognise their potential. The knowledge base is expanding rapidly, with gaps identified and plans to fill them. However, challenges for implementation remain at the local level, as demonstrated by the case studies in this report.
The EEA has addressed the consequences of climate change in numerous reports, including Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016, the 2019 report Climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector in Europe and the European environment — state and outlook 2020 report. This briefing analyses the implications for Europe of the impact of global climate change on agricultural trade.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate-change-adaptation/publications/publications or scan the QR code.
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