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The surplus of CO2 emission allowances in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) started declining in 2015. This is the first significant decrease since unused allowances started accumulating in 2008. However, the surplus remains substantial, according to the European Environment Agency’s annual report on the EU’s emissions cap and trade system published today.
Significant changes will be needed in the Member States’ energy-generating mix if the European Union is to meet its 2050 goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95 % compared to 1990 levels, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. While the European Union has made considerable progress in improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources, a well-planned transition out of carbon-intensive power generation is needed to meet the long-term aim of creating a low-carbon society.
Environmental taxes can contribute to a healthier planet and healthier people. They also spur jobs and growth, are easy to administer and difficult to evade. However, meeting EU climate and other environmental policy targets will erode the existing base for these sort of taxes. This and other systemic factors have implications for the design of future tax systems in Europe, according to an EEA report published today.
This report does three things. It provides an overview of market‑based instruments (MBIs) established by EU environmental legislation. Then it explains the established definitions and rationales for the application of environmental taxes and discusses their current design and application in EEA member countries. It concludes with overall findings and some reflections on the potential for long-term tax-shifting programmes in the context of policy targets as well as technological innovation and demographic changes.
The intended audience of this European Environment Agency (EEA) publication is the professional environmental evaluation community, that is, evaluators of European environment and climate policies, the EEA's networks and interested evaluation professionals, including those that are active in the European Environmental Evaluators Network (EEEN). The publication aims to facilitate a dialogue on policy evaluation, by clearly setting out the EEA's views on some of the challenges that evaluators encounter in the areas of environment and climate policy.
A recent analysis by PBL, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, has mapped key EU policies that influence land in the Netherlands. This map shows the results, including: locations supported by EU subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (pillars 1 and 2), EU regional policy, the LIFE+ Programme and the fisheries fund; Trans-European Transport networks (TEN-T); safety zones designated under the Seveso Directive (2012/18/EU); river basin districts as well as water bodies who quality is insufficient; and Natura 2000 sites (both terrestrial and marine) as well as their zones of influence.
One of the priorities of the Dutch EU presidency is the European Better Regulation Agenda. A particular cause for concern within this agenda is the fragmentation of EU policy. In this context, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency investigated the effects of fragmented EU policies on Dutch spatial planning. The publication ‘The Europeanisation of spatial planning in the Netherlands’ concludes that the national government should retain an active role in spatial planning to ensure policy coordination.
The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON) presented a forecast of land-use trends in Europe for the coming two decades
Blue dots indicate outflow to suburban areas; red dots indicate inflow to cities. The largest blue dots indicate areas in which there has been a 2.9 % or higher outflow of the urban population to the suburban area, medium-sized dots indicate a 1.45 %–2.9 % outflow and the smallest dots represent an outflow of 0.29 %–1.45 %. Red dots indicate the reverse phenomenon (i.e. the concentration of the population in city centres). Source: Euroreg (2010).
Evaluation of the impact of cohesion policy on the development of Polish cities (within the ex post evaluation of the NDP 2004-2006)
The European environmental data landscape has changed considerably over the last four decades. The complex nature of environmental degradation calls for more systemic analysis and relevant data to underpin it. In recent years, the European Environment Agency’s work has increasingly included systemic analyses. The EEA will continue to identify emerging issues and help expand Europe’s environmental knowledge.
Communication has a key role in supporting the implementation of environmental legislation, spurring public participation and can help foster environment-friendly behaviours to build a sustainable future. A European Environment Agency (EEA) study published today explores how communication can support legal and economic policy tools.
A scoping study on the links between public communication, environment policy implementation and behavioural science. In its Multiannual Work Programme 2014-2018, the EEA highlights the need for a transition towards a more sustainable society, fully aligned with the European Union’s 7th Environment Action Programme. This study explores - and aims to develop - the role of public communication to improve the implementation of environmental legislation and to contribute to this debate by bringing communications, environment and behaviour closer. It draws from other EEA work, in particular on consumption and policy evaluation where relevant.
Many European countries are realising the economic benefits of making more efficient use of material resources like metals, fossil fuels and minerals. But more action is needed to underpin this trend in resource efficiency with stronger policies on energy, material resources, waste management and on circular economy. These are the findings from a new European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published today.
There is growing evidence that urban sprawl is having an increasingly negative effect on the environment and on the quality of life across Europe. Existing actions to prevent, contain or control such development have had limited results. Better targeted measures are necessary. That is the main conclusion of a joint European Environment Agency (EEA) and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) report published today.
Land is a valuable and limited resource. The environmental impact of land used for building new roads, houses or energy grids should be better integrated into European Union policies, according to a report released today by the European Environment Agency. A preliminary review on how land is used in the EU found that more attention should be paid to environmental concerns.
The 2011 Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe states, in its milestone of actions to address land as a resource, that 'By 2020, EU policies take into account their direct and indirect impact on land use in the EU and globally. This report presents a methodology for the assessment of European Union (EU) policies in terms of their land-related implications in Europe and provides an initial testing of the methodology across key EU policies and two in-depth case studies, which focus on Cohesion Policy spending on transport in Poland and Spain.
Analysis of national responses under Article 21 of the EU ETS Directive in 2015
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/reporting/dm or scan the QR code.
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