Sustainability transitions

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The globalised and systemic character of the environmental challenges ahead implies that achieving the EU’s long-term sustainability goals will require fundamental change in core societal systems, in particular those related to food, energy, mobility and the built environment. More

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Achieving EU's key 2020 environmental objectives slipping away

News 29 Nov 2018

According to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) updated environmental indicator report published today, the European Union continues to fall short of achieving a number of environmental objectives by 2020, especially in areas aimed at protecting biodiversity and natural capital. When it comes to 'boosting sustainable, resource-efficient, low-carbon economy', trends and outlooks cause more concern compared to the assessment from last year, while progress in addressing environment-related threats to health remains rather mixed.

Increase in EU greenhouse gas emissions hampers progress towards 2030 targets

News 26 Oct 2018

Greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union rose slightly in 2017, mostly because of the transport sector. Preliminary estimates published today in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) annual ‘trends and projections’ assessments show a 0.6% emissions increase in 2017 from 2016. This limited increase means that the EU is still expected to achieve its 2020 emissions reduction target, albeit by a narrower margin. However, national measures will need to be urgently stepped up to achieve the EU’s new reduction targets for 2030.

Integrating circular economy and bioeconomy would improve sustainability in Europe

News 27 Aug 2018

Europe uses natural resources unsustainably and the European Union has put in place policies on circular economy and bioeconomy in response. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report argues that implementing these two concepts in tandem, by applying specific design principles within a systemic approach, would improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental pressures.

EU’s Climate-ADAPT found to be a key tool for adaptation in Europe

News 06 Jun 2018

The number of users of the joint European Environment Agency (EEA) – European Commission Climate-ADAPT online knowledge hub has increased fivefold since its launch in 2012, according to an EEA report published today. The assessment confirms the increasing value of the web platform for users such as policy makers, city planners, and other experts who are looking to share and make use of information and best practices in adapting to climate change.

Achieving EU's key 2020 environmental objectives slipping away According to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) updated environmental indicator report published today, the European Union continues to fall short of achieving a number of environmental objectives by 2020, especially in areas aimed at protecting biodiversity and natural capital. When it comes to 'boosting sustainable, resource-efficient, low-carbon economy', trends and outlooks cause more concern compared to the assessment from last year, while progress in addressing environment-related threats to health remains rather mixed.

Increase in EU greenhouse gas emissions hampers progress towards 2030 targets Greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union rose slightly in 2017, mostly because of the transport sector. Preliminary estimates published today in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) annual ‘trends and projections’ assessments show a 0.6% emissions increase in 2017 from 2016. This limited increase means that the EU is still expected to achieve its 2020 emissions reduction target, albeit by a narrower margin. However, national measures will need to be urgently stepped up to achieve the EU’s new reduction targets for 2030.

Integrating circular economy and bioeconomy would improve sustainability in Europe Europe uses natural resources unsustainably and the European Union has put in place policies on circular economy and bioeconomy in response. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report argues that implementing these two concepts in tandem, by applying specific design principles within a systemic approach, would improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental pressures.

EU’s Climate-ADAPT found to be a key tool for adaptation in Europe The number of users of the joint European Environment Agency (EEA) – European Commission Climate-ADAPT online knowledge hub has increased fivefold since its launch in 2012, according to an EEA report published today. The assessment confirms the increasing value of the web platform for users such as policy makers, city planners, and other experts who are looking to share and make use of information and best practices in adapting to climate change.

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Electric vehicles: a smart choice for the environment

Article 17 Dec 2018

Are electric vehicles better for our climate and air quality than petrol or diesel cars? We sat down with Andreas Unterstaller, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) transport and environment expert to discuss the pros and cons of electric cars which is the focus of a new EEA report.

Close up — An ocean of plastics

Article 30 Aug 2018

Mass-produced plastics were introduced around the middle of the last century as a miracle material — light, mouldable, durable and strong. Since then, the production of plastics has increased rapidly, bringing many benefits to society. Now, some 70 years later, annual plastics production is more than 300 million tonnes, and we have begun to understand the true legacy of these products: they never fully ‘disappear’ from the environment.

Close up — Water in the city

Article 30 Aug 2018

We often take a reliable supply of clean water for granted. We turn on the tap and clean water comes out, we use it and the ‘dirty’ water goes down the drain. For a large majority of Europeans, the water we use at home is of drinking quality and available 24 hours a day. The brief moment between the tap and the drain is only a very small part of its overall journey. Managing water in a city is not limited to public water systems. Climate change, urban sprawl and alterations to river basins can all lead to more frequent and damaging floods in cities, leaving authorities faced with an ever-growing challenge.

Investing for sustainability

Article 15 Jun 2018

The European Commission has recently adopted a package of legal proposals to boost sustainable finance in the European Union (EU). The Commission’s proposals build upon recommendations by the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, composed of experts from civil society, the finance sector, academia and European and international institutions. We spoke to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) representative in the Expert Group, Andreas Barkman, who works on strategic advice on climate change and energy issues.

Electric vehicles: a smart choice for the environment Are electric vehicles better for our climate and air quality than petrol or diesel cars? We sat down with Andreas Unterstaller, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) transport and environment expert to discuss the pros and cons of electric cars which is the focus of a new EEA report.

Close up — An ocean of plastics Mass-produced plastics were introduced around the middle of the last century as a miracle material — light, mouldable, durable and strong. Since then, the production of plastics has increased rapidly, bringing many benefits to society. Now, some 70 years later, annual plastics production is more than 300 million tonnes, and we have begun to understand the true legacy of these products: they never fully ‘disappear’ from the environment.

Close up — Water in the city We often take a reliable supply of clean water for granted. We turn on the tap and clean water comes out, we use it and the ‘dirty’ water goes down the drain. For a large majority of Europeans, the water we use at home is of drinking quality and available 24 hours a day. The brief moment between the tap and the drain is only a very small part of its overall journey. Managing water in a city is not limited to public water systems. Climate change, urban sprawl and alterations to river basins can all lead to more frequent and damaging floods in cities, leaving authorities faced with an ever-growing challenge.

Investing for sustainability The European Commission has recently adopted a package of legal proposals to boost sustainable finance in the European Union (EU). The Commission’s proposals build upon recommendations by the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, composed of experts from civil society, the finance sector, academia and European and international institutions. We spoke to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) representative in the Expert Group, Andreas Barkman, who works on strategic advice on climate change and energy issues.

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Unequal exposure and unequal impacts

Publication 04 Feb 2019

Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe

Electric vehicles from life cycle and circular economy perspectives - TERM 2018

Publication 22 Nov 2018

Through the Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) report, the EEA has been monitoring progress in integrating environmental objectives in transport since 2000. The TERM report provides information to the EEA's member countries, the EU and the public. The TERM includes several indicators used for tracking the short- and long-term environmental performance of the transport sector and for measuring progress towards meeting key transport-related policy targets. Since 2017, the indicator-based assessment component of the TERM report has been published as a separate briefing.

The circular economy and the bioeconomy — Partners in sustainability

Publication 27 Aug 2018

This is the third in a series of reports on the circular economy in support of the framing, implementation and evaluation of European circular economy policy from an environmental perspective. The two previous reports applied a systemic approach to framing a circular economy and to the products within it. This report on the bioeconomy addresses circularity aspects of bio-based products and the sustainable use of renewable natural resources.

Perspectives on transitions to sustainability

Publication 14 Mar 2018

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.

Unequal exposure and unequal impacts Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe

Electric vehicles from life cycle and circular economy perspectives - TERM 2018 Through the Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) report, the EEA has been monitoring progress in integrating environmental objectives in transport since 2000. The TERM report provides information to the EEA's member countries, the EU and the public. The TERM includes several indicators used for tracking the short- and long-term environmental performance of the transport sector and for measuring progress towards meeting key transport-related policy targets. Since 2017, the indicator-based assessment component of the TERM report has been published as a separate briefing.

The circular economy and the bioeconomy — Partners in sustainability This is the third in a series of reports on the circular economy in support of the framing, implementation and evaluation of European circular economy policy from an environmental perspective. The two previous reports applied a systemic approach to framing a circular economy and to the products within it. This report on the bioeconomy addresses circularity aspects of bio-based products and the sustainable use of renewable natural resources.

Perspectives on transitions to sustainability 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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Circular economy

Video 08 Jun 2017

What is a circular economy and what can it do for you and for the planet? Find out from our video.

Circular economy What is a circular economy and what can it do for you and for the planet? Find out from our video.

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Environment taxes by type % of GDP, EU

Data Visualization 29 Nov 2018

Boxplot of land recycling by Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) and country

Figure 27 Jul 2018

The boxplot shows land recycling as percentage of total land consumption for the period 2006-2012.

Ratio of green recycling to land take as an average of all functional urban areas (FUAs) by country

Data Visualization 27 Jul 2018

Imperviousness and imperviousness change

Indicator Assessment 04 Dec 2017

Between 2009 and 2012, soil sealing (or imperviousness) increased in most EEA-39 countries by a total of 2 051 km 2 . This corresponds to 0.0356 % of the total EEA-39 area or an annual average increase of 683 km 2 . Overall, this rate of increase is lower than that documented in the 2006-2009 products, although this can be put down to a general overestimation of sealing increase in the 2006 and 2009 datasets. In 2012, the percentage of a countries' total area that was sealed also varied greatly, with values ranging from 0.14 % to 16.27 %. The highest sealing values, as a percentage of country area, occurred in small countries with high population densities, while the lowest sealing values could be found in large countries with low population densities. The most problematic situation occurs in countries where there is already a high percentage of sealing and where the annual rate of increase relative to country area is high.

Average annual change in soil sealing, 2009-2012

Figure 04 Dec 2017

The map shows the percentage of the average annual change in soil sealing for each of the rectangular 10 km x 10 km grid cells, over the 2009-2012 period

Actors in the food chain

Infographic 18 Oct 2017

Food system actors represent the largest group of natural resource managers in the world. They are critical in both creating the problems and implementing the solutions. Identifying actors along the food chain as well as where and how power is located enables policy makers to develop management approaches targeted towards those actors with influence. In addition to those directly involved in food chain activities, governments and civil society are also important as they set the wider policy and societal context.

EU animal feed imports and land dependency

Infographic 18 Oct 2017

In a global food system, Europe’s imports and their consumption have an environmental, social and economic impact beyond European borders. In 2013, Europe had net imports of around 27 million tonnes of soybeans and soybean products for oil production and animal feed. This means Europe is dependent on overseas land for its own livestock production most of which is in South America.

Interactive map - Green infrastructure indicators

GIS Map Application 24 Mar 2017

Indicators to characterise green infrastructure at the city level and in the peri-urban area

Heating and cooling degree days

Indicator Assessment 20 Dec 2016

The number of population-weighted heating degree days (HDD) decreased by 8.2 % between the 1951–1980 and 1981–2014 periods; the decrease during the 1981–2014 period was on average 9.9 HDDs per year (0.45 % per year). The largest absolute decrease occurred in northern and north-western Europe. The number of population-weighted cooling degree days (CDD) increased by 49.1 % between the 1951–1980 and 1981–2014 periods; the increase during the period 1981–2014 was on average 1.2 HDDs per year (1.9 % per year). The largest absolute increase occurred in southern Europe. The projected decrease in HDDs as a result of future climate change during the 21st century is somewhat larger than the projected increase in CDDs in absolute terms. However, in economic terms, these two effects are almost equal in Europe, because cooling is generally more expensive than heating. The projected increases in the cooling demand in southern and central Europe may further exacerbate peaks in electricity demand in the summer unless appropriate adaptation measures are taken.

Projected change of global mean sea level

Figure 28 Feb 2015

The figure shows modelled global mean sea level rise over the 21st century relative to 1986-2005, derived from a combination of the CMIP5 ensemble with process-based models, for RCP2.6 and RCP8.5.

Historical and projected trends in peak concentrations of tropospheric ozone

Figure 28 Feb 2015

The graphs shows the results from a study that estimates regionally averaged changes in surface ozone due to past or future changes in anthropogenic precursor emissions based on 14 global chemistry transport models.