Achieving a sustainable Europe will require far-reaching societal change, engaging all sectors of the economy and society. This document focuses on the example of the food system.
Sustainability transitions
Sustainability transitions
The environmental challenges ahead of us are global and systemic. Therefore, to achieve the EU’s long-term sustainability goals, the core systems of our societies will have to change dramatically. That is especially true for the systems related to food, energy, mobility and construction.
Resource nexus assessments analyse the direct and indirect interconnections between different natural resources, their management, use and governance, as well as the synergies and trade-offs that can be generated through policy interventions.
By building on the insights provided by a growing body of knowledge and selected case studies, this briefing reflects on the role of the resource nexus in supporting policy coherence and integration in the context of the European Green Deal.
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.
While companies have huge influence in framing and shaping demand for products, consumers play a key role in raising demand for goods and services that have adopted circular economy principles, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
What could a sustainable Europe look like in 2050? A European Environment Agency (EEA) web report, published today, presents four ‘imaginaries’, or scenarios, offering strongly contrasting approaches to achieving Europe’s socio-economic and environmental goals. The report is based on co-creative work by the EEA and its network (Eionet).
Published: 07 Jul 2022
Buildings are important in EU environmental and climate policy for several reasons, including their greenhouse gas emissions and high consumption of material resources. Improved design and building techniques will produce highly efficient new buildings but more than 85% of today’s buildings are likely to still be in use in 2050.
Published: 29 Jun 2022
Despite efforts to adapt to climate change in Europe, the most vulnerable groups in society are still the most affected. Projected climate change, an ageing society and persisting socio-economic inequalities mean that differences in vulnerability and exposure to climate change are likely to continue.
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Circularity can enhance greenhouse gas emission savings when renovating Europe's buildings
News 07 Jul 2022Building 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.
While companies have huge influence in framing and shaping demand for products, consumers play a key role in raising demand for goods and services that have adopted circular economy principles, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
What could a sustainable Europe look like in 2050? A European Environment Agency (EEA) web report, published today, presents four ‘imaginaries’, or scenarios, offering strongly contrasting approaches to achieving Europe’s socio-economic and environmental goals. The report is based on co-creative work by the EEA and its network (Eionet).
A better understanding of links between natural resources can help the EU’s sustainability drive
News 17 Mar 2022Addressing the links between natural resources like food, energy, water, land, materials and ecosystems services is key to supporting Europe’s ambitions in shifting to a sustainable future, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
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The Russian military aggression in Ukraine changed the lives of Ukrainians from one day to the next. The impacts of this unjustified war are felt not only in Ukraine but also well beyond the borders of Ukraine and will continue to impact us all for years and even for generations to come.
2021 was marked by Covid-19 and climate change impacts. Faced with higher energy prices and health concerns, Europe’s recovery requires difficult decisions in 2022. Delayed action or lower ambitions are more likely to have higher social and economic costs in the long run. Addressing social inequalities in this sustainability transition is the key to a better future for us all.
From carbon neutrality to circular economy, cleaner air to cleaner transport, Europe has set ambitious environmental and climate objectives. Cities, where the large majority of Europeans live, need to play a decisive role in achieving Europe’s sustainability targets. The question is: how can cities become sustainable?
Achieving sustainability will require fundamental, transformative, and cross-cutting change, entailing major shifts in society’s goals, incentives, technologies, social practices and norms, as well as in knowledge systems and governance approaches.
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Buildings are important in EU environmental and climate policy for several reasons, including their greenhouse gas emissions and high consumption of material resources. Improved design and building techniques will produce highly efficient new buildings but more than 85% of today’s buildings are likely to still be in use in 2050.
Despite efforts to adapt to climate change in Europe, the most vulnerable groups in society are still the most affected. Projected climate change, an ageing society and persisting socio-economic inequalities mean that differences in vulnerability and exposure to climate change are likely to continue.
Influencing consumer choices towards circularity
It is now widely understood that achieving a sustainable Europe will require far-reaching societal change, engaging all areas of the economy and society. The European Green Deal identifies the need for ‘deeply transformative’ policies and actions in the coming decades to put the EU onto a sustainable path. Like the EEA’s 5-yearly report, SOER 2020, it highlights the need to fundamentally transform the production-consumption systems that meet Europe’s demand for energy, food, mobility and shelter. Yet there is also a growing recognition that achieving the EU’s vision of ‘living well, within environmental limits’ will require a deeper transformation of the socio-economic system.
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