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
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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.
The European Union and its neighbours have in recent decades achieved remarkable progress in socio-economic well-being and prosperity while taking actions that are cognisant of planet earth’s ecological limits. At the same time, as it is widely acknowledged, Europe and the rest of the world still face fundamental environmental and sustainability challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency.
A wide variety of rapid and long-term societal developments in Europe and globally have important effects on the environment in Europe. A European Environment Agency (EEA) report, published today, analyses these ‘drivers of change’, providing insights on their impacts on EU sustainability ambitions.
Global sustainability challenges increasingly raise concerns about the stability of the Earth system that supports all life on our planet. A joint study by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), published today, focuses on four critical elements of that system, such as the nitrogen cycle and changes in land use. The study explores different ways of defining Europe’s share of the global safe operating space and shows that Europe is not yet living within those limits.
Published: 19 May 2020
This report, building on the experience of both the EEA and Eionet, presents a synthesis of global and European megatrends with illustrations of key emerging trends, wild cards and uncertainties. It aims to inform about on‑going, emerging and potential future developments, raise awareness and contribute to the diffusion of anticipatory thinking.
Published: 17 Apr 2020
This joint EEA-FOEN report explores two key questions related to Europe’s long-term environmental and climate ambitions: how to define a ‘safe operating space’ for Europe, and whether Europe’s environmental footprint is currently smaller or larger than its estimated ‘safe operating space’.
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A wide variety of rapid and long-term societal developments in Europe and globally have important effects on the environment in Europe. A European Environment Agency (EEA) report, published today, analyses these ‘drivers of change’, providing insights on their impacts on EU sustainability ambitions.
Global sustainability challenges increasingly raise concerns about the stability of the Earth system that supports all life on our planet. A joint study by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), published today, focuses on four critical elements of that system, such as the nitrogen cycle and changes in land use. The study explores different ways of defining Europe’s share of the global safe operating space and shows that Europe is not yet living within those limits.
Robust monitoring and targets are key in shifting Europe to a more circular economy
News 01 Apr 2020Introducing more robust monitoring and targets to spur Europe’s move to a circular economy would help improve resource efficiency, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today.
The European GNSS Agency (GSA), an agency of the European Union (EU) that manages Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) programmes, EGNOS and Galileo, today announced the return of the Farming by Satellite Prize. Registration is now open for young innovators to explore the use of satellite technologies in agriculture to enable sustainable farming practices, improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact. The Farming by Satellite Prize is a joint initiative with the European Environment Agency (EEA) that also manages the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service and cross-service In Situ co-ordination.
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The EEA’s European environment — state and outlook 2020 report plays a key role in supporting Europe’s renewed drive to sustainability
Article 16 Dec 2019Earlier this month the European Environment Agency published its ‘European environment — state and outlook 2020 (SOER 2020)’ report. It concluded that Europe will not achieve its 2030 goals without urgent action during the next 10 years to address the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, increasing impacts of climate change and the overconsumption of natural resources. It also offered some key solutions, which would help put Europe back on course to meet those targets. We sat down with Tobias Lung, the EEA’s SOER coordination and assessment expert, to discuss the role of SOER 2020.
The year 2019 will be remembered as a turning point for climate and environment action in Europe. Millions of Europeans and others worldwide have been demonstrating and urging policy makers to take action. Evidence-based scientific assessments, including the European Environment Agency’s state of environment report (SOER 2020), stressed the magnitude of the challenges ahead and the urgent need to act. These calls are now turning into a policy roadmap. The European Green Deal presented by the European Commission is a promising start for the critical decade ahead.
The European environment — state and outlook 2020 (SOER 2020) comes at a crucial time of urgent sustainability challenges that require urgent systemic solutions. The overarching challenge of this century is how we achieve development across the world that balances societal, economic and environmental considerations. Sustainability needs to become the guiding principle for ambitious and coherent policies and actions across society.
What will Europe’s environment look like in 25 years? Will we achieve our common vision of ‘living well, within the limits of our planet’? Will we be able to limit global warming and build climate-resilient cities surrounded by healthy nature? Europeans are increasingly concerned as recent European Parliament elections showed. Europe’s next generation is also calling for urgent action, but how will their demands for a sustainable future shape Europe’s environment and socio-economic policies? On our 25th anniversary, we are reflecting on how Europe’s environmental knowledge and policy have developed in the last 25 years and how we, the EEA together with its networks, can support efforts towards sustainability in the next 25 years.
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This report, building on the experience of both the EEA and Eionet, presents a synthesis of global and European megatrends with illustrations of key emerging trends, wild cards and uncertainties. It aims to inform about on‑going, emerging and potential future developments, raise awareness and contribute to the diffusion of anticipatory thinking.
This joint EEA-FOEN report explores two key questions related to Europe’s long-term environmental and climate ambitions: how to define a ‘safe operating space’ for Europe, and whether Europe’s environmental footprint is currently smaller or larger than its estimated ‘safe operating space’.
An overview of the policies, approaches and targets of 32 European countries
Knowledge for transition to a sustainable Europe
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