European EnvironmentEuropean Environment

State and outlook – 2005State and outlook – 2005

European Environment Agency European Environment Agency

European Environment Agency, 2005. The European environment — State and outlook 2005.

EEA, Copenhagen 2005

(http://europa.eu.int).

This is the third state and outlook report on the European environment produced by the European Environment Agency (EEA) since 1994.

From the authors: „Tackling clearly unsustainable trends in Europe will require real integration of environmental objectives across policy areas such as energy, transport, agriculture, industry and spatial planning. Consumers must also be given the information and incentives to change the way in which their households and lifestyles impact upon their local — and global — environments. It is not easy to bring about such shifts in behaviour but many of the environmental improvements that we need in the coming years can only be brought about through such changes. At the same time, the EU must remain vigilant to ensure that the policy measures already in place are fully implemented and properly enforced”.

Jacqueline McGlade

According to Regulation (EEC/1210/90), the EEA is required to ..'publish a report on the state of, trends in and prospects for the environment every five years, supplemented by indicator reports focusing upon specific issues'.

The third report presents past, present and future perspectives for the environment, providing an integrated assessment for understanding the main challenges in Europe's environment bearing in mind economic and social changes in Europe and in the world.

Document has four parts:

A: Integrated assessment;

B: Core set of indicators;

C: Country analysis;

D: Bibliography of EEA publications since 2000.

! All can be downloaded from the EEA web page

PART A | Integrated assessment (pp. 28-254)Integrated assessment (pp. 28-254)Setting the scene

Environment and quality of life ;The changing face of Europe Atmospheric environment

Climate change ; Air pollution and health Aquatic environment

Freshwaters ; Marine and coastal environment Terrestrial environment

Soil; BiodiversityIntegration

Environment and economic sectors ; Looking ahead

Part A

• gives the European environmental features and their relations with socio-economic activities. Trends are presented in relation to the past and future.

• presents recent European changes through changes of landscape patterns.

• shows how the role of the environment is perceived in relation to welfare improvements.

• assesses the potential of Europe's land area to continue providing ecological goods and services and main policy instruments that are influencing change.

• shows aspects of climate changes,

• air pollution and its impacts on people's health; focusing on pollution from households, energy supply and transport

• Concentrates on future challenges and the costs of action/inaction in the face of uncertainty.

Part A (cont.)

• Aquatic environment covers freshwater, marine and coastal environments: main pollution sources and trends are in focus;

• Marine and coastal ecosystems concentrate on climatic changes and effects on coasts and oceans

• Terrestrial environment show mainly biodiversity problems providing a comprehensive analysis of terrestrial ecosystems and species and a global use of natural resources shown by its ecological footprint.

• agriculture, transport, energy and households are presented in the context of improving eco-efficiency.

PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 255-407)PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 255-407)Setting the scene

Air pollution and ozone depletion

BiodiversityThreatened and protected species; Designated areas; Species diversity

Climate changeGreenhouse gases; Global and European temperature;Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations

PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 305-407)PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 305-407)Terrestrial

Land take; progress in management of contaminated sites;

Waste

Municipal waste generation; Generation and recycling of packaging waste;

WaterUse of freshwater resources; Oxygen consuming substances in rivers; Nutrients; Bathing water quality; Chlorophyll wastewater treatment;

PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 305-407)PART B | Core set of indicators (pp. 305-407)Agriculture

Gross nutrient balance; Area under organic farming;

Energy

Energy consumption; energy intensity; Renewable electricity

Fisheries

Marine fish stocks; Aquaculture production

Transport

Passenger transport demand; Freight transport demand ;Use of cleaner and alternative fuels

Part B

An assessment of a set of the European indicators using the 37 EEA/Eionet relevant to:

• air pollution and ozone depletion,

• climate change,

• biodiversity,

• waste,

Related to: terrestrial environment and water

and the main economic sectors — agriculture, transport, energy and fisheries.

Part BPart B

From the executive summary:

„Each indicator is presented in a standard four-page template that includes information on policy questions and messages, trends assessment, data quality and methodological developments. The four pages are summaries of more detailed indicator profiles that are available on the EEA website”.

PART C | Country analysisPART C | Country analysisThematic assessment

Greenhouse gas emissions Total energy consumptionRenewable electricityEmissions of acidifying substancesEmissions of ozone precursorsFreight transport demandArea under organic farming Municipal waste generation Use of freshwater resources

PART C PART C | Country analysis| Country analysisCountry perspectives (11 from Baltic Region)Czech Republic, DenmarkEstonia FinlandGermany Latvia Lithuania Norway Poland Slovak RepublicSweden (Belarus, Ukraine, Russian Federation lacking)

Part C

Cross country indicators are identified in the contents

Part C

Gives detailed country level analysis of progress on environmental issues and contains details from 11 countries representing Baltic Sea Basin

nine indicators from the 37 in the core set were used for comparisons

used indicators relate to points that policy can affect and on which policy is targeted in the economic sectors that have most impact

indicators have data available at the country level with trends enabling analysis of change. They have been earlier identified in the contents

European improvements, local choices, global impacts

Eurobarometer - over 70 % want decision-makers to give equal weight to environmental, economic and social policies.

Europeans are prepared to take some environmental action:

- if they had better information on environmental choices that cost little or nothing.

- if they felt confident that other citizens were doing the same.

European improvements, local choices, global impacts

• urban wastewater cleaned-up better thus Europe's rivers, lakes and estuaries to recover from pollution.

about 18 % of all the territory are protected natural areas - thus and that helps maintainingd ecosystems and preserving biological diversity.

forests are regenerating faster and slightly increase in some regions

these benefits for people's health and for their quality of life.

Improvements, local choices, global impacts

Challenges for the future can be found in:

increased use of renewable energy resources (wind, solar power); replacement of nonrenewable resources is necessary.

changes in the way Europe and our ways of life (difficult!)

shift in environmental emphasis from production to consumption issues.

increased awareness about environmental and health effects

(positive impact on our daily choices shopping, living, working travelling etc. Is expected)

European improvements, local choices, global impactsEuropean improvements, local choices, global impacts

Household expenditure increased by a third in the

EU-15 between 1990 and 2002.

The estimated 'ecological footprint' of the EU-25 is about 5 'global hectares' per person (= the estimated land area required to produce the resources and to absorb our wastes which is bigger than Japan, half that of the US, double as Brazil or India).

The total global use of natural resources is 20 % higher than the rate of replacement each year.

Increasing urbanisation, land use

Between 1990 and 2000 more than 800 000 hectares of naturally productive land were converted into artificial surfaces of urban areas for homes, offices, shops, factories, and roads, the increase is equal 6 %.

The use of land and water from surrounding areas is intensified

Climate change and its effects:

Rising sea temperatures and increased nutrients levels cause:

- algal blooms — harmful to marine life and humans.

- changes of zooplankton cause migration of the fish

To achieve lower than 2oC temperature increase CO2 need to be below 550 ppm greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries should be reduced by 60–80 % by 2050 (compared to 1990).

EU Kyoto mid-term goal for 2020 is a 15 to 30 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (rather difficult)

Energy demands:

Slow progress in replacement to renewable energy respources (sustained investment necessary but shifting to low-carbon energy sources, will increase energy costs for consumers.)

Health status is better, exposure to pollutants remain

Many forms of air pollution are highly reduced (smog, acid rain). Fine particulates, ozone remain and are highly toxic (6.4% children deaths are caused by outdoor pollution)

New chemicals appear from food, various goods farmaceuticals, etc., and act as mixtures causing an increase of cancer or childhood leukaemia

Depleting our natural resources

World's fish stocks and as well Europe’s are over-fished

18 % of Europe's land area as protected areas under the Natura 2000 network will contribute to securing the health and diversity of its ecosystems.

The largest losses for biodiversity during the 1990s were in heath, scrub and tundra, and wetland mires, bogs and fens.

Many forests are harvested more intensively than before.

Many species remain threatened (42 % of native mammals, 15 % of birds, 45 % of butterflies, 30 % of amphibians, 45 % of reptiles and 52 % of freshwater fish.)

Policy-making and market

Policy-making should better support citizens through public information and awareness-raising measures

Need to encourage behavioural changes amongst Europe's consumers (transport, energy or agricultural sectors) on less environmentally damaging activities.

Political pressure to use more evironmentally friendly technologies, forcing changes in consumers behaviour

Tax reform needed towards more sustainable, through a shift of the tax base away from taxing 'good resources' (investment, labour), towards taxing 'bad resources' such as pollution and inefficient use of resources

Selected graphs from a series documented in the book

For all figures used in this presentation:

„Copyright EEA, Copenhagen, 2005”

http://www.eea.eu.int

Energy consumption per capitaEnergy consumption per capita

Energy Energy consumptionconsumption per GDP per GDP

Organic Organic farmingfarming

Energy Energy consum-consum-

ptionption

Acidified substances per capita in Acidified substances per capita in various European countriesvarious European countries

Greenhouse gas-emissions- a distance to Greenhouse gas-emissions- a distance to Kyoto protocol (relative)Kyoto protocol (relative)

Changes in various energetic resources Changes in various energetic resources in total energy usedin total energy used

Pb in soilsPb in soils

EIONET data

Pollution in Pollution in European European riversrivers

Greenhouse gas emissions

1970-2100

Ecol. footprint

Eco-over-shooting

Data from Helcom, Ospar and EEA member countries

Endangered forest species

Afforestation in Europe

MCPFE, 2003. State of Europe's Forests 2003

Cod

Flounder

Herring

and their contamination

1986-2002

Data from Helcom, Ospar and EEA member countries