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Press Release
NEWS RELEASE
Copenhagen, 30 May 2002
EU energy sector makes insufficient progress in reducing its environmental impact
Energy consumption in the European Union is rising, mainly because of transport growth, energy efficiency is improving only slowly and renewable energies need to expand by at least double the current rate if targets for boosting their market shares by 2010 are to be reached
These are among the main conclusions from the European Environment Agency's first report on energy and the environment in the EU, published today.
Energy is central to social and economic well-being, but its production and consumption put considerable pressures on the environment. These include contributing to potentially dangerous changes in the global climate, damaging natural ecosystems, tarnishing the built environment and harming human health.
"The report shows that, while there have been some successes, overall progress in building environmental protection needs into energy policy has so far been insufficient," said Domingo Jiménez-Beltrán, EEA Executive Director.
He added: "It also demonstrates that some countries and sectors in the EU are doing much better than others. The EU could improve its overall record if those Member States whose performance is below average were to learn from the leaders.
"There is scope for further improvement even in areas where the EU is already ahead of the United States, such as the energy intensity of the economy and emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases," Mr Jiménez-Beltrán continued.
EU emissions of greenhouse gases fell by 3.5% between 1990 and 2000, but without additional counter-measures they are likely to rise back to around their 1990 level by the year 2010. This is because of a projected increase in energy-related emissions, driven mainly by strong demand for transport fuels.
The EU would consequently be at risk of missing its target, set under the Kyoto climate change Protocol, of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 8% below their 1990 levels by the 2008-2012 period.
Furthermore, energy consumption levels are expected to continue increasing beyond 2010. This will make greenhouse gas emission cuts difficult to achieve unless policy action is taken now to change long-term patterns of energy production and consumption.
The report uses indicators of progress to assess how effectively environmental policies and concerns are being integrated into energy policies in the EU and its Member States. Integrating the environment into other policies is a stated goal of the EU treaty.
Energy and Environment in the European Union points out that, despite increases in energy taxation, most energy prices in the EU have dropped since 1985.
The report warns that this trend is likely to discourage energy saving efforts and may even encourage energy consumption unless policies are put in place to improve energy demand management and integrate energy's "external" costs - to the environment and human health - into its price.
The external costs of electricity, for example, are estimated at 1-2% of the EU's gross domestic product.
On the brighter side, the report shows that measures to cut air pollution from energy use have been successful and that discharges of oil into the sea have been reduced, although they still put significant pressure on the marine environment.
Manufacturing industry has successfully "decoupled" its energy consumption from its economic growth, but it is the only sector to have done so. Its energy consumption in 1999 was about the same as in 1990.
Another positive element is that several countries have led the way in demonstrating the effectiveness of specific measures in promoting growth in renewable energy and in improving energy efficiency.
Mr Jiménez-Beltrán said:
"I am convinced that this first report on energy and the environment will prove its added value for the governance of energy policy. The successes and failures it highlights should help to make the case for implementing policies, for example in the area of taxation, to steer the liberalisation of energy markets towards sustainability."
The report's main findings include the following:
The report can be downloaded from the EEA web site at http://reports.eea.europa.eu/environmental_issue_report_2002_31.
Notes for Editors
About the EEA
The European Environment Agency is the main source of information
used by the European Union and its Member States in developing
environment policies. The Agency aims to support sustainable
development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement
in Europe's environment through the provision of timely, targeted,
relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the
public. Established by the EU in 1990 and operational in Copenhagen
since 1994, the EEA is the hub of the European environment information
and observation network (EIONET), a network of some 300 bodies across
Europe through which it both collects and disseminates
environment-related data and information.
The Agency, which is open to all nations that share its objectives,
currently has 29 member countries. These are the 15 EU Member States;
Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, which are members of the European
Economic Area; and 11 of the 13 countries in central and eastern Europe
and the Mediterranean area that are seeking accession to the EU -
Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. Their
membership makes the EEA the first EU body to take in the candidate
countries. It is anticipated that the two remaining candidate
countries, Poland and Turkey, will ratify their membership agreements
within the next few weeks. This will take the Agency's membership to 31
countries. Negotiations with Switzerland on membership are also under
way.
For references, please go to https://eea.europa.eu./media/newsreleases/energy-en or scan the QR code.
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