News

Every day, millions of Europeans make short trips to work, school or the shops. Their choice of how to reach their destination has a significant impact on the environment. During European Mobility Week from 16 to 22 September 2009, Europe will focus on sustainable mobility in urban areas. The European Environment Agency has tips to help you make your daily trips more environmentally friendly.

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As the ‘water towers of Europe’, the Alps play a crucial role in sustaining the social and economic wellbeing of millions of people living in vast lowland areas. A complex and vulnerable ecosystem, they represent Europe’s central landmark.

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Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund are the European Union's main financial instruments to reduce the gap between poor and rich regions. In its new report, the European Environment Agency evaluates the effectiveness of these funds in achieving environmental goals by focusing on investments in wastewater treatment, biodiversity, and energy efficiency and renewable energy in three pilot countries: Austria, Italy and Spain.

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New European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates indicate that EU greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 2008 for the fourth consecutive year. Compared to the 2007 official emissions published earlier this year, the annual reduction is estimated to be about 1.3 % for the EU-15 and 1.5 % for the EU-27. Based on these estimates, the greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 stand approximately 6.2 % below the Kyoto base-year emissions for the EU-15, and 10.7 % below the 1990 level for the EU-27.

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The European Community's air pollutant emission inventory report released by the European Environment Agency finds that in 2007, sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions were down by 72 % from 1990 levels. The downward emission trend of three main pollutants which cause ground-level ozone continued in 2007: carbon monoxide (CO) fell by 57 %, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) were down by 47 % and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have dropped 36 %. EU-27 emissions of all four pollutants were lower in 2007 than in 2006.

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The Executive Director and staff of the European Environment Agency were very sad to hear of the death of Svend Auken the morning of 4 August, after lengthy illness. Svend Auken played a major role in the establishment of the EEA in Copenhagen in 1993 and was ever since a strong supporter and friend of the Agency.

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Forest fires in Spain, France, Italy and Greece burned more than 50 000 hectares in the last four days. The economic and environmental damage caused by such fires extends well beyond the affected areas. Damage to biodiversity and livelihoods may take decades to reverse.

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Ground-level ozone is among the most harmful air pollutants in Europe today. Elevated ozone levels cause health problems, premature deaths, reduced agricultural crop yields, damage to plants in semi-natural ecosystems and corrosion of physical infrastructure and cultural heritage.

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In 2002, when the world committed to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, Europe went one step further and pledged to halt the loss completely. A set of 26 indicators, known as 'Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators' (SEBI 2010), was compiled to measure change. The first assessment based on SEBI 2010 by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that despite progress, biodiversity loss continues. It also identified important gaps in our knowledge.

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Understanding the state of Europe's environment and its future prospects is impossible without an appreciation of the situation and trends outside the continent. Many environmental issues are inherently transboundary and are influenced by numerous other international forces, including social, technological, economic and political interaction. At the same time, many global socio-economic drivers operate over decades, necessitating a long-term perspective.

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