Belgium country briefing - The European environment — state and outlook 2015

Key findings of the State of Environment report 

The Belgian annual air quality^[1] report indicates significant improvement over recent decades, but also shows that a high percentage of the Belgian population is still exposed to excessive concentrations of the four most important air pollutants (PM, NO₂, O₃ and SO₂).

The downward overall trend of the minimum, average and maximum levels of nearly all indicators continued in 2011 though a number of indicators show a stagnating trend. However, Belgium still exceeds the European limits or target values for the number of exceedances of the PM₁₀ daily limit value, the number of days with maximum 8-hour mean ozone concentration > 120 μg/m³ (and the accumulated excess or AOT60), the ozone AOT40 for forests, and the annual mean NO₂ concentration. Comparing the values with the more stringent and health-related WHO guideline values, indicate that almost all pollutants (and associated indicators) are still in exceedance (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Exposure of the population to annual mean PM₁₀ concentrations, 1997-2011

Source: IRCEL-CELINE: Annual report Air Quality in Belgium 2011^[1]

Main policy responses to key environmental challenges and concerns 

Besides traditional environmental challenges, the Brussels-Capital Region also looks at specific urban issues such as indoor air quality, sustainability of housing/buildings/neighbourhoods, improved quantitative and qualitative offer of green and blue spaces. The various policies work through:

• environmental planning^[6]: nature, noise, waste, water/flood risk, air-climate-energy, pollution peaks, energy efficiency, mobility, but also horizontal planning such as the regional sustainable development plan^[7];
• regulations and control: including contaminated soil, electromagnetic waves, energy efficiency in buildings^[8];
• economic incentives: including premiums and subsidies linked to energy savings and management of contaminated soil for individuals and professionals^[9];
• information, awareness-raising, support, participation tools.

Flanders is facing major societal challenges: climate change, limited availability of space, biodiversity loss and scarcity of fossil fuels and raw materials. Policy initiatives include Flanders in action,^[10] Pact 2020,^[11] Flemish Strategy for Sustainable Development^[12]. They state that transition towards sustainability is needed to tackle these challenges.

An environmental policy plan is drawn up every five years based on the environment and nature reports. Flanders aims to belong to the top five European regions when it comes to sustainable materials management. To achieve this, the Flanders' Materials Programme^[13] was launched in 2012. Government, industry, centers of expertise and civil society are joining forces. 

Wallonia works on the transition towards a low carbon in 2050 and a more efficient use of resources. The region relies on various drivers:

• Marshall Plan 2.green^[14] followed by the Marshall Plan 4.0: priority action plans  including new policy orientations integrating sustainable development, circular economy and energy transition;
• environmental planning (Waste prevention and Waste management plan for 2020^[15]; Walloon Plan for Sustainable use of energy (2003, 2009)^[16]; Climate Decree^[17]; Plan for a Sustainable Management of Walloon Forests; River Basin Management Plans^[18]; Walloon Pesticide Reduction Programme^[19]; Sustainable Management Programme for Nitrogen in Agriculture^[20];
• regulatory instruments and control (Decree of 05/06/2008 on punishing breaches of environmental legislation);
• economic support for voluntary approaches (agri-environmental measures, river contracts, branch agreements) or obligatory (waste reduction, container parks, Natura 2000 subsidisation);
• Information and awareness-raising tools: Centres Régionaux d'Initiation à l'Environnement (CRIE).

The Federal policy response implies intense collaboration with actors and stakeholders to insure coherence, complementarity and mainstreaming. Public services have a role to play in organising markets for products and services in line with environment protection and in reforming taxation and harmful subsidies.

Resource efficiency, air quality, environment and health assessment and management of new technologies, climate change, economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, responsible management of the North sea, further enforcement of legislation, will be addressed as part of a long term, resource efficient and low carbon transition. The following are being prepared:

• implementation the 2020 climate change and energy package;
• a national low carbon development strategy;

• a federal adaptation plan;
• the third federal plan on sustainable development.

Country specific issues 

Faced with a high unemployment rate and demographic growth, the Brussels urban project includes a job-creation policy linked to the environment, based on the mobilisation of public and private players and associations around planned actions:

• Employment-Environment Alliance^[21]: pursues objectives to stimulate sectors, research, innovation and economic transition.
• Brussels Sustainable Economy^[22]: development of six economic sectors linked to the environment, within a priority intervention area. 

Innovative and proactive policies are also being conducted in other domains such as management of contaminated soil and electromagnetic waves, or improvement in energy and environmental performance in buildings. Based on the tax revenues for the period 1995 to 2010, Flanders shows signs of a 'de-greening' of the tax system^[23]. The share of environmentally related taxes in GDP fell from 2.4% in 1995 to 2.0% in 2010. In 2005 their share peaked with 2.5%. The share of labour taxes in GDP fell slightly from 24.3% in 1995 to 24.0% in 2010. Compared with the EU-27, Flanders has high labour taxes and low environmentally related taxes.

The environmental performance of the new Flemish vehicle fleet^[24] improved during the period 2008-2012. In 2011, encouraged by federal incentives, the 2015 target for CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars was already achieved. However, the subsidies also encourage the purchase of diesel vehicles. In March 2012, Flanders took a first step by reforming the traffic registration tax taking into account the emissions of both CO₂ and other pollutants.

Wallonia faces major energy and environmental challenges. Some policies to highlight:

• The Marshall Plan 4.0^[25] refocuses the priorities of this economic restructuring program initiated ten years ago around the digital economy and circular economy (ecological transition of the economy by reducing consumption and use of raw materials as well as through recycling and waste recovery);
• the Decree for the Walloon strategy of sustainable development^[26] adopted in June 2013 defines the long-term strategic vision for sustainable development. Three key issues are identified: energetic transition, restoration and protection of biodiversity, climate change. Action plans focus on sectorial objectives as production and consumption patterns, food, health and two transversal themes: energy and mobility;
• the Regional Spatial Development Perspective (RSDP)^[27] proposes a vision for 2040 for the Walloon territory to address demographic, social, economic, energy and climate challenges.

The Federal environment reports^[28] addressed four main policies: impacts of climate change, products and substances standards, the protection of biodiversity (North Sea) and efficient use of resources. Tax leverage and product standards were identified as crucial instruments. The 2013 indicator report showed progress since the first report but also highlighted the need for better cooperation between institutions. The Belgian government also adopted in 2013 the federal long-term strategic vision for sustainable development^[29] to guide the transition of society and is preparing for the development of a Low Carbon Development Strategy.