THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT STATE AND OUTLOOK 2010 Thomas Henrichs European Environment Agency

The European Environment Agency: - is established by EEC regulation - is an independent information provider - is an analyst and assessor - is building bridges between science and policy - is dependent upon strong networks to carry out its work … to support policy processes and inform the public About the European Environment Agency

What is SOER 2010? Thematic assessments Understanding climate change Air pollution Biodiversity Water resources: quantity & flows Soil Freshwater quality Consumption and environment Material resources and waste Land use Mitigating climate change Adapting to climate change Marine and coastal environment Assessment of global megatrends Political megatrends Country assessments Urban environment Environmental megatrends Each EEA member country (32) and EEA cooperating country (6) assessed all six environmental themes above. Climate change mitigation Nature protection & biodiversity National and regional stories Freshwater Air pollution Land use Country profiles Common environmental themes Waste Economic megatrends Technological megatrends Social megatrends Soil Land use Marine and coastal environment Soil Land use

* Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 Country assessments Each EEA member country (32) and EEA cooperating country (6) assessed all six environmental themes above. Climate change mitigation Nature protection & biodiversity National and regional stories Freshwater Air pollution Land use Country profiles Common environmental themes Waste SOER 2010: geographical coverage

‘It appears that […] progress in reducing pressures on the state of the environment has remained largely insufficient – in spite of positive trends in some areas’ – SOER 1999 ‘Over the past 30 years, much has been done to improve Europe's environment. But major challenges remain for the future.’ – SOER 2005 SOER 2010 stresses a familiar message: there has been progress, but not enough ‘Environmental policy has delivered substantial improvements […] however, major environmental challenges remain which will have significant consequences […] if left unaddressed. ’ – SOER 2010

Thematic assessments Understanding climate change Air pollution Biodiversity Water resources: quantity & flows Soil Freshwater quality Consumption and environment Material resources and waste Land use Mitigating climate change Adapting to climate change Marine and coastal environment Urban environment Soil Land use Marine and coastal environment Soil Land use SOER 2010: thematic coverage Nature & biodiversity Natural resources & wastes Environment, health & quality of life Climate change The 13 thematic assessments can be clustered into four groups, in accordance with the EU’s 6 th EAP (Environment Action Programme).

Climate change

In 2009, EU-27 greenhouse gas emissions were 17.3 % below the 1990 level World greenhouse gas emission cuts are not enough to stop average global temperatures rising by more than 2°C The decade 2000–2009 was the warmest on record; the temperature in Europe has risen more than the global average Global temperatures are expected to increase this century by at least 0.6°C due to past emissions Climate change

Nature and biodiversity

The Natura 2000 network now covers 18 % of EU territory; knowledge about the status of biodiversity has greatly improved The rate of biodiversity loss is decreasing in Europe, but the EU will fail to meet its target of halting the loss by % of target species under the Habitats Directive have an unfavourable status and the status of 31 % is unknown More than non-native species are present in Europe and 10–15 % have negative economic or ecological effects Nature and biodiversity

Natural resources and waste

There has been partial decoupling of both resource use and waste generation from economic growth in recent years Recycling of municipal waste in the EU-27 avoided some 47 million tonnes of CO 2 -equivalent emissions in 2008 EU-12 resource use increased by 34 % in the period 2000–2007 More than 20 % of resources used in Europe are imported, notably fuels and mining products Natural resources and waste

Environment, health and quality of life

Europe has significantly cut emissions of key air pollutants, greatly reducing exposure to sulphur dioxide and lead In the EEA-32, the area of sensitive ecosystems exposed to excess acidification from air pollution fell by 80 % in 1990–2010 Fine particle pollution (PM2.5) is estimated to cause some 5 million lost years of life annually in the EEA-32 countries Agriculture contributes 50–80 % of the nitrogen load in Europe’s freshwater, leading to poorer water quality Environment, health and quality of life

Links between environmental challenges

These links highlight that how and where we use natural capital and ecosystem services matters. Global megatrends bring addi- tional risks and uncertainties -- many outside Europe’s control Links between environmental challenges

Future environmental priorities: some reflections

Better implementation and further strengthening of current environmental priorities Coherent integration of environmental consideration across the many sectoral policy domains Dedicated management of natural capital and ecosystem services (and increasing resource efficiency and resilience) Transformation to a green economy that addresses the long- term viability of natural capital within Europe and beyond Future environmental priorities: some reflections

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