THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT STATE AND OUTLOOK 2015
Dr Cathy Maguire
European Environment Agency
COUNTRY
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The EEA: a network organisation with a direct link to policy
The European Environment Agency
is an EU body that operates at the
interface of science and policy.
With a network of more than 300
institutions in 39 European
countries, the EEA provides timely,
reliable and relevant information to
support sustainable development.
EEA work is targeted at EU
institutions, EEA member countries,
civil society and the general public
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SOER 2015
A comprehensive assessment of past trends and future outlooks and of
opportunities to recalibrate policies, knowledge, investments and
innovations in line with the long-term vision of the 7th EAP.
SOER 2015 Synthesis report
SOER 2015 Assessment of global megatrends
11 briefings
Global
megatrends
25 briefings
European
briefings
9 briefings
Cross-country
comparisons
39+3 briefings
Countries and
regions
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The policy context
Source: EEA Multiannual Work Programme 2014–2018
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Vision of the 7th Environment Action Programme
‘In 2050, we live well, within the planet's ecological limits.
Our prosperity and healthy environment stem from an innovative,
circular economy where nothing is wasted and where natural
resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity is protected,
valued and restored in ways that enhance our society's resilience.
Our low-carbon growth has long been decoupled from resource use,
setting the pace for a global safe and sustainable society.’
Source: 7th EU Environment Action Programme
Synthesis
report Part 1: Setting the
scene
Part 2: Assessing
European trends
Part 3: Looking
ahead
Sets out the evolving
context for European
environmental policy, and
the global megatrends that
directly and indirectly affect
Europe’s environment.
Provides summary
assessments of the trends
and outlook for 20
environmental issues,
grouped under the three
priority thematic objectives of
the 7th Environment Action
Programme.
Reflects on the overall
picture of the European
environment’s state and
outlook. Signals
opportunities to adjust
environmental policy to
support the transition to a
more sustainable society.
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Key messages from SOER 2015
• Policies have delivered substantial benefits for the environment,
economy and people’s well-being; major challenges remain
• Europe faces persistent and emerging challenges linked to production
and consumption systems, and the rapidly changing global context
• Achieving the 2050 vision requires system transitions, driven by more
ambitious actions on policy, knowledge, investments and innovation
• Doing so presents major opportunities to boost Europe’s economy and
employment and put Europe at the frontier of science and innovation
© D
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Eco-industries have prospered despite the
recession in Europe
© D
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90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Eco-industry
value added
Eco-industry
employment
Total EU
GDP
Total EU
employment
Source: Eurostat, 2014.
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Assessing past trends and future outlooks
The Synthesis report addresses the three thematic priority objectives of
the 7th EAP:
1. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital
2. Resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy
3. Safeguarding from environmental risks to health
Two overall patterns emerge:
• Resource efficiency improvements have been notable but have not
translated into increased ecosystem and social resilience
• The long-term outlook is often less positive than recent trends
© A
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Environm
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Thematic priority objective 1:
Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Past (5–10
year) trends
Progress to
policy targets
Terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity
Land use and soil functions No target
Ecological status of freshwater bodies
Water quality and nutrient loading
Air pollution and its ecosystem impacts
Marine and coastal biodiversity
Climate change impacts on ecosystems No target
Improving trends dominate
Trends show mixed picture
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely on track
Partially on track
Largely not on track
20+ years outlook
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Thematic priority objective 2:
Resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Past (5–10
year) trends
Progress to
policy targets
Material resource efficiency and material use No target
Waste management
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation /
Energy consumption and fossil fuel use
Transport demand and related environmental impacts
Industrial pollution to air, soil and water
Water use and water quantity stress
Improving trends dominate
Trends show mixed picture
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely on track
Partially on track
Largely not on track
20+ years outlook
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SOER2015 / Synthesis /
Waste management is improving but European remains far from a circular economy
Assessing European trends: Resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Waste management
5-10 year trends:
Less waste is being landfilled due to reduced generation of some wastes,
increased recycling and greater use of waste for energy recovery.
20+ year outlook:
Total waste generation is still high, although implementation of waste prevention
programmes could alleviate this.
Progress to policy targets:
Past successes with some waste streams, but only mixed progress across
countries towards meeting recycling and landfill targets.
Overall
summary table Waste Green economy
Resource
efficiency Waste
Summary table
2/3
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Hazardous waste generated per capita
Source: ETC/SCP and ETC/WMGE, based on Eurostat data and National waste statistics for Switzerland
*Estonia: 4 914 kg/cap (2006), 5 638 kg/cap (2008), 6 731 kg/cap (2010), 6 925 kg/cap (2012).
*Bulgaria: 1 760 kg/cap (2006), 1 741 kg/cap (2008), 1 833 kg/cap (2010), 1 835 kg/cap (2012).
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Esto
nia
*
Bu
lga
ria
*
Lu
xe
mb
ou
rg
Irela
nd
Be
lgiu
m
Sw
itze
rla
nd
Ge
rma
ny
Norw
ay
Den
ma
rk
Fra
nce
Ita
ly
Cze
ch
Rep
ub
lic
Au
str
ia
Slo
ve
nia
Tu
rkey
La
tvia
Lith
ua
nia
Cyp
rus
Gre
ece
Fin
lan
d
Neth
erla
nd
s
Sw
ed
en
Un
ite
d K
ingd
om
Hun
ga
ry
Ma
lta
Slo
va
kia
Sp
ain
Ice
lan
d
Po
rtuga
l
Po
lan
d
Rom
an
ia
Cro
atia
kg
/ c
ap
2006
2008
2010
2012
EU27 average (2006-2012)
Hazardous waste generation
increase (2006-2012)
Hazardous waste generation
decrease (2006-2012)
Hazardous waste treatment
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Incineration with energy recovery
Recovery other than energy recovery
Incineration without energy recovery
Disposal
Mill
ion
to
nn
es
2006
2008
2010
2012
Recovery other than energy recovery includes backfilling
Data for EU-27 and Norway
Source: ETC/SCP and ETC/WMGE, based on Eurostat data
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Note: Data refer to EU-27 and Norway
Source: ETC/SCP and ETC/WMGE, based on Eurostat data
Differences between reported generated and treated hazardous waste
Cross-border trade in non-hazardous waste
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Thematic priority objective 3:
Safeguarding from environmental risks to health
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Past (5–10
year) trends
Progress to
policy targets
Water pollution and related environmental health risks /
Air pollution and related environmental health risks
Noise pollution (especially in urban areas)
Urban systems and grey infrastructure No target
Climate change and related environmental health risks No target
Chemicals and related environmental health risks /
Improving trends dominate
Trends show mixed picture
Deteriorating trends dominate
Largely on track
Partially on track
Largely not on track
20+ years outlook
/
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SOER2015 / Synthesis /
Risk management needs to be adapted to emerging environment and health issues
Assessing European trends: Safeguarding from environmental risks to health
Chemicals and related environmental health risks
5-10 year trends:
The impacts of some hazardous chemicals are increasingly being addressed.
Endocrine disrupters and newly emerging chemicals are of growing concern.
Knowledge gaps and uncertainty remain.
20+ year outlook:
Chemicals may have long lasting impacts, especially persistent and bio-
accumulative chemicals. Implementation of EU and international policies is
likely to reduce the chemical burden.
Progress to policy targets:
Implementation of REACH continues. No policy targets have been set for
chemical mixtures. Concern on the impact of newly emerging chemicals
remains.
Overall
summary table
Freshwater
quality
Summary table
3/3
Health and
environment
Freshwater
quality
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
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Information Platform for Chemical Monitoring (IPCheM)
A single online access point for discovering and retrieving chemical monitoring data Goals:
• Map chemical exposure pathways via
multiple media
• Inform integrated assessments that
combine data on chemicals in the
environment, food and feed, indoor air and
products and from human biomonitoring
• Improve the knowledge base for policy
making on chemicals
4 modules – food and feed, human
biomonitoring, indoor air and products,
environmental data
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The overall picture:
Efficiency improvements have not secured long-term resilience
Protecting, conserving
and enhancing natural
capital
Resource efficiency
and the low-carbon
economy
Safeguarding from
environmental risks to
health
Past
(5–10)
year
trends
Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report.
Improving trends dominate
Trends show mixed picture
Deteriorating trends dominate
20+
years
outlook
/
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Understanding past trends and future outlooks
Two major factors explain the uneven progress and prospects:
The changing global context
• Competition for resources
• Pressures from outside Europe
• Planetary boundaries
Systemic characteristics of environmental challenges
• Complexity
• Uncertainty
• Environmental, social and economic interdependencies
© A
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kobe,
Environm
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& M
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Looking ahead:
Systemic challenges require systemic solutions
Not just incremental efficiency gains
but fundamental transitions in food, energy, urban, mobility, finance and fiscal
systems
through profound changes in dominant practices, policies and thinking.
Source: Tesla
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Source: EEA.
Reducing
environmental
pressures or offsetting
harmful effects
Precautionary principle:
avoid potential harm (or
counter-productive
actions) in highly
complex and uncertain
situations
Remediating
environmental
degradation (where
possible) or other
costs imposed on
society
Some environmental
change inevitable:
anticipate adverse effects
of specific environmental
changes
Looking ahead:
Building on 40 years of European and national policies
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Achieving the 2050 vision depends on action today:
Fostering innovation
• Economic, technological and social innovations can support
long-term transitions to a green economy
• This requires upscaling niche innovations such as collaborative
consumption and prosumerism
• Publicly funded research has fostered many of the most
important and commercially successful innovations
• Essential to consider what type of innovation Europe wants – the
four environment principles of the EU Treaty can be a guide
© V
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Achieving the 2050 vision depends on action today :
Investing for the long term
• European investment needs are huge and today’s choices will
determine our future pathways of development
• The EU has committed to spend at least 20% of the 2014-
2020 budget on transforming Europe into a clean and
competitive low-carbon economy
• Need to avoid investments that lock in existing patterns and
limit options
• Shifting taxation and phasing out environmentally harmful
subsidies can stimulate investment and innovation in this
direction
© V
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Looking ahead:
Expanding the knowledge base
• SOER 2015 knowledge base will not be fit for SOER 2020
• Need for improved knowledge on environment-economy
interactions and long-term systemic perspectives
• Environmental knowledge community (EKC) and key
Knowledge Innovation Projects (KIP)
• Shift from problem to solution focused knowledge base
© V
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Looking ahead:
SOER 2015 as a resource
© V
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© V
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Looking ahead:
SOER 2015 as a resource
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© V
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Environm
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Looking ahead:
SOER 2015 as a resource
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Looking ahead:
Living well within the limits of the planet by 2050
• Achieving the 2050 vision is
possible but it depends on
our actions and investments
today.
• Systemic change must
deliver decent employment,
opportunities and fairness,
as well as respecting
environmental limits.
• SOER 2015 illustrates the
success of European policy.
We should be confident in
entering a new stage of
environmental governance.
© V
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Source: Raworth, 2012
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