Published: 10 Oct 2007
- Environmental policy across the pan-European
region is hampered by gaps in information
and implementation according to a new European
Environment Agency (EEA) report, released
today.
More on specific regions Europe's water
quality generally improving but agriculture
still the main challenge The report, 'Europe's
environment — The fourth assessment', was
presented in Belgrade, Serbia, at the opening
session of the sixth ministerial conference
of the 'Environment for Europe' process
held under the auspices of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The latest in a series of assessments of
the pan-European environment published by
the EEA over the past 15 years, the report
assesses environmental progress in 53 countries
— an area with a total population of more
than 870 million people. The region includes:
Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
(EECCA), South East Europe (SEE), as well
as Western and Central Europe (WCE).
Improved implementation of existing policies
and the setting of clear, realistic targets
is a key recommendation of the report. However,
a shared environmental information system
is also urgently required to deal with a
prevailing lack of reliable, accessible
and comparable environmental information
across the region.
'We need to further strengthen the will
to act on environmental issues across the
pan-European region. This requires a better
understanding of the problems we face, their
nature and distribution across societies
and generations. Analysis, assessment, communication
and education will help overcome this 'information
gap' and will better equip those who need
to act,' said Professor Jacqueline McGlade,
Executive Director of the EEA.
Most of the environmental pressures in
the region stem from economic activities
such as agriculture, tourism, transport
and energy, the report says. Current patterns
of consumption and production also place
an increasing demand on natural resources,
putting our environment at further risk.
Associated impacts are wide-ranging: water,
air and soil quality differ greatly across
the pan-European region. More than 100 million
people do not have access to safe drinking
water and sanitation. In many countries
in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia
and South East Europe the quality of water
supply and sanitation has deteriorated over
the past 15 years with the rural population
being most affected, the report says.
Despite some success with air pollution,
current levels — mainly nitrogen oxide,
fine particles and ground-level ozone —
are estimated to shorten average life expectancy
in Western and Central European countries
by almost a year and to threaten the healthy
development of children. In Eastern Europe,
Caucasus and Central Asia, the situation
is assumed to be similarly bleak: here most
air polluting emissions have increased by
10 % since 2000 as a result of economic
recovery, increases in volume of transport
and persisting poor effectiveness of air
pollution policies.
The report, which includes a comprehensive
assessment of the marine environment across
the pan-European region, expresses particular
concern regarding over-fishing, eutrophication
and mounting pressures on coastal environments.
Major accidental oils spills have decreased
in European seas. However, oil discharges
from day to day activities are still significant.
For biodiversity, the target of halting
biodiversity loss by 2010 will not be met
without considerable additional efforts.
More than 700 European species are under
threat from extinction, including a number
of iconic species such as the Iberian lynx
and the snow leopard, as a result of habitat
destruction, degradation and disturbance.
Impacts of climate change on society and
natural resources are already visible worldwide.
They are projected to become even more pronounced
— even if global emissions of greenhouse
gases are reduced drastically. The report
stresses the urgency of adaptation to the
potential risks of future climate change
impacts.
'Ministers have designated the Belgrade
conference to be a 'conference of delivery'.
Our report shows that there has been progress.
We have reduced some air pollution and have
improved wastewater treatment. However,
in an era of change, major concerns remain,
such as climate, biodiversity and environment-related
health threats. To respond to these complex
environmental issues, we need continued
cooperation across the pan-European region
as well as targeted financial and technical
support,' Professor McGlade said.
Notes to the editor:View the full report
here: http://www.eea.europa.eu/pan-european/fourth-assessment
Europe's environment — The fourth assessment
The result of unprecedented cooperation
in sharing information the report, 'Europe's
environment — The fourth assessment', aims
to provide up-to-date and reliable information
on the interactions between the environment
and society and to highlight progress towards
environmental targets at the pan-European
level.
From Kiev to Belgrade
The 'Environment for Europe'(EfE) process
now brings together 56 countries across
three continents to jointly address environmental
challenges. The process is a unique partnership
of the member countries within the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
region. The EfE process also includes organisations
of the United Nations system represented
in the region, other intergovernmental organisations,
regional environment centres, non-governmental
organisations and other major groups.
In support of this process, the EEA has
prepared a series of assessments of the
environment for the pan-European region
to provide policy-relevant, up-to-date and
reliable information on the interactions
between the environment and society.
The first comprehensive assessment of the
state of the pan-European environment was
presented in Sofia in 1995. Updated assessments
were presented at the Ministerial Conferences
in Aarhus in 1998 and Kiev in 2003.
This is the fourth report in the series.
Where possible, the report evaluates progress,
primarily against the objectives of the
Sixth Environment Action Programme of the
European Community and the Environment Strategy
for Countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus
and Central Asia.
The report, 'Europe's environment — The
fourth assessment' covers 53 countries:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia, Malta,
Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro,
the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
About the European Environment Agency (EEA)
The EEA is based in Copenhagen. The agency
aims to help achieve significant and measurable
improvement in Europe's environment through
the provision of timely, targeted, relevant
and reliable information to policy-makers
and the public.
To find out more about the EEA, visit our
website: http://www.eea.europa.eu
Brendan Killeen
Press Officer
+ More
Clear recommendations for the EU Action
Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production
Document Actions Published: 02 Oct 2007
- The forthcoming EU Action Plan on Sustainable
Consumption and Production should include
clear sustainability targets, concrete steps
to internalise environmental costs into
prices and a directive on green public procurement.
These were three top-priority recommendations
identified during the discussions last week
at the conference 'Time for Action — Towards
Sustainable Consumption and Production in
Europe' which brought together 100 experts
from governments in Europe, researchers,
NGOs and business.
Discussions focused on the three consumption
areas which have been identified by separate
studies of the European Environment Agency
and the European Commission to have the
highest environmental impacts over their
lifecycle: housing, food and drink, and
mobility.
It was recommended that at the national
level, priority action should be taken to
internalise environmental costs through
an environmental fiscal reform, to identify
'beacons' of sustainable living and to develop
a long term vision of sustainable consumption
and production.
Finally, participants recommended that
the United Nations' process to develop a
10-year framework of programmes on sustainable
consumption and production — the so-called
Marrakech process — should encourage national
governments to integrate sustainable consumption
and production objectives into ministries
beyond environment. Further the Marrakech
process should develop communications strategies
and campaigns with national organisations
to reach out to consumers for actions and
involve financial institutions in its process.
Responding to the recommendations, 'the
EEA will implement a number of concrete
steps, including identifying indicators
of sustainable consumption and production,
analysing the effectiveness of green public
procurement in selected Member States and
providing information on the impacts of
consumption to citizens across Europe' said
EEA Executive Director Prof. Jacqueline
McGlade.
The conference which took place on 27–28
September in Ljubljana, Slovenia, was organised
by the European Environment Agency, the
Ministry of the Environment and Spatial
Planning of the Republic of Slovenia and
the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating
Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
