This report provides a comprehensive assessment of Europe’s environment, based on the work of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet), in order to support governance and inform the public. It presents the global context that shapes Europe’s development (Part 1), European environmental and sectoral trends and outlooks (Part 2), the factors constraining or enabling transformative change (Part 3), and reflections on how Europe can shift its trajectory and achieve a sustainable future (Part 4).
In 2020, Europe faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency. Although EU environment and climate policies have delivered substantial benefits over recent decades, Europe faces persistent problems in areas such as biodiversity loss, resource use, climate change impacts, and environmental risks to health and well-being. Global megatrends such as demographic change are intensifying many environmental challenges, while rapid technological change brings new risks and uncertainties. Recognising these challenges, the EU has committed to a range of long-term sustainability goals with the overall aim of ‘living well, within the limits of our planet’. However, achieving these goals will not be possible without a rapid and fundamental shift in the character and ambition of Europe’s responses.