European Environment Agency

European Environment Agency This is the page of the European Environment Agency (EEA), an agency of the European Union. Currently, the EEA has 33 member countries.
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Our task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. We are a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public.

Every year between 2018-2021, we lost 540km² of natural land around our cities, more than the size of the entire city of...
12/12/2025

Every year between 2018-2021, we lost 540km² of natural land around our cities, more than the size of the entire city of Vienna.

This net land take of turning forests, farmland and natural areas into roads, buildings and other artificial surfaces, is accelerating across Europe.

Every square metre of artificially sealed land comes at a cost: less carbon storage, more flooding, hotter cities during heatwaves, fragmented habitats, and fewer green spaces for people to enjoy.

The good news: EU has committed to "No Net Land Take by 2050", meaning we need to balance any new development with nature restoration elsewhere. Achieving this balance, we need to cut land take to 324km²/year by 2030, but we are currently moving in the opposite direction.

Meeting EU goals will require rethinking how we plan and build our cities: prioritising reuse, densification, and restoration over expansion into natural areas.

More on this topic here: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/net-land-take-in-cities

Did you know that not everyone in Europe has equal access to cleaner air?Air pollution is Europe's biggest environmental...
11/12/2025

Did you know that not everyone in Europe has equal access to cleaner air?

Air pollution is Europe's biggest environmental health threat, and PM2.5 – tiny particles small enough to enter your bloodstream – is the deadliest form. There's no safe level of exposure.

People in the poorest regions are exposed to roughly one-third more PM2.5 than those in the richest ones.

If we want to protect public health, we need to close this gap, not just lower the overall numbers.

Learn more about this topic on: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/income-related-environmental-inequalities-associated

📉 Worsening outlook for meeting EU’s 2030 environment objectives.The EEA has published its 2025 assessment of progress u...
10/12/2025

📉 Worsening outlook for meeting EU’s 2030 environment objectives.

The EEA has published its 2025 assessment of progress under the 8th Environment Action Programme.

This year’s scoreboard shows no improvement across the 28 headline indicators that track the EU’s climate, environment and sustainability objectives. Three indicators have deteriorated since last year, including climate-related economic losses, which is now assessed as off track.

The results highlight uneven progress across policy areas.

The EU is making progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and growing the green economy while rising climate risks, slow progress on the circular economy and biodiversity, increasing pressures from the EU consumption and production and weakening enabling conditions are holding back results.

Find out more here: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/challenging-outlook-for-meeting-the-eus-long-term-environment-and-climate-objectives

What is making sea levels rising faster than ever? Us.Human activity has been the main culprit since 1970. At first, it ...
09/12/2025

What is making sea levels rising faster than ever? Us.

Human activity has been the main culprit since 1970. At first, it was mostly ocean water expanding as it warmed. Now, melting ice from Greenland, Antarctica, and mountain glaciers has taken over as the biggest factor.

The urgency is real: every 5-year delay in cutting emissions could add an extra 20cm by 2030, with worst-case scenarios adding up to a full metre more.

Learn more about this topic on: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/global-and-european-sea-level-rise

08/12/2025

Europe is on a clear path of decarbonisation.

We bring to life the interactive viewers that show the data behind the progress.
The EEA’s Climate & Energy portal gives you insights based on official information from European countries, tracking emissions, energy use, and national targets across the continent.

Every figure tells a story of Europe’s transition toward a sustainable, low-carbon future.

Learn more about the data:
climate-energy.eea.europa.eu

🌱 – healthy soil for a healthy life.Today is a reminder that Europe’s soils are under increasing pressure: erosion, po...
05/12/2025

🌱 – healthy soil for a healthy life.

Today is a reminder that Europe’s soils are under increasing pressure: erosion, pollution, nutrient overload, and the cumulative impacts of decades of intensive use.

The numbers speak for themselves:
• 62% of all soils show signs of degraded function
• 89% of agricultural soils are losing their ability to sustain biodiversity, food production, climate action, and human health

The pressure from urban expansion is also increasing, causing valuable agricultural soils irreversibly lost.

Healthy soils are not a given. They are a foundation we depend on every day.

👉 We need to protect and restore them — for people, nature, and our future.
More on our work on soils: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/soil

🌍 Arctic sea ice is disappearing fast.Every single summer, we lose an area of ice the size of Ireland – about 71.000 km²...
03/12/2025

🌍 Arctic sea ice is disappearing fast.
Every single summer, we lose an area of ice the size of Ireland – about 71.000 km².
Each winter, another Belgium-sized area melts away: 31.000 km².

Sea ice is also becoming younger and thinner. An almost ice-free Arctic summer would be rare at 1.5°C, but at 2.5°C warming it becomes the norm.

In Europe, the Baltic Sea tells the same story: maximum sea ice extent has been shrinking since the 1800s.

We are losing our planet’s cooling shield, piece by piece. We need to preserve it. ❄️💙

Find out more from our indicator: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/arctic-and-baltic-sea-ice

Landfills, places where used and forgotten things are dumped, are still very much part of our reality, even as the EU ai...
02/12/2025

Landfills, places where used and forgotten things are dumped, are still very much part of our reality, even as the EU aims to transition to a circular economy.

Across the EU, waste generation (excluding major mineral waste) has increased in recent years. This presents challenges for waste management and risks undermining the EU’s goal of reducing reliance on landfilling ⚠️.

♻️We are still using landfills, but there is good news 👉 between 2010 and 2022, the total amount of waste sent to landfill decreased by 21%, from 173 million tonnes to 137 million tonnes.

More information in our : https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/diversion-of-waste-from-landfill

🌤️ The quality of our air in Europe is improving, but just over 180,000 deaths in the European Union were attributable ...
01/12/2025

🌤️ The quality of our air in Europe is improving,

but just over 180,000 deaths in the European Union were attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations above World Health Organization WHO guideline levels in 2023.

🔎 This is according to the latest EEA air quality health impact assessment published today.

🟢 The EEA briefing confirms the 19-year trend that the estimated impact on health attributable to long-term exposure to three key air pollutants:

fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone continues to drop.

🔴 However, almost everyone living in European cities (95%) is exposed to air pollution levels considerably above recommended WHO levels.

This year’s assessment is being published to coincide with the Forum being held on 1-2 December in Bonn, Germany.

Find out more on the assessment:

https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/air-quality-improving-but-just-over-180-000-deaths-still-attributable-to-air-pollution-in-eu

One in five cardiovascular deaths 🫀 in the EU is preventable by improving the environment disease is the main killer in...
28/11/2025

One in five cardiovascular deaths 🫀 in the EU is preventable by improving the environment

disease is the main killer in the EU: over 1.7 million people died from it in 2022 — one third of all deaths that year. Of these, key environmental factors are estimated to cause at least 18%. Also, more than 6 million new cases of cardiovascular diseases are diagnosed every year, costing Europe about EUR 282 billion, according to the EEA briefing 'Preventing cardiovascular disease through a healthy environment'.

Although the individual factors that cause cardiovascular disease, such as genetics 🧬 and old age🧓, are more difficult to modify, others, such as environmental ones, can be addressed through targeted policies. The EU’s history of reducing air pollution shows that such policies work: the Union is already on track to meet the zero pollution action plan objective of reducing premature deaths attributable to air pollution by more than 55%, until 2030, compared to 2005.

The European Commission's plan for EU cardiovascular health — currently in development — offers an opportunity to better integrate environmental factors of health into policy.

Find out more: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/one-in-five-cardiovascular-deaths-in-the-eu-preventable-by-improving-the-environment

Air pollutant emissions from shipping 🚢 and aviation 🛫 are rising, posing an increasing risk to human health, especially...
27/11/2025

Air pollutant emissions from shipping 🚢 and aviation 🛫 are rising, posing an increasing risk to human health, especially for those living near ports and airports, according to an EEA briefing out today.

The briefing calls for improved monitoring of air pollution in and around these key transportation hubs.

It explores and assesses air quality monitoring networks and air quality levels in and around major ports and airports across 18 European countries, focusing on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants.

Find out more: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/better-air-quality-monitoring-needed-amid-rising-air-pollution-from-ports-and-airports

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