OSLO, Oct 1 (NNN-NRK) – Europe has cut greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality over the past decade, but the overall state of the environment is “not good,” the European Environment Agency (EEA) said Monday, in its five-year flagship report Europe’s environment 2025.
The report warns that, accelerating climate impacts and continued nature degradation threaten prosperity, security and quality of life. Economic activity across the continent depends on natural resources, and achieving climate neutrality will require more responsible management of land and water, the agency stressed.
While Europe has made “good progress” in cutting fossil fuel use, doubling renewable energy’s share since 2005, and improving recycling and resource efficiency, biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems is still declining. Unsustainable production and consumption patterns, notably in the food system, remain key drivers, the EEA said.
The report highlights severe water stress, affecting roughly one third of the population and territory, and calls for urgent protection of watersheds and groundwater, to bolster future water resilience. Europe is also the world’s fastest-warming continent, facing increasingly serious threats to public health, infrastructure and the economy, it noted.
EEA urged swift implementation of the European Green Deal to meet climate goals. “We cannot afford to lower our climate, environment and sustainability ambitions,” Executive Director, Leena Yla-Mononen said. “What we do today will shape our future.”
The 2025 edition is the agency’s seventh state-of-environment review since 1995, and draws on data from the European Environment Information and Observation Network across its member states and cooperating countries.– NNN-NRK
