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State of the European Environment

3. What progress has been made towards an efficient, low-carbon economy?

    Here, short-term trends are encouraging. European greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 19% since 1990 despite a 45% increase in economic output. Other environmental pressures have also decoupled in absolute terms from economic growth. Fossil fuel use has declined, as well as emissions of some pollutants from transport and industry.

    The EU's total resource use has declined by 19% since 2007, less waste is being generated and recycling rates have improved in nearly every country, although Europe remains far from the ideal of a circular economy, where nothing is wasted. While policies are working, the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic recessions have also contributed to the reduction of some pressures.

    However, it remains to be seen whether all improvements will be sustained as the prevailing model of economic development — based on steadily growing resource use and harmful emissions — cannot be sustained in the long term. This grounded the recognition that the emergence of resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy are European policy priorities. For example, the demand for transport has increased in recent decades; air transport in particular reached an all-time high in 2011. Transport can have impacts in terms of air and noise pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and landscape fragmentation, which can impact human health. Accordingly, fundamental changes in the way Europe transports people and goods are needed to reduce impacts. Encouragingly, there is some evidence of a cultural shift away from car use in developed urban regions, particularly among younger generations. At the same time, cycling, using a car pool, or opting for public transport are becoming more popular.

    A transition to a low-carbon economy will thus require a greater reduction in emission, and further reduction of the dependence on fossil fuels would be a good way to, in turn, further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in addition to enhancing energy security. However, it appears that existing measures will be insufficient to achieve the 40% reduction by 2030, which has been proposed by the European Commission as the minimum needed to remain on course for the 2050 target.


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