The EU continues to fall short of achieving a number of environmental objectives by 2020, especially in areas aimed at protecting biodiversity and natural capital according to the EEA’s updated environmental indicator report
To protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital
- Euthrophication of terrestrial ecosystems due to air pollution
- Agricultural land: nitrogen balance
- Urban land take
- Forest utilisation
- Marine fish stocks
- Common birds and butterflies
- EU protected species
- EU protected habitats
- Surface waters
To turn the Union into a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy
- Resource efficiency
- Waste generation
- Recycling of municipal waste
- Freshwater use
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Renewable energy sources
- Energy efficiency
- Household energy consumption
- Transport greenhouse gas emissions
- Food consumption — animal based protein
- Environmental and labour taxation
- Environmental goods and services sector: employment and value added
- Environmental protection expenditure
To safeguard the Union’s citizens from environment-related pressures and risks to health and well-being
- Outdoor air quality in urban areas
- Air pollutant emissions
- Quality of bathing waters
- Number of countries that have adopted a climate change adaptation strategy/plan
- Environmental noise
- Consumption of hazardous chemicals
- Pesticide sales
Scoreboard
This year’s scoreboard enables the following summary assessment of progress by 7th EAP thematic priority objective to be made:
Priority objective 1: the EU’s natural capital is not yet being protected, maintained and enhanced in line with the ambitions of the 7th EAP. The 2020 outlook remains bleak overall for the selected set of objectives related to this priority objective.
Priority objective 2: the 2020 outlook shows mixed progress. The EU is on track to meet climate and renewable energy related targets, although it is uncertain whether it will meet its energy efficiency target. There have been resource efficiency improvements. However, waste generation increased recently and a reduction in the environmental impact of production and
consumption is uncertain for the housing sector and unlikely for the food and mobility sectors.
Priority objective 3: the 2020 outlook for this objective is also mixed. There have been substantial reductions in emissions of air and water pollutants in recent decades. However, there are still key concerns over air quality and noise pollution in urban areas, and chronic exposure of the population to mixtures of chemicals.