1. Environmental signals 2001
European Environment Agency
EEA’s regular indicator-based report
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is a European Community institution with the aim of serving the Community and the Member States with information to support policy making for environmental protection put in the perspective of sustainable development. We do that by collecting and assessing data on the current and foreseeable state of the environment.
With the development in attention going from ‘environment’, to the environmental pillar in sustainable development’ to ‘environmentally sustainable development’ we are in a constant process of creating clear lines for our clients focusing on the essentials in the overload of environmental and sustainability information.

2. EEA indicator reports provide signals:
on trends in the state of the environment
on the integration of environmental policy into other policy fields
on eco-efficiency and material flows
on country performance
on progress made and promises for the future
Indicators are important because we can manage only what we can measure. And while critics may argue that indicators and targets are a far too simplistic response to complex issues, the reality is that they appear to work! At the EEA we face a constant challenge to prevent overload of information on the environment and sustainability, and indicators are a key tool for us in this regard since they distil data into a clear and accessible form.

3. The difficult problems persist: Tackling climate change
Greenhouse gas emissions:
4 % decrease between 1990 and 1999 but projected to fall by only 1 % by 2010
Fluorinated gas emissions projected to increase by % by 2010 (from 1995 levels)
Between 1990 and 1998 total EU carbon dioxide emissions stabilised. Projected to increase by 3 % to 4 % by 2010 from 1990 levels ( 25 % from Transport, assuming implementation of the EU strategy to reduce emissions from cars) 
- Emissions of the six greenhouse gases decreased by 2 % between 1990 and 1998 but are projected to fall by only 1 % by 2010 (from 1990 levels). Fluorinated gas emissions are projected to increase by % (from 1995 levels).
Total energy consumption in the EU grew by an average of more than 1 % per year between 1980 and 1998, compared with GDP growth of 2 %, indicating a lack of absolute decoupling.

4. Health Resources Land Waste
Every day ( ), about 10 hectares of land were taken for motorway construction - High rate of land fragmentation
Permanent EU grassland area fell by 12 % ( )
Waste
Total generation per capita still increasing and coupled to economic growth
Waste from household and commercial activities (400 kg/capita) exceeds the target for 2000 set by 5EAP (300 kg/capita)
Health
Substantial parts of the urban population (42 %) still exposed to high concentrations of ground level ozone and fine particles

5. Growth in the economy and number of households still requires additional energy use
A relative decoupling:
More than 1 % increase per year between 1980 and 1998, compared with GDP growth of 2 %
At the same time:
Transport: 47 % increase in energy use since 1985 (still growing by about 3 % annually)
Households: around 10% increase in energy use in the 1990s
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have been partially decoupled from such growth.

6. The challenge: evolving patterns and scale of consumption and production
Passenger transport:
Constantly increasing: 55 % over the past 20 years (average annual growth rate of 2.8 %) - No prospects of decoupling from GDP in medium term
Tourism is the fastest-growing reason for travel: number of inbound tourists grew faster than total passenger transport
Growing consumerism expenditures:
Household expenditure nearly twice what it was in 1980
Marked increase on recreation (73 %), transport (65% but only 3% on public transport) and tourism (16 % between 1990 and 1997)

7. Tourism: a growing concern
Tourism flows and transportation
Tourism accounts for 50% of transport energy use and for 70 % of air transport
90% of energy use taken up by access to and return from destination
In France 5–7 % of greenhouse gas emissions are due to tourism transportation
Tourism demand & intensity:
Expanding growing number of secondary homes (land take 40 times higher than a flat)
Tourism infrastructure development beyond carrying capacities of destinations (coastal & mountain areas)

8. Pricing of consumer goods and services
Steady fall in domestic electricity prices: around 1 % per year in real terms since 1985
Tourism prices continually decreasing, resulting in more trips per capita per year
Available data shows that car transport is cheaper relative to bus and train than 20 years ago
EU average price of road fuel in 2000 was lower than in the first half of the 1980s
External costs of transport are about 8% of GDP. Road transport is responsible for more than 95% of these costs

9. Progress towards Integration: Transport
EU transport infrastructure investment grew by 17  % in the period
In the same period investment shares in different transport modes have remained almost unchanged: about 2/3 for road and 1/3 for rail
The share of the more environmentally friendly freight modes (rail, inland waterways, short sea shipping) decreased by 10 % in the period 1980 to 1998
No specific transport policies to manage tourism demand

10. Progress towards Integration: Agriculture
CAP expenditures: Financial support for rural development has increased from 5 % in 1996 to 10 % in 2000
More than 20 % of EU farmland is covered by agri-environment measures
More than 3 million farms disappeared in the EU between 1975 and 1995, together with a 12 % reduction in permanent pastures
In many countries the market for organic products is still small; it is, however, growing everywhere

11. Greenhouse gases and Kyoto targets
Country performance
Greenhouse gases and Kyoto targets
An overview of recent projections by Member States suggests that existing policies and measures will result in total EU greenhouse gas emissions falling by only 1 % by 2010, from 1990 levels

12. Country performance Renewables
Contribute 14 % of electricity generation in the EU
While they grew about 3 % per year over , an annual increase of 5.5 % would be needed to reach the 2010 target

13. Country performance Municipal waste and landfilling target
66 % of biodegradable municipal waste goes to landfill, twice the EU target
There has been no improvement in the countries that make the most use of landfilling