２The Role of the European
Environment Agency and EU
Environmental Policies
Ryukoku University, Kyoto City, Japan
13 May 2017
Stefan Speck

Content• European Environment Agency (EEA) – who we are, what we do,….
• European environment information and observation network(EIONET)• EEA and EU policies• The European environment - state and outlook 2015 (SOER 2015)
and the 7 th Environment Action Programme of the European Union(EU 7th EAP)The EEA mission“The EEA aims to support
sustainable development and tohelp achieve significant andmeasurable improvement inEurope’s environment throughthe provision of timely, targeted,relevant and reliable
information to policy makers
and the public.”
Established by EC Regulation in 1990
and since 1994 operational, located in

The EEA is...
• An independent EUagency• Analysing, assessing
and providing
information• An interface between
science and policy• Dependent upon strong
networks to carry out
its work

The EEA is not …
• Formulating or
proposing newlegislation• An executive body
implementing
environmental measures• A funding bodyWhat is our mandate and target groups?
To provide a sound decision basis for the EU and member countries’
environmental policies, by producing…
• European, regional and global environment–related data andindicator sets
• Integrated environmental assessments• Thematic environmental analyses (water, air, waste, transport,etc.)
Target Groups•Stakeholders: Institutions and governments• European Commission, Parliament, Council, EEA member countries•Policy influencers: Civil society

Which are the EEA member and cooperating
countries?

• 33 EEA membercountries• 6 cooperating
countries

EEA publication – selection

Indicator – waste and resource efficiency
Resource efficiency - municipal waste management across Europeancountries

European environment information and observation network(Eionet)•Eionet mission:

The European environment information and observation network (Eionet)aims to provide timely and quality-assured data, information andexpertise for assessing both the state of the environment in Europe andthe pressures and driving forces acting upon it.
•Eionet is a partnership network of the EEA and its member andcooperating countries involving about 300 national institutions (more than1000 experts)•National focal points (NFPs – one per country)•National reference centres (24 NRCs – per area; for example, waste;resource efficiency; industrial pollution, noise, chemicals, health, ….., but
nothing on economics and finance/fiscal)•European topic centres (ETCs)

The Six European Topic Centres (ETCs)• Consortia (academia,consultancy,environmental
protection agencies,etc.) working undercontract (type ofpartnership agreement)with the EEA• Deal with specificenvironmental topics insupport with the EEA

EEA activities and EU policies• By providing information on environmental issues including
climate change in Europe, the EEA supports theimplementation of legislation in Europe, the evaluation ofEU policies and the development of long-term strategies.
• EEA provides information — data, indicators, assessments

and projections — including the focus on greenhouse gas
emissions trends, projections, and policies and measures inEurope.
• For example, the EEA is the European data centre on
greenhouse gas emissions  reporting to UNFCCC on EU

The policy context – climate policy

EEA – Reporting Obligations Database(ROD)•

ROD is the EEA's reporting
obligations database. It contains
records describing
environmental reporting
obligations that countries havetowards internationalorganisations. ROD is developedby the EEA to support
international environmental
reporting.

•An example – what can be donewith the data: EU ETS revenue
spending by EU Member States(2013-2015)

Source: Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE)

7 th Environment Action Programme (7 th EAP)The 7 th EAP will be guiding European environment policy until
2020.
In order to give more long-term direction it sets out a vision
beyond that, of where it wants the Union to be by 2050:
In 2050, we live well, within the planet’s ecological limits. Our
prosperity and healthy environment stem from an innovative,
circular economy where nothing is wasted and where natural
resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity isprotected, valued and restored in ways that enhance oursociety’s resilience. Our low-carbon growth has long been
decoupled from resource use, setting the pace for a safe andSOER 2010: influence on the 7 th EAP of theEU
SOER 2010’s emphasis on
natural capital, resource
efficiency and human wellbeing was subsequently
taken up in the 7 th EAP’s
priority objectives 1-3.
Source: EC, 2012Other key messages on topics such as policy
integration, implementation and knowledge
development were reflected in the other 7 th EAPpriority objectives.

The 2050 vision in the EU 7 th EAPThree thematic priorities:
1. Protecting, conserving and enhancing
biodiversity and natural capital;
2. By transitioning towards a resource efficient,circular, low-carbon economy;
3. By safeguarding people from environmental
risks to their health and well-being;… through actions in Europe and globally
See for more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/factsheets/7eap/en.pdf

The 7 th EAP priority objectives and theSDGs
Priority objective 1: to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital (SDGs 6,14, 15)Priority objective 2: to turn the Union into a resource-efficient, green, and competitive lowcarbon economy (SDGs 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13)Priority objective 3: to safeguard the Union's citizens from environment-related pressuresand risks to health and wellbeing (SDGs 2, 3)

The European environment — state and outlook
2015• Based on a thorough review of Europe’s environmental
trends and outlook, the State and outlook report 2015
(SOER 2015) reflects on how to bring policies, knowledge,investments and innovations into line with Europe’s 2050
sustainability vision.

• The structure builds up from data and indicators to provide
a thorough assessment of past trends and future outlooks.
SOER 2015 Synthesis report

SOER 2015 Assessment of global megatrends
Globalmegatrends

Europeanbriefings

Cross-country
comparisons

Countries andregions

11 briefings

25 briefings

9 briefings

39+3 briefings

Key messages from SOER 2015
• Policies have delivered substantial benefits
for the environment, economy and people’s
well-being but major challenges remain• Europe faces persistent and emerging
challenges linked to production andconsumption systems, and the rapidlychanging global context• Achieving the 2050 vision requires systemtransitions, driven by more ambitious actions
on policy, knowledge, investments andinnovation• Environmental policies are also creating
economic opportunities and thereby
contributing to the Europe 2020 Strategy(EU’s agenda for growth and jobs for theResource efficiency and the low-carbon
economyResource efficiency and the low-carbon
economy• The prevailing model of economic development – based on
steadily growing resource use and harmful emissions –cannot be sustained in the long term.
• Increasing resource efficiency is essential to sustain socioeconomic progress in a world of finite resources andecosystem capacity.
• However, resource efficiency is not sufficient on its own as

it does not guarantee a reduction in environmentalpressures in absolute terms.

‘Business as usual’ is no longer a viable development
path

Withinenvironmentallimits(Global Footprint Network, 2012; UNDP, 2014)‘living well’Thank you for your attention

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