"The European environment – state and outlook 2015" (SOER 2015)
The Commissioner for the environment Karmenu Vella with the Executive Director of the Environmental Executive Agency (EEA), Hans Bruyninckx, presented the new Report on the State of the European Environment (SOER 2015), entitled “The European environment – state and outlook 2015”.
The SOER 2015 is composed of two reports and numerous information sessions, including the “Synthesis” report and the “Assessment of global megatrends” report.
In the report is provided an integrated five-yearly assessment on the status, trends and prospects of Europe’s environment. For this initiative, the EEA has worked closely with the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) and the European Commission Services. For Italy, the work was coordinated by ISPRA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea.
The report includes assessments and data at global, regional and country levels, as well as cross-country comparisons and transmits some key messages to improve the environmental state in the EU.
The data present a state at least partly positive: actually Europeans enjoy cleaner air and water, less waste is sent to landfill and more resources are recycled. However, Europe remains still far from achieving the environmental objectives for 2050, especially regard to problems such as biodiversity loss and climate change. Infact, as the report highlights, we need more ambitious policies that respond to the systemic nature of many environmental problems.
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