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Longer-lasting electronics benefit environment, climate and circular economy

Extending the lifetime and delaying obsolescence of electronics can significantly reduce their environmental and climate impacts and contribute to meeting the European Union’s (EU) environment, climate and circular economy objectives. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, smartphones, televisions, washing machines and vacuum cleaners all are used on average for shorter periods than both their designed and desired lifetimes.

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Reducing and recycling food and garden waste to boost Europe's circular economy

Bio-waste is one of the key waste streams in Europe and holds great potential for the circular economy. According to the European Environment Agency’s new assessment, reducing and using bio-waste could cut emissions, improve soils and provide energy. Recycling bio-waste is also key for meeting the European Union’s target to recycle 65 % of municipal waste by 2035.

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Quality of Europe’s bathing waters remains high, latest annual assessment finds

The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85 % of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards.

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New cars and vans sold in 2018 more CO2 intensive, final data confirms

Average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars registered in the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and Iceland increased in 2018 for the second year in a row, according to final data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). For the first time, average CO2 emissions from new vans also increased in 2018. More efforts are needed from manufacturers to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions.

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EU greenhouse gas emissions kept decreasing in 2018, largest reductions in energy sector

The European Union (EU) cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 23.2 % from 1990 to 2018, according to latest official data, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Over the period, the EU’s contribution to global emissions is estimated to have decreased from 15 % to 8 %. In 2018, the EU’s emissions decreased by 2.1 %, confirming the EEA’s preliminary estimates published in October 2019.

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REDISCOVER Nature for this year’s EEA photo competition

No matter where we are, we can all appreciate the wonders of nature, now possibly more than ever. This year’s European Environment Agency (EEA) photo competition ‘REDISCOVER Nature’, which opens today, invites you to capture and share your bond with nature and the environment around you.

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Complex network of European and global developments impacts sustainability

A wide variety of rapid and long-term societal developments in Europe and globally have important effects on the environment in Europe. A European Environment Agency (EEA) report, published today, analyses these ‘drivers of change’, providing insights on their impacts on EU sustainability ambitions.

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Europe’s environmental footprints exceed several safe limits

Global sustainability challenges increasingly raise concerns about the stability of the Earth system that supports all life on our planet. A joint study by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), published today, focuses on four critical elements of that system, such as the nitrogen cycle and changes in land use. The study explores different ways of defining Europe’s share of the global safe operating space and shows that Europe is not yet living within those limits.

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Robust monitoring and targets are key in shifting Europe to a more circular economy

Introducing more robust monitoring and targets to spur Europe’s move to a circular economy would help improve resource efficiency, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today.

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Air pollution goes down as Europe takes hard measures to combat coronavirus

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) data confirm large decreases in air pollutant concentrations — of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in particular — largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures. Reductions of around half have been seen in some locations. The EEA’s data are measured hourly, on the ground, at about 3,000 monitoring stations across European countries.

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