Feature articles

The past few years have tested us in ways not many of us could have predicted. The pandemic and its health and economic impacts were followed by war on the European continent. Now, hardly a week passes without another major shock, such as shifts in global alliances or possible trade wars, fuelling further instability and uncertainty in political systems and economies worldwide.

Karl Hamilton heads our Agency’s Digital department and his team’s work is crucial to the EEA’s knowledge work which relies on the use of high-quality data. The EEA handles over 140 data flows and 200 data sets, all requiring coordinated collection, processing and analysis. We asked him how the Agency works with this data and what exactly it is used for.

Frank Wugt Larsen, EEA expert on biodiversity knowledge and networks, is part of the European Union delegation at the plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in Windhoek, Namibia, 10-16 December 2024. We interviewed him to understand what IPBES does and how this work relates to other international efforts to improve the state of nature.

The stakes could not be higher. Climate change is not a distant or theoretical threat — it is here. The past two years have been a stark reminder of this reality, with 2023 clocking in as the hottest year on record, only soon to be surpassed by 2024. From unprecedented flooding in Valencia and central Europe to droughts across southern Europe, the warning signs are clear: we must act now. Beyond the human suffering — which has no price — all of these events show that the cost of inaction far greater than the cost of taking action now.

Europe’s economy and wellbeing of its citizens depend crucially on a healthy and resilient natural environment, a stable climate and long-term sustainable use of resources. As Europe’s new policy cycle begins, Commission President-elect’s political guidelines and mission letters to future Commissioners reaffirm the course towards sustainability, while adding extra focus on competitiveness and security to boost Europe’s resilience to current and future crises.

With the recent launch of Sentinel—2C, the European Union's Copernicus programme takes another leap in revolutionising Earth observation. Usue Donezar Hoyos, project lead at the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) at the EEA, who was invited to the satellite launch as representative of the Sentinel—2 users, discusses the importance of this mission, its role in ensuring data continuity and how it will shape environmental monitoring and policy across Europe.

The impacts of climate change and how our societies can cope and better prepare for the threats and risks posed to our health and wellbeing have been key areas of work for the EEA this year. We sat down with three experts, Ine Vandecasteele, Aleksandra Kazmierczak and Eline Vanuytrecht, who have looked specifically at how we can improve our adaptation and build resilience in cities as well as identifying emerging climate health risks posed by floods, droughts and water quality.

Citizens across Europe are about to elect the new European Parliament and set the course for EU policies over the next five years. We asked Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) about the significance of these elections and environment and climate challenges ahead.

The EEA has just published the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), a major report that should help Europe address increasing risks from climate change. We interviewed our colleagues Julie Berckmans, Marianne Dons Tychsen and Hans-Martin Füssel who have worked closely on the report for the past two years.

Environmental degradation and climate change are impacting us all — our health, economy and society. To address growing challenges and impacts, Europe has set ambitious policies and targets. A stocktake of progress shows that full implementation of environment and climate policies, additional measures when necessary, and mainstreaming into other policy domains are needed to help the EU progress towards meeting its targets. Adequate finance will be key to unlocking faster progress.

The European Union and its Member States are increasingly putting focus on biomass and how it can support the transition towards a sustainable, climate-neutral economy. We interviewed Katarzyna Kowalczewska, EEA expert on agriculture and LULUCF integration, about EEA’s recent publication “The European Biomass Puzzle” and why the topic requires careful consideration from policymakers.

The European Union has made substantial progress in improving air quality by adopting and implementing policies and measures since the 1980s. Yet, air pollution continues to pose the greatest environmental risk to people’s health in Europe. This risk is even higher when combined with climate change impacts, such as extreme heat, affecting vulnerable groups, like the elderly and children the most.

Our health and well-being are significantly impacted by our local environment, and we are exposed to many different sources of environmental risks (e.g. various forms of pollution) in our daily lives. Measures such as reducing air and noise pollution and providing access to high quality green spaces are shown to have a positive influence on health, reducing the occurrence of pollution related illnesses and deaths and improving people’s quality of life. Two of the more significant environmental stressors on our health are exposure to air pollution and exposure to extreme temperatures.

From wildfires to disastrous floods across southern Europe, the summer of 2023 will be remembered by extreme weather. How prepared are we for such events and their impacts? Relentless heatwaves affecting millions of Europeans across the continent, wildfires and flash floods impacting many communities call for even more ambitious action to prepare a new reality while speeding up the transition towards sustainability.

The use of and public exposure to the synthetic chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), used in many plastic and metal food containers and other consumer products, is of growing concern to many people across Europe. We sat down with Magnus L ø fstedt, EEA expert on chemicals, environment and health to discuss the recently published EEA briefing on the risks posed by Bisphenol A.

Over a more than 26-year career with the European Environment Agency, Chris Steenmans, the head of the Data and Information Services programme, has played an instrumental role in shaping the trajectory of satellite-based environmental monitoring across Europe. We sat down to talk with him about his remarkable journey — from his early days as a consultant for an experimental land monitoring programme, to becoming a key figure in the Copernicus programme.

Clean water is critical for nature, and people’s health and well-being. It is also a crucial resource for many economic sectors. Due to over-exploitation and climate change, many areas in Europe increasingly suffer from water scarcity. At the same time, pollution puts additional pressure on this finite resource.

Air quality in Europe is improving. Yet polluted air still worsens health and causes preventable deaths, especially in cities. The good news is that cleaner solutions for transport, heating, industry and agriculture can help.

Noise is everywhere. From loud sirens to cars on the highway and planes overhead, noise is more widespread than ever in our lives. What many people may not know is that long-term exposure to traffic noise is a lot more than an annoyance — it harms both our physical and mental health.

Chemicals are everywhere. In fact, rocks, seas, air, plants, animals and us humans are made of chemical elements. The good news is that not all chemicals are toxic. The bad news is that some are. Fortunately, Europe has been working to reduce harm from the hazardous ones.

Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods in a changing climate are increasingly affecting our health and well-being. The EU is boosting climate mitigation and adaptation actions at national, city and municipality levels. Will these measures help us withstand weather extremes in the future?

Hazardous chemicals are all around us. Safer alternatives, chemicals in a circular economy, and how knowledge and regulation can help shape consumer and investor decisions were among the topics we covered with Jerker Ligthart of ChemSec, a Swedish NGO aimed to speed up the transition to a world free of hazardous chemicals.

Nature is the foundation of our health and well-being. It gives us clean air, water, food, materials and space for recreation. Spending time in nature is good for our mental health. And if we do not take care of the planet, its climate and ecosystems, we undermine how our societies function, worsen our lives and, perhaps most directly, harm our own well-being.

The EEA’s European environment and health atlas is a compilation of data and maps that showcase key information about environmental quality and risks across Europe. We interviewed Gerardo Sanchez, an EEA expert on the environment, health and well-being, about the Atlas and who can benefit from it.

Our new Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen joined the EEA on 1 June after extensive experience at national and European levels, working on a wide range of issues. We talked about her childhood fascination with nature and her studies to her rich career and hobbies.