Europe must step up efforts to protect the environment: report. September 30, 2025

Extreme weather is a growing challenge for Europe, the report said (Thibaud MORITZ/AFP)

By AFP – Agence France-Presse

Europe must step up efforts to protect the environment: report

By Camille BAS-WOHLERT

Europe is a world leader in the fight against climate change, but must do more to strengthen its resilience against global warming, the European Union’s environment agency warned on Monday.

While "significant progress" has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, the overall state of Europe’s environment is "not good," the European Environment Agency (EEA) said after compiling data from 38 countries.

Its director, Leena Yla-Mononen, told reporters in Brussels that biodiversity was declining "due to persistent pressures driven by unsustainable production and consumption patterns."

Water resources, likewise, were under "severe pressure," with one-third of the European population affected by water stress, she said.

The climate assessment, conducted every five years, comes after EU member states at a UN climate summit last week failed to present a 2035 plan to further cut greenhouse gases due to disagreements within the 27-nation bloc.

The EU has also been unable to reach a consensus on an ambitious European Commission proposal to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.

EU greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 37 percent since 1990, outpacing reductions by other major polluters such as China and the United States, thanks to reduced fossil-fuel use and a doubling of renewable energy capacity since 2005.

Scope to save water

But the EEA said EU countries must go further in implementing policies for greater sustainability already agreed under the European Green Deal.

Nature on the continent "continues to face degradation, overexploitation and biodiversity loss," the agency said.

Water, in particular, is becoming increasingly scarce, and land is overexploited.

Some 81 percent of protected habitats are in poor or bad condition, 60 to 70 percent of soils are degraded, and 62 percent of water bodies are not in good ecological condition, the report said.

Although climate change is worsening water scarcity, the EEA noted there is potential to save up to 40 percent of water used in agriculture, water supply, and energy production through better governance, technological innovation, water reuse, and public awareness.

Most buildings in Europe were not designed to withstand heat, the EEA warned, noting that 19 percent of Europeans are unable to maintain a comfortable temperature in their homes.

The frequency of extreme heatwaves is rising, yet only 21 of the EEA’s 38 member countries have health action plans for heatwaves, the agency said.

Financial toll

In general, extreme weather and climate events such as heatwaves, floods, landslides, and wildfires have caused over 240,000 deaths between 1980 and 2023 in the 27 EU countries, the report said.

And the financial toll of these events continues to rise.

In 2023, for example, flooding in Slovenia cost the equivalent of 16 percent of the country’s GDP.

The agency called on Europe to adapt.

"Sustainability is not a choice, it’s a question of when we do it," said Catherine Ganzleben, head of the EEA’s Sustainable and Fair Transitions unit, adding that "the costs of inaction will be higher" later on.

"We must act... before it is too late," said Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president of the European Commission in charge of the green transition.

"We must radically increase our efforts in climate resilience and adaptation," she added.

The report also stressed that preventing pollution saves lives by reducing deaths and illnesses.

Regarding air pollution, the number of deaths linked to fine particulate matter exposure has significantly decreased, dropping by 45 percent between 2005 and 2022.

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