EEA annual survey highlights key environmental trends in Europe

The 2004 edition of the annual survey of environmental trends in the EEA's 31 member countries, EEA Signals 2004, was published on 1 June 2004. The report compiles the latest trends for key environmental indicators.

One of the main messages is the increasing economic burden of climate related disasters on the European economy. Figures have doubled in the 1990s and now amount to "10 billion euros per year and rising" according to conservative estimates from the agency. EEA Executive Director Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, says "this is money that could otherwise be spent in productive ways, for example to promote competitiveness and innovation, which are defining conditions for delivering sustainable economic growth".

McGlade says the key message in this year's report is the need to "make further progress in managing the environmental impacts of agriculture, transport and energy in particular, as well as influencing changes in consumer behaviour".

Highlighted issues include:

• Nitrate pollution from farming
• Air pollution in urban areas
• Waste generation, from packaging in particular

The EEA recommends making greater use of market-based instruments to incorporate the environmental costs of pollution into prices. It gives environmentally targeted subsidies as an example that could be applied to agriculture or to promote innovation on renewable energies.