A recent study has highlighted the potential of one form of solar power, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), to make a significant contribution to meeting future electricity demands from renewable sources in Europe.

A new study provides an approach for estimating the risk of antibiotic contamination associated with different soils and different antimicrobial products. The researchers estimated and mapped soil contamination risk across Europe and suggest that their methods could be used to inform antibiotic resistance monitoring or policies designed to reduce contamination.

Climate change will affect the spread and risk of many infectious diseases in Europe, according to a recent survey of leading health experts. The results suggest that more needs to be done to prepare for the expected changes in infectious disease levels, such as improved monitoring of disease.

Production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) decreased by 5% within the EU in 2011, compared with 2010, when measured in absolute, metric tonnes, according to a recent report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Imports and sales of these powerful greenhouse gases (GHGs) also fell, by 6% and 12% respectively, but exports rose by 5%.

The impact of climate change on the distribution of tree species is likely to have economic implications for the timber industry. A new study has estimated that climate-induced shifts in range could reduce the value of European forest land for the timber industry by between 14 and 50% by 2100. At the higher end of this estimate, this could equate to a potential loss of several hundred billions of euros.

Harmful algal blooms may become more common in north western European waters as a result of climate change, according to a new study. The researchers predicted that by the end of this century blooms of two groups of algal species will occur over larger areas and for longer periods every year.

Higher temperatures being brought about by global warming are increasing methane emissions from the extensive northern European peatlands, a recent study has found. The researchers also say that future estimations of greenhouse gas emissions can be improved via better land-cover classification — i.e. determining how much peatland is fenland or bogland.

Waves hitting Europe’s Atlantic coast during the winter of 2013–2014 were the most powerful in nearly 70 years, reports a new study. They caused significant coastal erosion and the study found examples of beaches which are now several metres lower. The study’s authors say that coastal planners should consider increasingly stormy conditions in the north-east Atlantic, as predicted by some climate change models.

Researchers have modelled the exposure to multiple hazards across different regions of Europe in relation to heat, cold, drought, wildfire, flooding and wind. The study indicated that, over the next century, environmental hazards are likely to increase, particularly along coastlines and on floodplains, and that south-western Europe is likely to be the worst-hit region.

A new study has assessed the vulnerability of 571 European cities to heatwaves, droughts and flooding caused by climate change. The causes of vulnerability differ across Europe and the researchers say the results could be used to design policies to mitigate the impacts.

Globally, up to 27% of all steel and 33% of all aluminium could potentially be reused, according to research. Significant barriers to reuse, such as component incompatibility between products and metal corrosion, must first be addressed if these reuse figures are to be achieved.

Increasing resource efficiency is a central aim of European environmental policy, and effective waste management must play a key role in this. A new report assesses waste management in 32 European countries, and identifies key lessons. Landfill taxes and mandatory separate collections of different waste types are highlighted as particularly successful policy instruments.

Recycled waste material could play a major role in the construction of roads in Europe, bringing both environmental and economic benefits. A new study proposes a scenario where 50% of the asphalt for Europe’s roads consists of recycled materials, leading to significant reductions in costs, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The EU-27 have committed to a strategic goal of developing an innovative economy based on biotechnology and renewable resources — a so-called ‘bioeconomy’. To achieve this, however, the EU must successfully mobilise resources such as residual biomass — or waste products from organic matter resources. A new study1 has quantified the potential of key residual biomass streams in the EU-27. The results show that residual biomass has a theoretical energy potential equivalent to the annual energy consumption of Italy and Belgium combined, with straw and forestry residues comprising the two most productive potential sources. The findings also reveal specific opportunities for regions including Paris (France) and Jaen (south-central Spain).

Satellite observations are valuable aids to detect and monitor fire activity. A recent study has investigated how satellite images of fire activity, together with information on vegetation cover and fire risk associated with long and short-term atmospheric conditions could be used to help authorities better manage the risk of wildfires in Mediterranean Europe.

However, policies designed to improve ecosystem resilience have met with less success, potentially due to the longer timescales required to see progress in this area. The report concludes that Europe needs new policies and objectives that recognise the links between resource efficiency and ecosystem resilience if it is to move to a sustainable green economy.

Researchers have developed a new approach for identifying regions that are most suitable for expanding ecosystem services. This could be used to help inform spatial planning decisions. By modelling ecosystem services’ opportunity costs in relation to agricultural revenue, the study provides a map of suitable areas of ecosystem service expansion in Eastern Europe.

While energy-efficiency gains are needed to lower Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon technologies are also crucial if we are to meet ambitious EU emissions targets in the long term, new comparative research concludes.

Emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have fallen significantly across Europe since 1960. According to recent research, this is caused by a combination of factors including improved energy efficiency, a changing fuel mix and specific emission control measures. At the same time CO₂ emissions have only increased moderately, mainly due to improvements in energy efficiency.

Seagrass meadows are worth around €78 million every year to commercial fishing in the Mediterranean, a new study estimates. Their annual value to recreational fishing is even bigger, at an estimated €112 million. The researchers say that marine policies should consider the socioeconomic effects of the loss of seagrass, which provides habitat for many fishery species.

Ocean acidification threatens marine ecosystems worldwide, but economic assessments of its impact are lacking. A recent study has predicted the future cost of ocean acidification on mollusc production in Europe and showed that the highest economic impacts would be in France, Italy and Spain. For Europe overall, the annual damage could be in the region of €0.9 billion by 2100.

A new study has estimated how changes to climate might affect the value of European farmland. Based on data for over 41 000 farms, the results suggest that their economic value could drop by up to 32%, depending on the climate scenario considered. Farms in southern Europe are particularly sensitive to climate change and could suffer value losses of up to 9% per 1 °C rise. The researchers say policy, on water and land use, for example, will be crucial to help farmers adapt to climate change and mitigate economic losses.

An inventory of carbon footprints has been developed for 177 regions across 27 EU Member States. The map is the first to quantify greenhouse gas emissions associated with household consumption across the EU. It reveals significant regional differences based on income, household size and urban versus rural living.

A new report indicates that some progress has been made towards meeting key sustainable transport targets, but challenges remain. Improvements in passenger vehicle efficiency has led to reductions in emissions, however, reductions in oil consumption are not sufficient to meet targets, with more policy initiatives and continued monitoring needed to ensure that sustainability goals are achieved.

Different European regions have very different diets and environmental conditions, meaning their water consumption varies widely. Despite this, switching to vegetarian diets in keeping with regional variation would substantially reduce water consumption in all areas, a new study concludes. Where people choose to eat meat, adopting a healthy diet low in oils and sugar will also reduce water consumption, although to a lesser degree.

Around 40% of the platinum used in EU catalytic converters is not recovered for recycling and is therefore ‘lost’ forever, indicates a new study. A more circular economy for platinum is essential to reduce imports of this critical raw material to the EU and minimise its damaging effects on the environment, the researchers argue. Better collection systems for end-of-life catalytic converters and tighter regulation of waste exports could help close the loop on platinum.

Rippon, Gina, author

A recent study has assessed how climate change could affect the impact of European insect pests on forests to help develop effective forest protection strategies. Changing temperatures may cause some populations of insects to grow or move into new regions of Europe.

A new study suggests that, although the global terrestrial carbon sink remained relatively stable from 1990 to 2007, the effects of tropical forests were virtually neutral because CO2 emissions from deforestation offset their carbon sink.

The impact of climate change on the distribution of tree species is likely to have economic implications for the timber industry. A new study has estimated that climate-induced shifts in range could reduce the value of European forest land for the timber industry by between 14 and 50% by 2100. At the higher end of this estimate, this could equate to a potential loss of several hundred billions of euros.

Illegal timber imports into the EU were between 8 and 18 million m³ in 2009, representing 6-13% of total imports, new research suggests. Although figures for illegal logging are associated with high uncertainties, the authors claim that these figures provide the best available estimates for policy and decision makers.

The North American pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a pest worm species that causes a disease known as pine wilt. It was discovered for the first time in the EU in Portuguese forests in 1999. Today, the entire territory of Portugal is demarcated for the presence of PWN, with a 20 km buffer zone, free from the pest, established along the Spanish border with the aim of preventing its further spread. The spread and establishment of PWN in the rest of EU territory is very likely if no strict measures are taken, as required by Decision 2012/535/EU of the European Commission, with serious economic and environmental consequences. To date, Spain has experienced five outbreaks of PWN, three of which have been successfully eradicated thanks to the EU measures and the effective work of the Spanish forest administration; and two outbreaks are currently being eradicated.

A new EC-commissioned study makes ten key policy recommendations for improving Europe’s competitive position within the eco-industries. As well as harmonising regulation and standards across Europe, the report recommends providing funding and skills development schemes specifically for the sector.

A new study provides a 'snapshot' of the environmental skills programmes available across different industries in EU Member States. The study highlights the importance of partnerships – between public and private sector, and between different industry sectors – in ensuring the European workforce acquires the necessary skills to make the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.

For a new green economy to be successful, governments should support the development of green skills in the labour market, according to a new report. This could be achieved by improving or adding to the existing core skills of workers, whilst mainstreaming environmental awareness into education and training.

New research has investigated how successfully two recently implemented EU directives embracing sustainability principles have been integrated into policies. Findings indicate that practices vary a great deal between Member States with trade-offs between different aspects of sustainability, and that no single type of governance guarantees an optimum level of integration.

Each person in the EU consumes the equivalent of 30% more global arable land than can be considered sustainable, according to a new study. As well as providing food for a growing population, the land is also increasingly used to grow biofuel crops.

A recent study recommends a new approach to classifying Europe’s rural landscapes that accounts for their diversity and provides better consistency across EU rural policies. This framework can be used to analyse past and present trends in landscapes, and to make future projections.

There has been a mixed response to Local Agenda 21 (LA21) across Europe, but a new study from the Basque Country in Spain has identified factors that contribute to a successful LA21 strategy. These are a local entrepreneurial presence, joint problem-solving and joint decision-making by local government members.

Regional governments lack the support required to meet EU-wide targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in the building, transportation, agriculture and waste sectors, according to a new study. The researchers outline a five-step process to help regional governments develop indicators and policy measures to help ensure national targets are met.

Researchers have recently compared strategies to limit urban sprawl in four European city regions. The ‘compact city’ concept in spatial planning is used to improve sustainability, but there can be trade-offs, especially between environmental and social aspects of sustainability, which vary according to the planning strategy used.

EU integration may have led to more sustainable consumption patterns in new Member States (NMS) during 1995-2007, according to researchers from Lithuania. Their study indicates that, during this period in new Member States, a smaller share of household expenditure was spent on ‘essential’, but more environmentally-damaging items, such as food, drink and housing, and a larger share on ‘luxurious’, but less environmentally damaging, items.

There are adequate resources to implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in Europe, a recent study concludes. However, more clarity is needed on the roles of different institutions at EU, regional and national levels in implementing the Directive.

Policy efforts to decrease energy consumption by improving efficiency may be lessened by rebound effects. New research on household energy consumption indicates just under half EU countries (plus Norway) have rebound effects above 50%, and six are over 100% which means the efforts to increase efficiency backfire, i.e. they increase, rather than reduce, overall household energy consumption. There is a need to think critically about a policy response to the rebound effect and gain a better understanding of why it occurs.

Environmental changes in the future, such as an increase in floods, land degradation and drought could result in changes in migration patterns in Europe, researchers write in a recent analysis. It is difficult to predict these exact migration patterns, however, as they are determined by a complex interplay of economic, political and social factors with environmental change, as well as adaptive capacity.

Recycling of excess heat, via ‘district heating’, has the potential to improve energy efficiency in Europe. This study mapped excess heat and demands for heat in EU27 Member States to identify regions suitable for the large-scale implementation of district heating. The authors identified 63 ‘heat synergy regions’, generally large urban zones, which generated almost half of all excess heat generated in the EU27.

Following rapid urbanisation, management of contaminated soil has become a political priority in China. In this study, researchers reviewed the current system in China as compared to Europe and provide recommendations for the sustainable management of soil.

Climate change objectives are now featured in a wide range of policies, including the European Rural Development Programme, which promotes sustainable agricultural interventions. This study describes the net greenhouse gas emissions for these interventions across Europe. The findings could help policymakers to better meet multiple social, economic and environmental objectives, although the authors say a broader perspective may be needed to determine the overall benefit of interventions.

The top 10 environmental priorities for EU inland ports have been identified in a recent survey. A port’s relationship with the local community was the top environmental issue, followed by concerns over air and water quality. The survey provides the first benchmark of the environmental performance of inland ports, against which progress in their environmental management can be measured in the future.

A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of efforts to combat environmental crime in the EU has been recently conducted. It highlights a number of opportunities for improvement, including better crime data gathering across the EU and enhanced cooperation between Member States.