In most European countries and in the EU as a whole, waste generation is growing but at a slower pace than the economy. However, there are no signs that the overall objective of reducing the total generation of waste is close to being achieved, according to a European Environment Agency report published recently. The report’s … Continue reading New EEA reports show there are clear opportunities to decouple Europe’s waste generation from economic growth
Category: pollution
New EEA reports on key role of cities in Europe’s transition to sustainability
Most Europeans live in cities and cities are Europe’s economic, cultural, and political hubs. Cities face environmental and climate challenges but also hold keys to realise Europe’s sustainability ambitions. Two new assessments on urban sustainability, published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today, combine several environment and climate themes, calling for better integration of policies … Continue reading New EEA reports on key role of cities in Europe’s transition to sustainability
New EEA report on analysis of air quality in Europe
The vast majority of Europe’s urban population is exposed to levels of air pollutants above new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, according to an updated European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis on air quality in Europe released this week. Europe’s urban population remains at risk due to levels of air pollution known to damage health … Continue reading New EEA report on analysis of air quality in Europe
The chemicals sector has largely slipped under the radar when it comes to climate
The chemicals sector is quite complicated. Only about half of the fossil fuels that the industry consumes are burned for their energy. The rest is used as feedstock for products such as plastics with the emissions released only when these products reach the end of their lives, for example, when waste plastic packaging or an … Continue reading The chemicals sector has largely slipped under the radar when it comes to climate
New EEA report shows cleaner air could have saved significant number of lives in Europe
Air pollution continued to cause a significant burden of premature death and disease in Europe in 2019. A European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis, published this week, shows that improving air quality to the levels recently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) could prevent more than half of the premature deaths caused by exposure to … Continue reading New EEA report shows cleaner air could have saved significant number of lives in Europe
The global risks from toxic pollution and climate change are highly correlated and should be jointly analysed in order to inform and better target efforts to reduce or mitigate both risks
A news item on the Climate Adaptation Platform discusses a new study, demonstrating a strong correlation between toxic pollution risk and climate risk, along with varying capacities of countries to manage that risk. They explain that high-risk low-income countries that must urgently address governance challenges in order to have a chance at successfully addressing pollution … Continue reading The global risks from toxic pollution and climate change are highly correlated and should be jointly analysed in order to inform and better target efforts to reduce or mitigate both risks
Smart traffic lights could cut emissions by a quarter
Is this the future for better traffic flow in urban areas? Smart traffic lights are now being tested in Britain. Graeme Paton discusses latest developments in an article on The Times website. Smart traffic lights get green light for cutting emissions by a quarter A new generation of smart traffic lights could be introduced … Continue reading Smart traffic lights could cut emissions by a quarter
Leaded fuels, banned 20 years ago, still have impact on our environment
A study shows that 32-43% of the lead in the London air was originally from leaded fuels, banned 20 years ago. The concern is that most cities likely to be affected by the pollutant, which is particularly harmful to children’s brains. Damian Carrington discusses the issue in an article on The Guardian website. Legacy … Continue reading Leaded fuels, banned 20 years ago, still have impact on our environment
New EEA briefing analyses the pandemic’s effect on the use of certain single-use plastics products
The coronavirus pandemic has challenged European societies in many ways. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) briefing, published recently, analyses the pandemic’s effect on the use of certain single-use plastics products, which cause GHG and other emissions and can end up littering the environment. It also brings useful lessons to improve our response to future disruptive … Continue reading New EEA briefing analyses the pandemic’s effect on the use of certain single-use plastics products
What should we do with SUVs?
Tom Stacey, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Anglia Ruskin University discusses in an article on The Conversation website the problems we face with the growing popularity with SUVs following a new report that analyses the popularity of SUVs. This follows an earlier post on EiD showing that SUVs accounted for 42 … Continue reading What should we do with SUVs?
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 