EEA 2025 report shows reduction of emissions and air pollution, but more efforts needed

Brussels, 29 September 2025

Today, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) published its five-yearly State of Europe’s environment report showing that significant progress has been made over the last five years in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution.

However, more efforts are necessary as climate change and environmental degradation pose major risks to Europe’s economic prosperity and competitiveness, security and quality of life. As highlighted in the EEA report, Europe′s water resources are under severe pressure. Water stress currently affects 30% of Europe’s territory and 34% of the population. Therefore, implementation of EU policies and objectives as well as rethinking the links between our economy and the environment are crucial to ensure a healthy society and competitive economy.

The EEA science-based report underlines EU’s climate leadership with the continued reduction of its GHG emissions and fossil fuel use while remarkably increasing the share of renewables and enhancing energy efficiency. Indeed, the report shows that the EU has successfully cut its domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 37% since 1990. Good progresses were made among others in areas such as air quality, waste recycling, innovation, green employment and sustainable finance. As an example, according to the EEA report, EU policies to improve air quality have saved lives, with a 45% reduction in premature deaths attributable to fine particulate matter from 2005 to 2022.

Following the analysis of data from 38 countries, the report gives a clear call to action to continue restoring Europe’s nature, protecting biodiversity and cutting pollution as the overall state of Europe’s environment needs further improvement. Protecting natural resources, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and reducing pollution will contribute to Europe’s resilience. The European Union has been taking measures to address these challenges and continues its work towards a clean, sustainable and resilient continent staying the course to our climate and environmental goals.

Read the Report

Source: Europe’s environment 2025

EEA report on the State of Europe’s environment: Threats to nature and impacts of climate change top challenges

Copenhagen, 29 Septemper 2025

Significant progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, but the overall state of Europe’s environment is not good, especially its nature which continues to face degradation, overexploitation and biodiversity loss. The impacts of accelerating climate change are also an urgent challenge, according to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) most comprehensive, ‘state of environment’ report, published today. The outlook for most environmental trends is concerning and poses major risks to Europe’s economic prosperity, security and quality of life.

The report stresses that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness, which depends on natural resources. It adds that achieving climate neutrality by 2050 also hinges on better and responsible management of land, water and other resources. Protecting natural resources, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and reducing pollution will build the resilience of vital societal functions that depend on nature, such as food security, drinking water and flood defences.

The report urges stepping up implementation of policies and longer-term sustainability-enabling actions already agreed to under the European Green Deal. Such actions align with the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass priorities on innovation, decarbonisation and security.

Europe’s environment 2025 is the most comprehensive analysis on the current state and outlook for the continent’s environment, climate and sustainability, building on data from across 38 countries.

The report highlights the European Union is a world leader in climate efforts, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use while doubling the share of renewables since 2005. Good progress has also been made in improving air quality and increasing waste recycling and resource efficiency over the past 10-15 years. Progress on a range of factors that enable the shift towards sustainability – such as innovation, green employment and sustainable finance – also gives cause for hope.

Leena Ylä-Mononen, EEA Executive Director, said:

We cannot afford to lower our climate, environment and sustainability ambitions. Our state of environment report, co-created with 38 countries, clearly sets out the science-based knowledge and demonstrates why we need to act. In the European Union, we have the policies, the tools and the knowledge, and decades of experience in working together towards our sustainability goals. What we do today will shape our future.

Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, said:

This report is a stark reminder that Europe must stay the course and even accelerate our climate and environmental ambitions. Recent extreme weather events show how fragile our prosperity and security become when nature is degraded, and climate impacts intensify. Delaying or postponing our climate targets would only increase costs, deepen inequalities, and weaken our resilience. Protecting nature is not a cost. It is an investment in competitiveness, resilience and the well-being of our citizens. By scaling up action now, we can build a cleaner, fairer and more resilient Europe for future generations.

EU Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, said:

While progress has been made, the state of our environment is a clear call to action to continue to cut pollution, restore nature and protect biodiversity. We need to rethink the link between the environment and the economy and look at the protection of nature as an investment, not a cost. Healthy nature is the basis for a healthy society, a competitive economy and a resilient world, which is why the EU is committed to stay the course on our environmental commitments.

EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, said:

This report reinforces the urgent need for the EU to maintain its strong climate ambitions. As the fastest-warming continent, Europe has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of climate change – most recently through the severe forest fires that swept across the summer. The costs of inaction are enormous, and climate change poses a direct threat to our competitiveness. Staying the course is essential to safeguarding our economy.

Complex challenges ahead

Biodiversity is declining across terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems in Europe due to persistent pressures driven by unsustainable production and consumption patterns, demonstrated most notably in the food system. Looking ahead, the deterioration in the state of Europe’s biodiversity and ecosystems is expected to continue, with agreed policy objectives unlikely to be met by 2030, the report says.

Similarly, Europe’s water resources are under severe pressure, with water stress affecting one third of Europe’s population and territory. Maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, protecting watersheds and ensuring that groundwater resources are replenished is crucial to ensuring Europe’s future water resilience, the report says.

On climate change, Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet. The climate is changing at an alarming rate, threatening security, public health, ecosystems, infrastructure and the economy. The increasing frequency and magnitude of climate-related disasters, as well as the knowledge that the climate will continue to change even with the EU’s ambitious mitigation efforts, underscore the urgent need to adapt the European society and economy, while at the same time ensuring that no one is left behind.

These top challenges call for a need to rethink the links between our economy and the natural environment, land, water and natural resources, the report says. Only by restoring the natural environment in Europe will it be possible to maintain a competitive economy and a high quality of life for European citizens.

Scaling up and out

Transformative change to production and consumption systems — decarbonising the economy, shifting towards circularity, reducing pollution and exercising responsible stewardship of natural resources — is urgently required, the report says. EU policies, including the Green Deal, provide a clear pathway towards sustainability.

The report points specifically at efforts to restore habitats through nature-based solutions, which will build resilience and also help climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. It also emphasises the need to decarbonise key economic sectors, especially transport, and to address emissions from agriculture. Increasing circularity has the potential to reduce Europe’s dependency on imports of energy and critical raw materials. Further, investing in digital and green transition of European industry, Europe can enhance productivity and become a global leader in green innovation, developing technologies to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries like steel and cement.

Background

The EEA publishes a state of environment report every five years as mandated in its regulation. Europe’s environment 2025 is the 7th such report published by the EEA since 1995. It offers solid, science-based insights on how we must respond to the huge and complex challenges we face, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and air and water pollution.

The report has been prepared in close collaboration with the EEA’s European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet). The report draws on the vast expertise of Eionet’s leading experts and scientists in the environmental field, across the EEA’s 32 member countries and six cooperating countries.

Country press releases in EEA languages

^{*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.}

Source – EEA

Opening remarks by Executive Vice-President Ribera and Commissioner Roswall at the press conference on the ‘Europe’s environment 2025′ report

Brussels, 29 September 2025

“Check against delivery”

Executive Vice-President Ribera

Today we have the chance to learn a bit more about the state of the environment in Europe, the improvements and the challenges to preserve some of the very key basis of our health, our economy, our security and our welfare.

We, Europeans, are lucky. Since 1994 we count on the European Environment Agency and its very great network of professionals to follow, assess and report on a large number of key indicators that allow us to make sound decisions.

The first Executive-Director of the European Environment Agency, my very appreciated friend Domingo Jiménez Beltrán, used to say: ‘It is difficult to protect what you don’t know. It’s easy to give up if you don’t understand the consequences.’ How to communicate complicated data in a simpler manner or how important is not to make mistakes when deciding upon policies that may have a great impact on people?

The creation of the European Environment Agency was not the first relevant step towards a more resilient and greener Europe. The origin of the green agenda, back in the 80s, allowed us to connect green policies with the Single Market and inspired some of the most successful policies we feel proud of, such as the habitats regulation or the prevention of pollution in industrial sites. Green meant health and quality of life. And it is still the case.

Since then, the data improvement, the respect to knowledge and the public awareness and respect to knowledge have become key enablers for improvement of our European project, both in geopolitical and competitiveness terms. And the role of the European Environment Agency and its reports is one of the most relevant tools we can count on. Therefore, allow me to make an explicit recognition to all those that have made this possible along the years. The four Executive Directors: Domingo, Jacqueline, Hans and Leena together with their teams and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) members have been and still are one of our biggest assets.

These are times when competitiveness and innovation resound as music to our ears. Times when denial of science and facts and aggressive rejection to environmental rules appear with no shame. These are times to learn and understand, to fight for values and prosperity, to find out and defend loud and clear why our ecosystems and climate matter. These are the days to be together as the three of us stand this morning in this room.

Today’s report by the European Environment Agency captures the complexity of the challenges and delivers a simple but stark message: if Europe, its economy and way of life are to survive and thrive, we must act with vision, determination and unity, before it is too late. The climate and biodiversity crises feed off each other. The exacerbation of one worsens the other, in a vicious, destructive cycle. But this means that the solutions are also linked.

Ecosystems have an essential role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in adapting to climate change through nature-based solutions. Conserving and restoring our natural habitats can protect us against droughts, floods, wildfires and soil degradation. It helps us to mitigate climate change as well as to adapt to it. Nature protection and restoration are essential to ensure the long-term viability of our food systems and water resources.

The report is very clear – each of these steps is essential to securing the future of our communities, our economies and the generations to come. And Europe’s environment 2025 shows many of the answers that need. It provides a comprehensive picture of the environment, climate and sustainability in Europe, based on data from across 38 countries. It highlights important progress in climate change mitigation and recognises the EU as a world leader in this area.

Europe has cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduced fossil fuel use and doubled the share of renewables since 2005. Air quality has improved, while recycling and resource efficiency have risen steadily over the past 10-15 years. This progress, together with advances in innovation, green jobs and sustainable finance, show that the transition towards sustainability is under way.

It provides cause for hope. However, significant challenges remain. We must radically increase our efforts in climate resilience and adaptation, and in the application of nature-based solutions. Europe’s environment 2025 shows how the EU is well prepared in some areas, with important legislation in place, but calls for transformative action in others. This report makes an essential contribution at an important moment.

It is a blueprint for action, a guide to increasing our security and resilience, and a plan for a healthier, more sustainable future.

Thanks a lot.

EU Commissioner Roswall

Today’s report highlights the need for urgent, collective action to address some major challenges.

At the same time, it also confirms that strong policies deliver real impact – and that staying the course is essential. In our successes, we have the blueprint for action.

On climate, Europe is seeing clear and positive results. Greenhouse gas emissions are down by almost 40% since 1990. Renewable energy has grown by more than 100%. Business investments in clean energy are following the same trend. These gains are not accidental – they are the outcome of consistent EU climate policies. And they reinforce the importance of following through on our commitments to climate neutrality.

We are also seeing improvements in public health. Thanks to strong EU air quality legislation, air pollution is going down across much of the continent. It has resulted in nearly 50% less premature deaths. This shows that good environmental policy can directly improve lives – cleaner air means better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs. We need to continue on this path.

At the same time, chemical pollution remains a real concern. That is why we are supporting the transition of the chemical industry towards clean, sustainable and innovative solutions – including phasing out the most harmful chemicals. Many of the companies across Europe that I speak to want to take the lead on this. In the next days the Commission will adopt the restriction of PFAS in firefighting foams which is a big source of contamination.

As you know, citizens are increasingly exposed to PFAS in their blood. I myself am no exception. I just received the results on the PFAS blood test I took before summer. It shows that I am not free of PFAS and that some of the PFAS in my blood are toxic for reproductive health. This strengthens my resolve to take our work forward.

We know that 7 out of 10 businesses in Europe are highly dependent on at least one ecosystem. More than half of our global GDP depends on nature. So we need to stop and reverse biodiversity decline. The degradation of ecosystems is putting our resilience at risk. Implementation of the EU Nature Restoration law will help tackling this.

We also see from the report that a staggering 30% of Europe’s territory and 34% of the population are affected by water stress. With climate change, healthy rivers, wetlands and groundwater systems are more critical than ever – not just for nature, but for our food systems, our industries, and our future. Our European Water Resilience Strategy sets out a clear path for action, and we need to keep up momentum.

The good news is that business is increasingly aware. Europe’s innovators are developing new solutions every day. Today Europe is already a world leader in green innovation. European companies deliver about 40% of water patents and almost 30% of clean tech patents worldwide. But there are bottlenecks on our Single Market.

The circular economy is lagging behind. So we need to speed up and scale up. Our competitiveness, strategic independence and resilience depend on it. We have planned the Circular Economy Act for next year, but we are looking into whether we can accelerate certain parts and work is already ongoing – notably for plastics and chemical recycling.

Also the circular bioeconomy holds real potential – for innovation, competitiveness and sustainable growth, and we will leverage it with our upcoming bioeconomy strategy. There is so much potential in all the businesses I see in this sector. We have a real opportunity to create European lead markets

With the 35% target for climate and environmental spending, the proposed new MFF will provide strong public support, and we are crowding in private investors through our work on nature credits, for example. But we also need to do the transition in the simplest way possible, with less administrative burden for companies, while keeping our environmental goals. The transition must work for everybody. We have a full agenda to deliver on.

Thank you.

Source – EU Commission