The EU has achieved good progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) ‘Life below water’.
Overall, marine protected areas have increased and fishing activities in most of EU waters appear to have become more sustainable, thanks to the common fishery policy of the EU. Trends in ocean health, however, remain mixed. Some positive trends have been emerging for bathing water quality and the reduction of point-source and diffuse pollution through improved waste water treatment. Oceans, however, have continued to acidify as a result of increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere which come from the combustion of fossil fuels.
This SDG aims to conserve oceans by ensuring they are used sustainably. This includes safeguarding marine and coastal ecosystems, protecting at least 30% of coastal and marine areas, as well as preventing and reducing marine pollution and ocean acidification.
Monitoring SDG 14 in an EU context focuses on progress made in advancing marine conservation, in fostering sustainable fisheries and in ensuring healthy oceans.
You can read more in Eurostat’s publication ‘Sustainable development in the European Union — 2022 monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context’, which provides a statistical overview of progress towards the SDGs in the EU.
How is your country doing in this regard?
The various visualisation tools in our interactive publication ‘SDGs & me’ will help you to easily explore and evaluate the situation of your country and compare it to others.
Select your country in the header below and choose different indicators of SDG 14, such as the share of coastal bathing sites with excellent water quality or the surface of marine protected areas:
For more information:
- Sustainable development in the European Union - 2022 monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context
- Sustainable development in the European Union - Overview of progress towards the SDGs in an EU context
- Interactive publication "SDGs & me"
- Visualisation tool “SDG country overview”
- Statistics Explained articles on Sustainable development in the EU
- Dedicated section on the EU Sustainable development indicators
- Database on the EU Sustainable development indicators
- European Commission: SDG Policy Mapping tool
- Communication from the Commission: "Next steps for a sustainable European future – European action for sustainability"
- UN webpage dedicated to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
To contact us, please visit our User Support page.
For press queries, please contact our Media Support.