Archive:The EU in the world - environment

Data extracted in March 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes per inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (for more information see figure 3 below)
^{The infographic shows EU‑28 as well as the two G20 members with the highest values and the two with the lowest values. Note that the size of the symbols does not show a precise representation of the underlying data values, but illustrates the highest and lowest values.}

Figure 1: Greenhouse gas emissions, development since 1990 (¹)
(million tonnes of CO₂-equivalents)
Source: Eurostat (env_air_gge) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Figure 2: Greenhouse gas emissions, analysis by sector (¹)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (env_air_gge) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Figure 3: Carbon dioxide emissions (¹)
(tonnes per inhabitant)
Source: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the World Bank (World Development Indicators)

Figure 4: Air pollution, 2013 (¹)
(ODS tonnes)
Source: the United Nations Environment Programme (Ozone Secretariat)

Figure 5: Environment related taxes, 2002 and 2012 (¹)
(% share of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (env_ac_tax) and OECD (Green growth)

Figure 6: Freshwater withdrawals (¹)
(m³ per inhabitant)
Source: the World Bank (World Development Indicators)

Table 1: Municipal waste, latest year
Source: Eurostat (env_wasmun) and OECD (Environment, Waste)

Figure 7: Municipal waste recycled (¹)
(% of treated waste)
Source: Eurostat (env_wasmun) and OECD (Environment, Waste)

Figure 8: Municipal waste generated, development since 1990 (¹)
(kg per inhabitant)
Source: Eurostat (env_wasmun) and OECD (Environment, Waste)

Figure 9: Terrestrial protected areas, 2000 and 2012
(% of surface area)
Source: the United Nations Environment Programme (World Conservation Monitoring Centre)

Figure 10: Marine protected areas, 2000 and 2012
(% of territorial waters)
Source: the United Nations Environment Programme (World Conservation Monitoring Centre)

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on Eurostat’s publication The EU in the world 2015.

The article focuses on environmental issues in the European Union (EU) and in the 15 non-EU members of the Group of Twenty (G20). It provides information on air emissions, freshwater resources, waste generation and treatment, and protected areas (habitats). It gives an insight into the state of the environment in the EU and in the major economies in the rest of the world, such as its counterparts in the so-called Triad — Japan and the United States — and the BRICS composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Main statistical findings

Air emissions

Data relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are collected under the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the UNFCCC: it was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. A total of 192 parties subsequently ratified the Protocol; the United States did not ratify it and Canada subsequently announced its withdrawal. Under the Protocol a list of industrialised and transition economies — referred to as Annex I parties — committed to targets for the reduction of six greenhouse gases or groups of gases, namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. The G20 members that are Annex I parties are listed separately in Figures 1 and 2 from those G20 members that are not. The EU is an Annex I party and was composed of 15 Member States at the time of adoption of the Protocol under which the EU agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 % during the period 2008–12 when compared with their 1990 levels. Among other environmental commitments, the EU-28 has subsequently committed to a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Between 1990 and 2012 the EU-28’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 19 %

Emissions of different greenhouse gases are converted to carbon dioxide equivalents based on their global warming potential to make it possible to compare and aggregate them. Total greenhouse gas emissions by Annex I parties in 2012 were 17.0 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, 10.6 % lower than the level in the base year (1990 for most parties). Between 1990 and 2012, Russia’s emissions fell by 32 %, while the emissions of the EU-28 fell by 19 % (see Figure 1). Turkey’s emissions more than doubled, while emissions also increased for Australia (31 %), Canada (18 %), Japan (9 %) and the United States (4 %). Among all of the G20 members, China (2005 data) had the most substantial level of greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 2 provides an analysis of the source of greenhouse gas emissions — note that the data for nearly all of the G20 members that are not Annex I parties relate to relatively distant reference years. While energy accounted for at least 70 % of all greenhouse gas emissions in the G20 members that are Annex I parties, this was not the case for some other G20 members where agriculture and waste often made relatively large contributions to the level of greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 3 provides an analysis of emission intensities of carbon dioxide for 2012. These intensities varied considerably between G20 members reflecting, among other factors, the structure of each economy (for example, the relative importance of heavy, traditional industries), the national energy mix (the share of low or zero-carbon technologies compared with the share of fossil fuels), heating and cooling needs and practices, and the propensity for motor vehicle use.

China’s production of ozone depleting substances was greater than the production of all other G20 members combined

The Gothenburg Protocol is one of several concluded under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution; it aims to control transboundary air pollution and associated health and environmental impacts, notably acidification, eutrophication and ozone pollution. Ozone depleting substances (ODS) contribute to ozone depletion in the Earth’s atmosphere. These substances are listed in the Montreal Protocol which is designed to phase out their production and consumption.

In the G20 members there has been a considerable reduction in the consumption of ODS in recent years. By 2013, the EU-28 had a negative consumption of ODS, indicating that exports and destruction of these substances were greater than the level of production plus imports (see Figure 4). Although only a fraction of what it was 10 years earlier, China’s consumption of ODS in 2013 was greater than the consumption in all other G20 members combined.

Environmental taxes

Turkey and Brazil had the highest revenue from environmental taxes relative to GDP

An environmental tax is one whose tax base is a physical unit (or a proxy of one) of something that has a proven, specific negative impact on the environment. Examples are taxes on energy, transport and pollution, with the first two dominating revenue raised through these taxes in nearly all countries. As well as raising revenue, environmental taxes may be used to influence the behaviour of producers or consumers.

In 2012, the EU-28 Member States raised EUR 330 billion of revenue from environmental taxes, equivalent to 2.42 % of GDP. Figure 5 compares the relative importance of environmental taxes between the G20 members and shows how these developed between 2002 and 2012. Among the G20 members, the highest revenue from environmental taxes, relative to GDP, was in Turkey and Brazil where these taxes were equivalent to 3 % to 4 % of GDP in 2012. The negative value for Mexico reflects the system used to stabilise motor fuel, which leads to subsidies when oil prices are high. Between 2002 and 2012, the ratio of environmental taxes to GDP fell in most G20 members, the exceptions being South Africa and China.

Water use and waste

Freshwater withdrawals refer to total water withdrawals, not counting evaporation losses from storage basins. Withdrawals also include water from desalination plants in countries where they are a significant source.

G20 members accounted for approximately two thirds of all freshwater withdrawals worldwide; India, China, the United States and the EU-28 together accounted for more than half. Relative to population size (see Figure 6), the United States had the highest annual freshwater withdrawals, its 1 513 m³ per inhabitant was far higher than the 976 m³ recorded in Australia which had the next highest withdrawals. Note that data are not available for Canada which probably also had high levels of freshwater withdrawals.

South Korea recycled more than half of its municipal waste

The management and disposal of waste can have serious environmental impacts, taking up space and potentially releasing pollution into the air, water or soil. Municipal waste is waste that is collected by or on behalf of municipalities, by public or private enterprises, which originated from households, commerce and trade, small businesses, office buildings and institutions (schools, hospitals, government buildings). Also included is waste from selected municipal services (such as park and garden maintenance and street cleaning services) if managed as waste. For areas not covered by a municipal waste collection scheme the amount of waste generated is estimated.

Landfilling is the final placement of waste into or onto the land in a controlled or uncontrolled way and covers both landfilling in internal sites (by the generator of the waste) and in external sites. Incinerating is the controlled combustion of waste with or without energy recovery. Recycling is any reprocessing of waste material in a production process that diverts it from the waste stream, except reuse as fuel. Both reprocessing as the same type of product and for different purposes should be included. Recycling at the place of generation should be excluded. Composting is a biological process that submits biodegradable waste to anaerobic or aerobic decomposition and that results in a product that is recovered and can be used to increase soil fertility.

Among the G20 members with data available (see Table 1), Japan reported the most frequent use of incineration to treat municipal waste and Mexico and Turkey the most frequent use of landfill. In South Korea, more than half of the municipal waste was recycled (see Figure 7), with the share in Australia (41 %) the next highest, followed by the EU-28 and the United States with shares just over one quarter.

The amount of municipal waste generated in 2012 ranged from 295 kg per inhabitant in Brazil to 407 kg per inhabitant in Turkey, with the EU-28, Russia, Australia and the United States above this range and China and Indonesia below it. Among the eight G20 members with data for 1990 and 2012, as shown in Figure 8, an analysis over time of the level of waste generated indicates decreases were recorded in South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States, and increases elsewhere, notably in Mexico and China.

Protected areas

In the EU-28 around 25.7 % of the surface area is designated as a protected area

Terrestrial and marine areas may be protected because of their ecological or cultural importance and they provide a habitat for plant and animal life. Protected areas are areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. Marine protected areas are any area of intertidal or sub tidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or the entire enclosed environment. Territorial waters extend at most 12 nautical miles (1 nautical mile is equal to 1 852 metres) from the baseline of a coast (normally the low-water line).

According to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme, in the EU-28 around 25.7 % of the surface area (land area and inland water bodies) was designated as a protected area as of 2012, along with 18.8 % of territorial waters (see Figures 9 and 10). Among the other G20 members, the largest shares of surface area that were protected were in Brazil and Saudi Arabia, with Brazil having the largest protected area in absolute terms (2.2 million km² in 2012). A large proportion of marine areas around the United States and Australia had protected status and these were also the largest protected marine areas in absolute size, each over 240 thousand km². Between 2000 and 2012, South Africa was the only G20 member to report a fall in the proportion of its surface area that was protected, with large increases (in percentage point terms) in Mexico, the EU-28 and Brazil. By contrast, South Africa recorded the largest percentage point increase in the share of its territorial waters that had protected status, with the EU-28 and Mexico also recording relatively high increases.

Data sources and availability

The statistical data in this article were extracted during March 2015.

The indicators are often compiled according to international — sometimes global — standards. Although most data are based on international concepts and definitions there may be certain discrepancies in the methods used to compile the data.

EU data

Most if not all of the indicators presented for the EU have been drawn from Eurobase, Eurostat’s online database. Eurobase is updated regularly, so there may be differences between data appearing in this article and data that is subsequently downloaded.

G20 members from the rest of the world

For the 15 non-EU G20 members, the data presented have been extracted from a range of international sources, namely the OECD, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the World Bank. For some of the indicators shown a range of international statistical sources are available, each with their own policies and practices concerning data management (for example, concerning data validation, correction of errors, estimation of missing data, and frequency of updating). In general, attempts have been made to use only one source for each indicator in order to provide a comparable analysis between the members.

Context

Dramatic events around the world frequently propel environmental issues into the mainstream news, from wide scale floods or forest fires to other extreme weather patterns, such as hurricanes. The world is confronted by many environmental challenges, for example tackling climate change, preserving nature and biodiversity, or promoting the sustainable use of natural resources. The inter-relationship between an economy and a society on one hand and their surrounding environment on the other hand is a factor for many of these challenges and underlies the interest in sustainable growth and development, with positive economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Air emission inventories (source: EEA) (env_air_ai), see:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (source: EEA) (env_air_gge)

Waste (env_was), see:

Waste streams (env_wasst)

Municipal waste (env_wasmun)

Environmental taxes (env_eta), see:

Environmental tax revenues (env_ac_tax)

Dedicated section

Environment

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Environment: tables and figures

External links

OECD

United Nations

World Bank

World DataBank