Archive:Sustainable development - natural resources
- Data from July 2009, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Database.
This article provides an overview of statistical data on sustainable development in the area of Glossary:Natural resources. They are based on the set of sustainable development indicators the European Union agreed upon for monitoring its sustainable development strategy. Together with similar indicators for other areas, they make up the report 'Sustainable development in the European Union - 2009 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy', which Eurostat draws up every two years to provide an objective statistical picture of progress towards the goals and objectives set by the EU sustainable development strategy and which underpins the European Commission’s report on its implementation. More detailed information on natural resources indicators, such as indicator relevance, definitions, methodological notes, background and potential linkages, can be found on page 149-171 of abovementioned publication.
The table below summarizes the state of affairs of in the area of natural resources. Quantitative rules applied consistently across indicators, and visualized through weather symbols, provide a relative assessment of whether Europe is moving in the right direction, and at a sufficient pace, given the objectives and targets defined in the strategy.
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Overview of main changes
Whilst there have been positive developments in the designation of protected areas and in water quality, the abundance and diversity of common birds, especially farmland birds, is lower than in the past, marine fish stocks are threatened, human activity continues to encroach on areas of semi-natural land, and little improvement has been seen in forest health.
Main statistical findings
Headline indicators
Abundance of common birds
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The EU index for all common birds has been relatively stable since 2000, but at a level substantially lower than in 1990. Farmland birds are, however, still in decline, albeit at a lower rate than over the previous decade
Despite a stabilisation in common bird populations, farmland birds continue to be in decline
The common bird index combines information on the diversity and abundance of common bird species. Apart from human impacts on habitats, bird populations fluctuate from year to year due to complex interactions with other species and environmental factors such as food supply and climatic conditions. Consequently, trends can only be derived from observations over a long period of time rather than from annual changes. Whilst the index for all common birds has shown only mild fluctuations since 2000, the population for farmland birds has shown an average decline of about 1.2 percentage points per year between 2000 and 2006. These trends are in contrast to the steeper declines which occurred between 1990 and 2000, when the farmland bird and common bird indices fell at average annual rates of 2.3 and 1.2 percentage points respectively. Evidence (19) suggests that intensive agricultural practices, such as the removal of grasslands and hedgerows, and pesticide and fertilizer use are a significant contributor to the decline in farmland birds.
Conservation of fish stocks
Between 2000 and 2006 the proportion of total fish catches taken from stocks outside safe biological limits more than doubled, rising from 10% to 21%
Fish stocks continue to be threatened by overfishing
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Despite temporary improvements in 2002 and 2005, 21 % of total fish catches in 2006 were from stocks outside safe biological limits, and catches of all categories of fish considerably exceeded sustainable levels of exploitation.
Prior to 2000, the proportion of total catch from stocks outside safe biological limits in EU-managed waters of the North-East Atlantic fluctuated at around 10 %. Large deviations from this level occurred in 2001 and 2003, driven by changes in the status of certain species whose catches were very high and, therefore, had a strong influence in the overall figures. These species were blue whiting (pelagic – open ocean stock) in 2001 as well as mackerel (pelagic) and sandeel (industrial stock) in 2003. Total catches taken from stocks outside safe biological limits moved closer to the previous 10 % level in 2005. However, due to a sharp increase in unsustainable catches, especially of pelagic and industrial fish, and the constant high value for demersal and benthic fish (living on or close to the sea bed), total fish catches from stocks outside safe biological limits again exceeded the 20 % mark in 2006. Fish stocks remain threatened by overfishing.
Biodiversity
Protected areas
Between 2003 and 2007 the area designated for nature conservation in the EU-15 grew steadily, reaching a level of 96% of that considered sufficient
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Four Member States have already achieved 100 % sufficiency and ten others are over 90% sufficient
The establishment of Natura 2000 sites is an important pillar of the EU’s efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity. The sufficiency of designated areas in the EU-15 rose steadily from 83 % in 2003 to 96 % in 2007. For EU-25, the sufficiency of designated areas rose from 82 % to 84 % between 2006 and 2007.
Although data for the EU as a whole are currently only available up to 2007, 2008 data are available for individual Member States. Whilst Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands had already achieved 100 % sufficiency by 2008 and a further ten Member States were over 90 % sufficient, Cyprus and Poland remained with 25 % and 17 % respectively. The largest increases from 2003 to 2008 have been in Germany (from 27 % to 99 %) and Sweden (from 74 % to 99 %).
Greenhouse gas intensity of energy consumption
Between 2000 and 2007 moderate progress was made in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy consumption The greenhouse gas intensity of energy consumption fell at a slower rate than during the 1990s
In the EU-27, the greenhouse gas intensity of energy consumption decreased by an average annual rate of about 0.6 % between 2000 and 2007, mainly due to the switching from solid fuels to gas and, to a lesser extent, to nuclear energy and renewable energies (see also indicator ‘Gross inland energy consumption’). However, the decrease was not as strong as in the 1990s when the emission intensity of energy consumption decreased by an annual average of 1.1 %.
Global surface average temperature
The global average temperature in 2008 was 0.7 °C higher than a century and a half ago
The global surface average temperature increased by 0.7 °C over the last century
The year 2008 was among the ten warmest on record since systematic instrumental measurements began in around 1850, although slightly cooler than previous years of this century.
According to the World Meteorological Organization statement on the status of the global climate in 2008, ‘since the beginning of the twentieth century, the global average surface temperature has risen by 0.74 °C, although this increase has not been continuous. The linear warming trend over the past 50 years (0.13 °C per decade) is nearly twice that for the past 100 years’. Nevertheless, there are indications that over the past decade the global temperature rise has slowed down [1].
The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) consider that ‘there is high agreement and much evidence that with current climate change mitigation policies and related sustainable development practices, global greenhouse gas emissions will continue to grow over the next few decades’. According to all of its scenarios, the IPCC projects that the rise in temperature over the 21st century will very likely be larger than the rise over the 20th century [2].
Energy
Energy dependency
EU-27 energy dependency has risen steeply since 2000 and the level of around 55 % in 2008 is significantly higher than during the 1990s
More than half of EU energy is imported
Energy dependency shows the extent to which an economy relies upon imports in order to meet its energy needs. Despite annual fluctuations, EU-27 dependency on imported energy remained rather constant throughout the 1990s, at a level of around 45 %. Since 2000, however, the level of dependency has grown, exceeding 50 % in 2004 and reaching a level of about 55 % (based on provisional data) in 2008. This represents a degree of dependence 10 percentage points higher than the average of the previous decade.
Apart from the growing demand for energy, the larger share of natural gas which is imported from outside the European Union and declining oil reserves in the North Sea have contributed to this development.
Gross inland energy consumption
The EU’s energy demand has grown moderately. Between 2000 and 2007 EU-27 energy consumption grew faster than in the previous decade, although since 2003 it has levelled off . There has been a general shift away from solid fuels towards natural gas and to some extent renewable energies
Energy consumption has grown since 2000 but has shown signs of stabilising over recent years. An overall shift away from solid fuels towards natural gas and renewable energies has taken place
Gross inland energy consumption presented an average annual growth of 0.7 % between 2000 and 2007, slightly higher than the rate of 0.4 % in the previous decade. However, since 2003 energy consumption has levelled off . Overall, there has been a shift away from solid fuels, which represented about 27 % of the total consumption in 1990 and only about 18 % in 2007. This shift has been predominantly in favour of natural gas, rising from 18 % to 24 % over the same period, and, to a lesser extent, nuclear energy (rising from 12 % to 13 %) and renewable energies (rising from 4 % to 8 %). The share of crude oil and petroleum products decreased slightly from 38 % in 1990 to 36 % in 2007.
The rise in energy demand of about 80 million tonnes of oil equivalent between 2000 and 2007 mainly involved an increase of about 40 million tonnes of oil equivalent of both natural gas and renewable energies. While solid fuels also increased by about 10 million tonnes of oil equivalent, this was compensated by a decrease in crude oil and petroleum products, and nuclear energy.
Electricity generation from renewables
The share of renewables in electricity production increased from 13.8 % in 2000 to 15.6 % in 2007 in the EU-27, but remains below the path to the 2010 target of 21 %
Capacity of renewable electricity generation needs to speed up to meet 2010 target
Between 2000 and 2007, the contribution of electricity from biomass, hydro, wind, geothermal and solar energy increased progressively, reaching 15.6 % in 2007. After a decline during the early years of the decade, the annual growth rate is now substantially higher than during the 1990s. Between 2006 and 2007 the share of renewables grew by 1.0 percentage point. However, reaching the 21 % share by 2010 would require almost double of this rate.
Relatively long lead times for power generation investments may partially explain the previous slow progress. Prices for renewable energies, which for some technologies remain higher than conventional power generation, may also contribute to limit the speed of growth. In addition, regulatory barriers, such as difficulties in obtaining planning permission or grid access, persist in many Member States (see Commission communication Renewable energy road map. Renewable energies in the 21st century: Building a more sustainable future, COM(2006) 848).
Consumption of biofuels in transport
Biofuels are a small but rapidly growing energy source for transport. Their consumption has shown accelerated growth since 2000 and reached a share of 2.6 % in 2007 in EU-27. However, despite this growth their share remains below the target path
If growth in biofuels continues, the targets will probably be met
Between 1990 and 2000 the EU-27 share of biofuels in the petrol and diesel consumption of transport increased from zero to 0.24 %. From 2000 to 2007 the growth rate has increased leading to a share of 2.6 % in 2007.
Even though in 2007 the share of biofuels remains well below the target path, the current rate of growth would be sufficient to reach the 5.75 % target by 2010 as well as the binding 10 % target by 2020.
Combined heat and power
The uptake of combined heat and power, or cogeneration, has increased between 2004 and 2007, reaching 10.9 % of gross electricity generation in the EU-27
Combined heat and power generation has increased moderately since 2004
Despite the small decrease in 2006, the share of combined heat and power in total EU-27 electricity generation rose by 0.4 percentage points between 2004 and 2007 to 10.9 %. Although a longer time series for EU-15 is also shown in Graph 17, these data should be treated with caution due to changes in the calculation methodology over time.
According to the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, several barriers prevent expansion of capacity. These include the lack of district heating networks in many areas.
Implicit tax rate on energy
The implicit tax rate on energy fell by about 4 % between 2000 and 2007. Although this decrease in the effective tax burden on energy is inconsistent with the EU objective to shift taxation from labour onto resource and energy use, there are also indications that taxation may have stimulated energy saving
The implicit tax rate on energy has fallen since 2000
The ratio of energy tax revenues to final energy consumption represents the effective tax burden on energy. The decreases in the implicit tax rate show a decline in the effective tax burden on energy relative to the potentially taxable base. This is not consistent with the Sustainable Development Strategy’s principle of shifting taxation from labour onto resource and energy consumption. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the previously high energy taxation has stimulated improvements in energy efficiency and has therefore helped to conserve energy. There has also been a greater reliance on policy instruments other than taxes, such as emissions trading. It is also true that energy taxes were reduced to compensate for the substantial rise in the oil price over recent years (see Taxation trends in the European Union, pp. 123-124).
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Sustainable development in the European Union - 2009 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy
- Energy, transport and environment indicators - Pocketbook, 2009
- Panorama of energy: Energy statistics to support EU policies and solutions - Statistical book, 2009
Database
- Indicators
- Climate Change and Energy
Dedicated section
Other information
- Commission communication, Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Renewable Energy Directive), COM(2009) 28
- Commission communication, 20 20 by 2020: Europe’s climate change opportunity, COM(2008) 30
- Commission communication, An energy policy for Europe, COM(2007) 1
- Commission communication Energy efficiency: delivering the 20 % target, COM(2008) 772
- Commission Staff Working Document, The renewable energy progress report, SEC(2009) 503
- Green Paper - A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy, European Commission, COM/2006/0105 final
- White paper - Adapting to climate change : towards a European framework for action, European Commission, COM/2009/0147 final
- Energy and environment report 2008, European Environment Agency, Report No 6/2008
- Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2008: Tracking progress towards Kyoto targets, European Environment Agency, Report No 5/2008
- International Energy Agency, World energy outlook 2009, IEA, Paris, 2009, in press
- Pachauri, R.K and Reisinger, A. (eds.), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, 2007
- Rummukainen, M. and Källén, E., New climate science 2006-2009. A brief review of research into the physical science basis of the climate change issue since IPCC AR4/WG I of 2007, The Commission on Sustainable Development, Stockholm, 2009
- Stern, N.H., The economics of climate change: the Stern review, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007*Directive 2009/28/EC of 23 April 2009on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources(Renewable Energy Directive)
External links
See also
- All articles on sustainable development indicators
- Climate change statistics
- Energy production and imports
Notes
- ↑ European Council, Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) - Renewed Strategy, op. cit., p. 3): ‘... promote sustainable consumption andfckLRproduction to break the link between economic growth and environmental degradation’.
- ↑ Pachauri, R.K and Reisinger, A. (eds.), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, 2007, pp.44-5.