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Abstract

I denna rapport undersöks hur medlemsstaterna förhåller sig till varandra när det gäller miljöprestanda och i vilken utsträckning skillnaderna i miljöframstegen har minskat sedan början av 2000-talet. Rapporten är frukten av ett samarbete mellan två EU-byråer: Eurofound, som bidragit med sin tekniska expertis i konvergensfrågor, och Europeiska miljöbyrån, som tillfört sin expertis i miljöfrågor på europeisk nivå. Rapporten utgår från tre analysnivåer: övergripande indikatorer, indikatorer på boendenivå och indikatorer på hushållsnivå.

För att utforska den mångbottnade frågan om miljörelaterad livskvalitet i EU undersöks de olika miljöindikatorerna genom en konvergensanalys. Resultaten tyder på att EU är på rätt väg för att bli koldioxidneutral, även om miljöanpassningen sker olika snabbt i olika medlemsstater. För merparten av indikatorerna kan en snabb och stabil förbättring av resultaten konstateras. Ett nämnvärt fynd är att de ekonomiska nedgångarna under de senaste två årtiondena haft en negativ inverkan på de undersökta indikatorerna på hushållsnivå, som främst rörde energifattigdom.

Key findings

Skillnaderna mellan medlemsstaterna har minskat och resultaten har förbättrats för många miljöindikatorer under de senaste två årtiondena. Insatserna bör inriktas på tre områden där divergens har upptäckts: bostadskvalitet, energifattigdom och kollektivtrafik.

Finanskrisen 2008–2013 hade en betydande negativ inverkan på indikatorerna på hushållsnivå som mäter energifattigdom och bostadskvalitet. Den efterföljande återhämtningen visar att vissa ekonomier har den motståndskraft som krävs.

Ojämlikheten är fortfarande stor när det gäller inkomstnivåer: låginkomsttagare har en radikalt sämre situation när det gäller kvaliteten på bostadsområden och bostäder. Förbättrade resultat inom indikatorer på boendenivå – exempelvis i fråga om föroreningar, återvinning och användning av kollektivtrafik – visar dock att kvaliteten i lokala boendemiljöer håller på att bli bättre.

För miljömålen på boende- och hushållsnivå kan det krävas strängare eller snabbare politiska åtgärder än dem som för närvarande vidtas. Det behövs både övergripande lösningar och anpassningar på lokal nivå, och de lokala och nationella myndigheter som arbetar med miljöanpassning skulle kunna följa den etablerade praxis som föreslås av medlemsstaterna och EU.

En diversifiering av EU:s energi- och materialanvändning genom åtgärder som främjar den cirkulära ekonomin och användningen av förnybar energi skulle påskynda den gröna omställningen, dämpa effekterna av framtida energi- och materialkriser och i synnerhet skydda låginkomsttagare.

The report contains the following lists of tables and figures.

List of tables

  • Table 1: Macro-level indicators of environmental performance
  • Table 2: Meso-level indicators of environmental performance
  • Table 3: Micro-level indicators of environmental performance
  • Table 4: Summary of convergence analysis of macro-level indicators
  • Table 5: Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption in 2005 and targets for and effective rates in 2020, EU Member States
  • Table 6: Summary of convergence analysis of meso-level indicators
  • Table 7: Summary of convergence analysis of meso-level indicators
  • Table 8: Correlation matrix of environmental and socioeconomic variables, EU27

List of figures

  • Figure 1: Conceptualisation of European environmental quality of life
  • Figure 2: Timeline of the EU environmental acquis
  • Figure 3: Sigma-convergence in net greenhouse gas emissions, EU27, 1990–2019
  • Figure 4: Net greenhouse gas emissions, EU Member States, 1990 and 2020
  • Figure 5: Sigma-convergence in years of life lost due to PM2.5 exposure, EU27, 2005–2019
  • Figure 6: Comparison of years of life lost due to PM2.5 exposure, EU Member States, 2005 and 2019
  • Figure 7: Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, EU27, 2004–2020 (%)
  • Figure 8: Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, EU Member States, 2008 and 2020 (%)
  • Figure 9: Delta-convergence in national targets for renewable energy, EU27, 2004–2020
  • Figure 10: Circular material use rate, EU27, 2010–2021 (%)
  • Figure 11: Sigma-convergence in circular material use rate, EU27, 2010–2021 (%)
  • Figure 12: Share of population reporting pollution, grime or other environmental problems, for total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2020 (%)
  • Figure 13: Share of population reporting pollution, grime or other environmental problems, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU Member States, 2020 (%)
  • Figure 14: Share of population reporting pollution, grime or other environmental problems, by degree of urbanisation, EU Member States, 2020 (%)
  • Figure 15: Recycling rate of municipal waste, EU27, 2008–2021 (%)
  • Figure 16: Sigma-convergence in the recycling rate of municipal waste, EU27, 2008–2021
  • Figure 17: Sigma-convergence in the share of buses and trains in inland passenger transport, 2008–2020, EU27
  • Figure 18: Share of buses and trains in inland passenger transport, EU27, 2000–2020 (%)
  • Figure 19: Changes in the share of buses and trains in inland passenger transport during the COVID-19 pandemic, EU Member States, 2019 and 2020 (%)
  • Figure 20: Sigma-convergence in the share of the population experiencing noise pollution, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2020
  • Figure 21: Share of households experiencing noise pollution, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2020 (%)
  • Figure 22: Share of households experiencing noise pollution, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU Member States, 2020 (%)
  • Figure 23: Sigma-convergence in population living in dwellings with damp, leaks or rot, EU27, 2009–2020 (%)
  • Figure 24: Share of the population living in dwellings with damp, leaks or rot, EU Member States, 2009 and 2020 (%)
  • Figure 25: Share of the population living in dwellings with damp, leaks or rot, EU Member States, 2019 and 2020 (%)
  • Figure 26: Sigma-convergence in the share of the population living in dwellings with damp, leaks or rot, EU27 without Cyprus, 2009–2020
  • Figure 27: Sigma-convergence in share of households in arrears on utility bills, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2021 (%)
  • Figure 28: Share of households reporting arrears on utility bills, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2021 (%)
  • Figure 29: Share of population in arrears on utility bills, EU Member States, 2008, 2019 and 2021 (%)
  • Figure 30: Sigma-convergence in the share of the population unable to keep home adequately warm, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2005–2021
  • Figure 31: Share of the population unable to keep home adequately warm, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU27, 2008–2021 (%)
  • Figure 32: Inequalities in the population unable to keep home adequately warm in 2021, by total population and population at risk of poverty, EU Member States (%)
  • Figure 33: Correlation between years of life lost due to air pollution and mean and median income, EU27, 2005–2019
  • Figure 34: Correlation between the share of the population experiencing noise pollution and mean and median income, EU27, 2003–2020
  • Figure 35: Correlation between the share of the population experiencing noise pollution and educational attainment, EU27, 2003–2020
  • Figure 36: Correlation between circular material use rate and income and GDP, EU27, 2008–2019
  • Figure 37: Correlation between municipal recycling rate and income and GDP, EU27, 2004–2020
  • Figure 38: Correlation between the share of the population living in dwellings with no indoor toilet or shower and mean and median income and GDP per capita, 2009–2020, EU27
  • Figure 39: Correlation between the share of the population living in dwellings with damp, leaks or rot and educational attainment and employment rate, EU27, 2009–2020
  • Figure 40: Correlation between the share of population in arrears on utility bills and the AROPE or NEET share of the population, EU27, 2015–2021
  • Figure 41: Correlation between the share of the population unable to heat their home adequately and mean and median income and GDP per capita, EU27, 2005–2021
Number of pages
80
Reference nº
EF23022
ISBN
978-92-897-2345-9
Catalogue nº
TJ-04-23-785-EN-N
DOI
10.2806/576287
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