Brussels, 24/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - Although much has been done to improve the quality of the environment in Europe, the Union is not yet home and dry if it hopes to achieve the environmental objectives it has set itself. According to the latest examination report of the environmental policy 2009, the seventh of its kind, which was published by the European Commission on 10 August, the fight against the loss of biodiversity is the Achilles heel of European performance, because “the EU is going to miss its target to halt the loss of biodiversity in 2010”, but the member states also have their work cut out to catch up in the development of renewable energy and reducing polluting emissions, mainly in urban areas where “the air quality is generally poor”, the report stresses. The most effective use of natural resources and the fight against climate change with a view to keeping the increase in the average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius remain major challenges.
According to Janez Potoènik, the commissioner for the environment, this report “shows that member states adopted and implemented a variety of environmental policy measures. It gives interesting examples of how environmental objectives can be integrated into other policy areas. Nevertheless, a number of data and trends remain worrying. I see a clear need to sustain the momentum for promoting green growth and for further EU and national policy measures to make Europe more resource efficient”. The review of environmental policy 2009 gives an overview of the data and recent trends in the EU and globally in the priority areas of action under the sixth Environmental Action Programme (nature and biodiversity, climate change, health and the environment, waste and natural resources. (A.N./transl.fl)