Overview

• The assessment confirms a 37% drop in EU greenhouse-gas emissions since 1990, driven by lower fossil-fuel use and a doubling of renewables’ share since 2005.
• Nature remains widely degraded, with 81% of protected habitats in poor condition, 60–70% of soils degraded, and 62% of water bodies not in good ecological status, with up to 40% water savings deemed achievable through better management and technology.
• Climate and weather extremes caused more than 240,000 deaths in the EU between 1980 and 2023, and average annual economic losses were 2.5 times higher in 2020–2023 than in 2010–2019, including 2023 floods in Slovenia costing about 16% of GDP.
• Heat readiness is weak as many buildings are not designed for high temperatures, 19% of Europeans cannot keep homes comfortably cool, and only 21 of 38 countries have heat‑health action plans.
• EU countries recently approved a minimal 2035 emissions compromise and have not agreed on the Commission’s proposed 90% cut by 2040, prompting the AEE to call for stronger delivery of existing sustainability policies.