Overview

• Drawing on data from 38 countries, the assessment reports 81% of protected habitats in poor or very poor condition, 60–70% of soils degraded, and 62% of waters not in good ecological status.
• Europe is warming about twice as fast as the global average, with average annual losses from extreme weather in 2020–2023 roughly 2.5 times those in 2010–2019, including Slovenia’s 2023 floods costing 16% of GDP.
• The EEA identifies intensive agriculture and land use as dominant pressures on biodiversity and a major source of pollution for surface and groundwater.
• The report says policy, technology, water reuse and public awareness could cut water use in agriculture, public supply and energy by up to 40%.
• Long-term gains include EU greenhouse gases down about one-third since 1990 and a roughly 45% drop in fine-particulate-related premature deaths since 2005, even as political pushback has produced rollbacks such as Germany scrapping nutrient-accounting rules.