Chapter 11: Europe

Europe is characterized by strong environmental governance, particularly within the European Union, with successful implementations of climate policies, air quality monitoring, and water resource management. While the region is a leader in biodiversity conservation networks and waste regulation, it continues to face challenges including growing waste volumes, industrial waste legacies in Eastern Europe, and a lack of improvement in the overall conservation status of habitats and species.

• European countries, including those outside the EU, are generally on track to meet their Kyoto targets through a variety of measures such as carbon taxes, emissions trading schemes, and the stimulation of renewable energy systems.
• Air quality has improved across most of Europe, supported by the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution's monitoring network, though urban air quality and ecosystem degradation remain problematic.
• Water management in Europe utilizes integrated water resources management and river basin management plans to address transboundary river issues, though water pollution and overuse persist in some areas.
• Despite comprehensive legislation and the implementation of the REACH regulation for chemicals, waste volumes in Europe continue to increase, and Eastern Europe still deals with industrial waste from the socialist era.
• While Europe has established extensive protected area networks like Natura 2000, the general conservation status of species and habitats is not improving due to ongoing degradation.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2012). Chapter 11: Europe. https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-11-europe/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Chapter 11: Europe. 2012. https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-11-europe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Chapter 11: Europe |date=6 June 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-11-europe/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2012chapter, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Chapter 11: Europe}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/geo-5-chapter-11-europe/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }