Published: 22 Jul 2011
Climate change, growing consumption and
urbanisation, spiralling resource use and
new health risks are just some of the global
pressures the world will face in the 21st
Century. These are the findings from the
Assessment of Global Megatrends, launched
in November 2010 as part of the State and
Outlook of the European Environment Report
(SOER) and now published in a new book version.
Changing environmental politics
The pressures on the environment are becoming
increasingly interlinked and globalised,
requiring a new kind of environmental governance.
The EEA has also released a supporting background
report to the Global Megatrends assessment
entitled Global Governance: the Rise of
the Non-State Actors, which considers the
implications of this phenomenon.
It describes how non-state actors such as
multinational corporations (MNCs), non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and scientific organisations
are increasingly involved in global governance.
These relatively new actors are now take
part in formulating, negotiating and implementing
policy at local, regional and global levels.
Evidence of this change can be seen in the
number of NGOs holding advisory status to
the UN Economic and Social Council, which
has increased constantly from approximately
700 in 1992 to almost 3,200 now.
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
the EEA, said: “The involvement of NGOs
and other non-state actors in governance
has increased dramatically over the last
few decades. One of the main discussion
points at next year’s Rio 2012 sustainable
development summit will be environmental
governance, and we expect the model of multi-level,
multi-stakeholder governance pioneered within
the EU to be increasingly important globally.
“All kinds of organisations should be involved
in environmental protection, particularly
as environmental problems become more complex
and interlinked. However, this change in
the nature of governance also brings new
challenges, regarding the sources of evidence
used in policy-making.”
New challenges on
the horizon
Other highlights from the Global Megatrends
assessment include:
Resource shortages – the EU has identified
14 materials which may be critical over
the next 10 years, as resources within the
EU are limited. They include several which
are essential for hi-tech applications,
such as gallium (used in photovoltaics and
microchips), tantalum (microelectronic capacitors),
germanium (fibre glass cables) and neodymium
(high performance magnets). Another critical
element is phosphorus, which is needed for
manufacturing fertiliser. Many of these
materials are only found in a handful of
countries, potentially triggering political
disputes.
Human capital and quality of life– the populations
of most countries will age significantly
over coming years, demanding structural
societal responses, to adapt to changes
such as a shrinking workforce. Nonetheless,
many developing countries will have substantial
youth bulges in the short term. These demographic
differences across the world, combined with
growing economic and health disparities
and climate change, are an increasing driver
of migration.
Technology is changing
at an exponential rate, driving an “accelerating
race into the unknown”. Innovation is of
key importance for the environment, but
environmental and health risks need to be
regulated and managed appropriately. One
example of this change is reflected in the
growing number of patents in emerging economies.
In addition, the mass adoption of new technologies
is shortening. The telephone was invented
35 years before it was adopted by a quarter
of the US population. This period is becoming
shorter – the CD achieved the same widespread
use within 12 years, and the Internet only
seven years.
Pollution is no longer a local or regional
issue. Recently a plume of particulate matter-rich
pollution was detected over Europe, where
it had traveled from Asia across the Pacific,
North America and the North Atlantic in
only eight to 10 days. These atmospheric
‘brown clouds’ are predicted to increase,
particularly across Asia. Chemicals burden
to environment and human is rapidly expanding
with effects which are poorly understood.
These are some of the contributions from
the EEA towards the ongoing preparation
for the Rio 2012 global conference on sustainable
development, which will focus on the linked
aims of creating a green economy and global
environmental governance.
+ More
Water quality and wastewater
treatment — WISE interactive maps updated
Published: 25 Jul 2011
A series of maps on water quality, updated
with the latest information reported by
countries, has been published by the European
Environment Agency (EEA). The maps display
water quality parameters in various receiving
waters across Europe, alongside information
on urban wastewater treatment and receiving
areas sensitive to eutrophication.
The updated maps are useful for water professionals
who require a European overview of water
issues, or anyone with an interest in the
environmental issues affecting their local
river, lake or sea.
The new design is more compact and user
friendly, easily switching between different
pollutants for a given area. Four data viewers
have been updated:
transitional, coastal and marine waters
(TCM), which includes several maps showing
various parameters.
rivers and lakes, with a new function for
quickly shifting between maps for different
pollutants.
groundwater, with a new function allowing
users to get national-level overviews for
different years
urban waste water, including
more detailed designation criteria for sensitive
areas.
As part of the package, there is also an
updated and improved Geographic Information
System (GIS) reference layer for river basin
districts reporting under the Water Framework
Directive. This can be downloaded by other
organisations working in this area.
