European Environment Agency

27/01/2026

The climate change bill is skyrocketing — but with bold adaptation now, Europe can protect lives, strengthen economies, and become climate resilient.

Worsening climate impacts could cut EU GDP by 7% by the end of the century. But Member States are responding, introducing national adaptation policies.

Learn more about Europe’s economic costs from climate change in from European Environment Agency:

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0rgtf30

26/01/2026

🔌☀️ On this International Day of Clean Energy, a reminder: clean energy must be fair energy.

Across Europe, many households still face energy poverty — not only because of rising temperatures or inefficient buildings, but also due to deeper social and structural factors.

Our insights show that:
💶 Income inequality leaves vulnerable groups struggling to cool poorly insulated homes during heatwaves.
🏠 Tenants often have little control over improving energy efficiency.
⚖️ Policies and subsidies can unintentionally favour homeowners able to co-finance upgrades.
📍 Rural and remote communities continue to face higher prices and limited access to renewable solutions.

As Europe accelerates its clean energy transition, addressing these disparities is essential for ensuring healthier homes, lower emissions and equal opportunities for all.

Clean energy must power everyone, everywhere.

23/01/2026

⏰ We are reaching the limits of what the Paris Agreement set out to avoid.

The latest data show that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are now very close to the level compatible with keeping global warming below 1.5 °C. In simple terms: the buffer is almost gone.

This does not mean 1.5 °C is already lost. But it does mean that every delay makes the task harder, more expensive and more disruptive — for people, economies and nature.

Rapid and sustained emission cuts are no longer a future ambition. They are a present-day necessity.
Find out more from our indicator: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations

22/01/2026

🌡️ How is affecting Europeans — and how prepared are we?

Join us online on 4 February for the launch of a new joint report by the EEA and that offers the first Europe-wide snapshot of how people and local authorities are experiencing climate impacts and building resilience.

🌍Across Europe, most people have already felt the effects of extreme weather — heatwaves, floods, storms — and many are highly concerned about future impacts. Yet the new report shows that preparedness remains limited, and resilience varies significantly between regions and population groups.

Drawing on insights from 27,000 respondents in the 2025 Eurofound e-survey, the report provides:

🔹 A unique look at Europeans’ lived experience of climate impacts.
🔹 Levels of concern and preparedness across countries and demographics.
🔹 The first EU-wide overview of resilience measures at household and local authority level.
🔹 Insights into which groups are most vulnerable — and why.

Speakers at event:
🎤 Mosky, Climate Change Consultant, European Climate and Health Observatory
🎤 Consolini, Research Officer, Eurofound

🔗 Participation is free — registration here is required: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/events/europeans-experience-of-living-with-climate-change?mtm_campaign=Event-4.2.26&mtm_source=SoMe

22/01/2026

🔍 As of 1 January, managing Europe’s major accidents data is part of the EEA’s role

From 1 January, the European Environment Agency is responsible for Europe’s Major Accidents Reporting System (eMARS).

The system covers major industrial accidents, as well as near misses and other relevant events, helping authorities and practitioners learn not only from accidents, but also from early warning signs.

This role includes:
• hosting and maintaining the EU-level database
• supporting consistent reporting across countries
• enabling analysis, learning and prevention

This responsibility comes in the year marking 50 years since the Seveso industrial accident, when a chemical release in northern Italy exposed thousands of people to dioxin. The disaster became a turning point for industrial safety in Europe and led to the Seveso legislation, which still underpins how major industrial risks are managed today.

Learning from accidents and near misses is not about the past. It is about preventing the next one.

Check out the platform for Major Accidents Reporting System (eMARS), hosted by the EEA: https://industry.eea.europa.eu/seveso/accidents

21/01/2026

📢 Today, the EU renews a key pillar of its sustainable finance architecture.

The European Commission has launched today the third mandate of the Platform on Sustainable Finance, strengthening the advisory work behind Europe’s sustainable finance framework.

The European Environment Agency is proud to be part of this platform, contributing environmental data, indicators and scientific assessments that help ensure sustainable finance is grounded in evidence.

As work continues on refining the EU Taxonomy and improving its usability, solid environmental knowledge is essential to guide financial flows towards activities that genuinely support Europe’s climate and environmental objectives.

This is where environmental science helps shape smarter financial decisions for Europe’s transition.

👇 Read more about it at the link in the comments.

20/01/2026

20/01/2026

💶 Climate resilience is not a cost. It is a competitiveness strategy.

Extreme weather already costs Europe €40–50 billion every year. Those losses will grow unless we act.

A new EEA briefing shows that making agriculture, energy and transport climate-resilient pays off:
• These sectors are among the most exposed to climate risks
• Targeted adaptation investments can avoid much higher future losses
• Every euro invested in resilience delivers multiple euros in economic benefits

Climate-proofing Europe’s economy is not about risk avoidance alone. It is about protecting productivity, safeguarding infrastructure, and strengthening long-term competitiveness in a warming world.

The evidence is clear: delaying action costs more than investing early.

🔗 Read more about the briefing: Making agriculture, energy and transport climate resilient: how much money is required and what will it deliver? https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/investing-in-climate-adaptation-strengthens-european-competitiveness

19/01/2026

🌍 What European cooperation looks like in practice

was launched at the end of September with a clear ambition: to provide a shared, evidence-based understanding of Europe’s environmental challenges and progress.

A key expression of that ambition is the country profile space.

These profiles bring together European-level data and national expertise to create comparable, country-specific snapshots of environmental, climate and socio-economic trends across EEA member and cooperating countries.

What they demonstrate:
🔹 Trust in shared data – using common EEA and Eurostat indicators
🔹 Respect for national perspectives – co-created with countries through Eionet
🔹 Strength in cooperation – learning from differences, grounded in evidence

This is European cooperation at its best: countries working together, speaking a common data language, while retaining their own voices.

15/01/2026

Social considerations must be at the heart of climate plans

As Europe moves towards sustainability, not everyone is affected equally. To ensure lasting and inclusive change, policymakers must:

⚖️Distribute costs and benefits fairly
🗣️Ensure meaningful participation in decision-making
🤝Respect and engage with diverse cultures and perspectives

Learn more about justice in sustainability transitions in
: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/europe-environment-2025/thematic-briefings/circular-economy-and-other-enablers-of-transformative-change/justice-in-sustainability-transitions

14/01/2026

It is getting hotter, and we can clearly see and feel it! 🌡️

Today, Copernicus ECMWF published data showing that global annual surface air temperatures are increasing, and that the last three years have been the warmest years ever recorded.

The impacts are clear. As a result of climate change and higher temperatures, we are experiencing more extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and wildfires. 🔥

In our flagship report last year, we devoted several thematic briefings to the impacts of climate change, as these impacts can be viewed through different lenses:

🔴Climate risks to the economy: understanding the economic costs of weather- and climate-related extremes and the potential economic losses as result

🔴Climate risks to society: looking into how European society is affected and how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities, disproportionately impacting vulnerable groups

🔴Governance of climate change mitigation and adaptation: focusing on how we can achieve climate resilience and which policies are in place

This development, marked by rising temperatures, is frightening. Yet it is crucial to recognise the urgency of the situation and to remember that human activity remains the dominant driver of the higher temperatures we are experiencing, and that we must act with full force.

ECMWF

13/01/2026

🌍The European Union has a long-term vision for Europeans to live well within , achieving a well-being economy where resources are used efficiently, and nothing is wasted. This vision is outlined in the 8th Environment Action Programme (EAP).

📅Join us on Friday, 23 January, for the presentation of the 2025 edition of the 8th Environment Action Programme (8th EAP) monitoring report.

💡In this webinar we will present the latest assessment of the EU’s progress toward its 2030 environmental and climate objectives, based on 28 headline indicators relating to , , and more...

Register here to receive access details and join the discussion: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/events/monitoring-europes-progress-towards-8th-eap-objectives-2025