The report published today by the European Environment Agency on the state of the European environment shows that Europe is making good progress in the area of environmental protection. Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks commented: "The report shows that European environmental protection policy is having an impact. We have already achieved a great deal over the past forty years and can serve as an example to others. The report however also shows that there is still a lot to be done."
Significant improvements have been made to air quality over the past decades. Nevertheless, the pollution of this essential asset, clean air, remains a serious problem in Europe and Germany. In 2011, 430,000 premature deaths in the EU were attributed to fine particulate matter. Air pollution doesn't stop at national borders.
Minister Hendricks commented "In many environmental areas we are still not doing enough to realise our vision for 2050 as laid down in the 7th Environment Action Programme: to live well within the planets ecological limits. We need to make further emission reductions to bring air quality into line with World Health Organization guidelines and to protect biodiversity and ecosystems. The report also makes it clear that we need to act swiftly. Today, we are already laying the foundations for life in the year 2050."
In the view of the European Environment Agency, we not only need specific and ambitious environmental policy measures, it is also crucial to incorporate environmental issues into other policy areas. A new, integrated environmental policy is the only way to drive the transformation of our society forward towards more sustainability. "The Federal Environment Ministry is actively involved in this process and is shaping environmental policy to be the driver of this fundamental change towards a socially ecological market economy and a sustainable society" highlighted Minister Hendricks.