The EEA’s Europe’s Environment report, published every five years, has been released, and its findings reinforce the central and crucial role of water for Europe’s security and competitiveness.
The alarming findings are not new: 30% of all EU territory is facing water stress, and nearly half of surface waters across Member-States failed to meet the quality standards on pollution, putting human health at risk. In addition, ecosystem degradation impacts financial stability. Water scarcity hampers supply and the viability of water-dependent industries, while floods and droughts bring considerable economic losses and added financial risks.
Increasing pressures on Europe’s water resources are pointed out as one of the top challenges and concerns for Europe’s environment. At the same time, the chances that the EU meets its own policy targets for 2030/2050 for increasing water resilience are partially on track, while Europe’s progress towards reducing water pollution by 2030 is largely off track.
Water is a central natural resource and a cross-cutting policy that affects all sectors of our societies and economies, from our health to food systems. Implementing the EU water legislation and mobilising the EU Water Resilience Strategy is the way forward to support the EU’s competitiveness side-by-side to other EU’s ambitions. The report shows:
- EUR 51.1 billion per year has been the cost of not having achieved the goals of the Water Framework Directive and of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
- An estimated annual investment gap up to 2030 is EUR 21 billion.
- The implementation of the Water Resilience Strategy can create almost 10 thousand jobs per year, only by scaling-up water saving technology across four industrial sectors
- Insufficient water data persists as an issue in Europe
The report highlights Europe’s leading role in clean technology, noting that the continent holds approximately 40% of all water-related patents worldwide. By closing the innovation gap and investing in the EU’s ecosystem for sustainable water management – particularly through the Water Resilience Strategy – there is a significant business opportunity for companies to develop and scale up water technologies.
In order to achieve a water-smart society and meet the EU’s policy targets for water ecosystems, the EU urgently needs to reduce water abstraction, improve water circularity and unlock water reuse, and enhance water retention. The multiple challenges ahead require stronger water management practices and the full implementation of the EU water acquis, namely of the UWWTD and the WFD.
See the full report here
