Environmental taxes on aggregate materials in the EU: towards sustainable construction- June 27, 2008 Environmental taxes on construction materials can be a key element in achieving better sustainability in the construction sector, says a report presented today by the European Environment Agency. The study reviews taxation schemes for extractive activities in the Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom, focusing on a EUR 15.2 billion industry producing essential materials for the construction sector.http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/environmental-tax-on-aggregate-materials-in-the-eu-tow... WISE Large rivers and large lakes- June 27, 2008 Large rivers are rivers that have a catchment area large than 50,000 km2 or other rivers and tributaries that have a catchment area larger than 5,000 km2. Large lakes are lakes that have a surface area larger than 500 km2. The definitions are from the WISE GIS guidance document. The main purpose of the data sets is to provide a cartographic background. To have a visually uninterrupted hydrographic network the feature layers should be used in combination with Transitional waters. For more...http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservice/metadetails.asp?id=1042 WISE River basin districts (RBDs)- June 27, 2008 River Basin Districts (RBDs) are the main units for the management of river basins and have been delineated by Member States under Article 3 of the Water Framework Directive. The geographic area of some RBDs span more than one country (such as the Danube) and these are known as International RBDs. Others are contained completely within a country and are known as National RBDs. River basin districts are defined as the area of land and sea, made up of one or more neighbouring river basins...http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservice/metadetails.asp?id=1041 Effectiveness of environmental taxes and charges for managing sand, gravel and rock extraction in selected EU countries- June 26, 2008 Sand, gravel and rock, which are commonly known as aggregates, are relevant in terms of their contribution to economic progress and also the impact they have on the environment. Not only does extraction of aggregates alter the landscape they also affect groundwater reserves and the cultural assets of a region, hence an important factor to consider in EU policies.http://reports.eea.europa.eu/eea_report_2008_2 Greening European transport consumption: change user behaviour and set carbon targets- June 24, 2008 There must be a clear, ambitious target for cutting CO2 emissions from transport in Europe. Citizen behaviour, together with improved use of technologies, have a major role to play. These are just a few of the messages emerging from the seminar: Right on track - choosing the most eco-friendly transport option organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC) today at the European Environment Agency.http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/greening-european-transport-consumption-change-user-be... Climate change targets: 350 ppm and the EU two-degree target- June 23, 2008 The 350 ppm CO2 target is the focus of an international campaign announced today in several media by the Tllberg Forum. This is the follow-up to the objective proposed by the NASA Chief Scientist James Hansen and his colleagues to limit the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 ppm (parts per million). The goal is to avoid global climate change with potentially very large and irreversible effects on human society and the natural environment.http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/climate-change-targets-350-ppm-and-the-eu-2-degree-tar... EEA reports on progress in greenhouse gas emissions reductions in 2006- June 18, 2008 Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the European Union decreased slightly between 2005 and 2006 according to the official inventory report prepared by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Overall emissions within the EU-27 fell by 14 million tonnes (0.3 %) and now stand 7.7 % below 1990 levels. Total emissions in the European Union were slightly more than 5.1 billion tonnes in 2006.http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/eea-reports-on-progress-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-re... Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 1990 - 2006 and inventory report 2008- June 18, 2008 This report is the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. It presents greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2006 for EU-27, EU-15, individual Member States and economic sectors. Between 2005 and 2006 emissions within the EU-27 fell by 0.3 %, and now stand 7.7 % below 1990 levels. Emissions in the 15 pre-2004 Member States (EU-15) decreased by 0.8% and now stand 2.7%...http://reports.eea.europa.eu/technical_report_2008_6 Biodiversity indicators SEBI 2010 among the 'best ideas to save nature'- June 17, 2008 SEBI 2010 (Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators) has received an award from the Spanish magazine 'Red Life' and the Fundacin Caja Rural del Sur as 'one of 10 best ideas to save nature in 2008'. The European Environment Agency is coordinating this pan-European initiative to measure and help achieve progress towards the target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010.http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/biodiversity-indicators-sebi-2010-among-the-2018best-i... CITL viewer: the EU Emission Trading Scheme in numbers- June 10, 2008 The CITL viewer enables users to better assess the data on installations and emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, data which are contained in the Community Independent Transaction Log (CITL). The intention of the CITL viewer is to support governments, market players and other stakeholders in their assessment of the European Emissions Trading Scheme. The CITL viewer provides data by Member State, trading sector, installation size and year. Country groupings are available for...http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/viewdata/viewpub.asp?id=3529 |