European Environment Agency: "A Europe of Firsts: Environmental Achievements"
Read this article. From what you have read, how do you think that attitudes towards environmentalism have changed in Europe since the 1970s? Do you see a marked increase in environmental action from the 1970s onwards?
Introduction
In 35 years, EU’s environmental policy has made huge strides. Initially, policy focused on the development of a vast body of environmental legislation, dealing mostly with technical standards. Gradually, the spectrum of policy tools has broadened, with e.g. the introduction of the use of market-based instruments.
Environmental concerns are also increasingly being integrated into other policy areas, such as energy, agriculture and transport. This helps to prevent the problems at their source instead of using end-of-pipe solutions only.
Today, the EU sustainable development strategy provides the overarching long-term framework, aiming at synergies between economic, social and environmental goals. The EU has established environmental cooperation with its new eastern and southern European neighbours. It has taken environmental leadership globally.
European environmental protection legislation works, when it is fully implemented and enforced. Without it, our environment would look quite different. For instance:
- lead would still be being pumped into the air from much of our car fleet;
- chlorofluorocarbons would have further depleted the ozone layer;
- nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport would be 10 times higher;
- life in our rivers, lakes and estuaries would still be choked by effluent, not to mention the unsavoury prospect of bathing in coastal waters polluted by sewage;
- increasing swathes of land would be eaten up by expanding landfills for waste — waste incinerators would not be operating to such strict standards.
1950s
The immediate post-war decade sees the gradual development of the idea of a European Community. This culminates in the signing of the Rome Treaty, on 25 March 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) or ‘Common Market’.
The guiding principle is that people, goods and services should be able to move freely across borders. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are the six founding members.
The Cold War between East and West dominates political agendas globally and is set to do so for 40 years. We see the first nuclear power plants and accidents; yet the environmental movement has not emerged as a political force. Europe experiences a baby boom.
1950
9 May, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presents a plan for closer cooperation. 9 May is now celebrated as 'Europe Day'.
1951
Six countries — Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg — sign a treaty to cooperate in running their key heavy industries, i.e. coal and steel. In this way, the raw materials of war are brought under common management.
1952
The ‘Great London Smog’ episode kills thousands. It will lead the UK government to introduce the first Clean Air Act (1956).
1954
The first nuclear power plant grid started operations at Obninsk in the Soviet Union.
1957
‘The six’ extend their cooperation to other economic sectors. They sign the Treaty of Rome, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) or the ‘Common Market’.
1957
The first significant nuclear accident occurs in October at Windscale in northern England.
1958
The first reliable and continuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide begin at Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory. CO2 concentrations are found to be 315 parts per million and rising.
1960s
It is a time of prosperity and pop culture. The East–West divide is put sharply into focus by the building of the Berlin Wall.
In 1962 the publication of the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson alerts a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of pesticides. It sparks environmental awareness.
We see the first large oil spills from super tankers, but also the founding of the first international environmental Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) — the World Wildlife Fund. Nuclear proliferation and photos of Earth from space emphasise the consequences of technological achievements, as well as Earth's truly fragile place in the Universe.
1960
The EEC launches its Common Agricultural Policy. To date it still accounts for about 45 % of the EU budget.
1961
Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
1961
The Berlin Wall is built.
1961
The Antarctic Treaty comes into force. Its aim is to ensure scientific cooperation and to prevent Antarctica becoming the focus of international argument over ownership. 39 countries are signatories.
1961
World Wildlife Fund is founded, an international organisation for the conservation, research and restoration of the natural environment.
1962
The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson alerts a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of pesticides. It sparks the environmental movement.
1963
Signing of the Berne Accord, a transboundary cooperation to protect the River Rhine.
1967
The first supertanker accident, as the 'Torrey Canyon' runs aground between the Scilly Isles and Land's End in England. 120 000 tonnes of oil leaks, killing most of the marine life along the whole of the south coast of Britain and the Normandy shores of France.
1967
Directive on classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances.
1969
The Icelandic summer-spawning herring stock collapses as a result of high fishing pressure and deteriorating environmental conditions.
1969
American Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the Moon. Iconic images of the Earth as seen from space and the Moon enter world history.
1970s
This is the decade of the environmental movement, with the creation of the first green parties and the setting up of the first environment ministries in government.
The Club of Rome publishes The Limits to Growth, a book which stresses the importance of the environment, and the essential links with population and energy.
The first UN Conference on the Human Environment leads to the creation of the UN Environment Programme. The European Economic Community adopts its first Environment Action Programme, and starts developing a vast body of Community environmental legislation.
An oil price shock is sparked by the Arab–Israel war and triggers action on energy efficiency. An explosion near Seveso, Italy, releases a toxic cloud containing dioxin. The first World Climate Conference takes place. A panel on climate change set up by the National Academy of Sciences in USA advises that ‘A wait-and-see policy may mean waiting until it is too late’.
Membership of the EEC grows to nine with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
1970
The US Environmental Protection Agency is established.
1971
The international environmental organisation Greenpeace is founded in Vancouver, Canada.
1972
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment is held in Stockholm. This leads to the creation of government environment agencies and the UN Environment Programme.
1972
EU environmental policy was formally founded through the European Council declaration made in Paris in October 1972.
1972
The EU adopts its first Environment Action Programme, based on the ideas that prevention is better than cure and the ‘polluter pays’ principle. The first environment ministries are established.
1972
The Club of Rome publishes The Limits to Growth. It stresses, for the first time, the importance of the environment, and the essential links with population and energy.
1973
In January, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Community, bringing membership up to nine.
1973
A small Environment and Consumer Protection Service is set up and attached to the European Commission department for industrial policy and a Standing Committee on the Environment is created in the European Parliament.
1973
The Arab–Israeli war of October leads to an oil price shock and economic problems in Europe, sparking action on energy efficiency. Car-free Sundays are organised throughout Europe.
1974
Scientists suggest for the first time that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) may be causing a thinning of the ozone layer.
1975
The Community starts building its body of environmental legislation with the adoption of — among others — the Waste Framework Directive (1975), the Bathing Water Directive (1976) and the Birds Directive (1979).
1976
An explosion occurs on 10 July at a chemical plant near Seveso, north of Milan in Italy. A toxic cloud containing dioxin contaminates a densely populated area. In 1982, the Seveso Directive is issued to prevent major accidents with dangerous substances.
1978
Oil tanker Amoco Cadiz spills 68 million gallons off the coast of France.
1979
A partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in USA puts the future of nuclear energy in question.
1979
The first World Climate Conference takes place in February in Geneva, Switzerland. A panel on climate change set up by the National Academy of Sciences in USA advises that ‘A wait-and-see policy may mean waiting until it is too late’ to avoid significant climate changes.
1980s
Green parties, some of which had emerged in the early 1970s, start to make political breakthroughs. Following the advent of direct elections to the European Parliament, greens take their first elected seats there.
In 1986, an uncontrolled chain reaction in a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 80 miles north of Kiev, causes explosions which blow off the reactor's lid. It is one of the biggest industrial accidents of all time.
The International Panel on Climate Change is set up and the Montreal Protocol is adopted, regulating the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances. The Brundtland report defines sustainable development and outlines the changes in policy needed to achieve it.
The European Community expands to twelve Member States and regains momentum through the Single European Act, which devotes an entire section to environmental policy.
The European Commission establishes the first European-wide system for environmental data collection. This will later inspire the creation of the European Environment Agency.
1980+
The EU continues to build the main body of its environmental legislation with the adoption of key pieces of legislation such as the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (1985).
1980
The German Green Party is founded, and enters parliament for the first time in 1983.
1981
Greece becomes the 10th Member State of the EU, Spain and Portugal follow five years later.
1981
The European Commission creates its Environment Directorate-General.
1983
The UN appoints the World Commission on Environment and Development. It is chaired by Norwegian Prime-Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
1983
The UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution enters into force.
1985
The European Commission establishes the Corine programme (Coordination of Information on the Environment), the first European-wide system for environmental data collection. This will later inspire the creation of the European Environment Agency.
1985
First observation of an ozone hole over Antarctica.
1986
On 25 April, an uncontrolled chain reaction in a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 80 miles north of Kiev, blows off the reactor's lid. More than 31 workers die instantly and around 135 000 people are evacuated from the surrounding area. A plume of radioactive fall-out drifts over western Soviet Union, eastern and western Europe, and eastern North America.
1987
The Brundtland Commission’s report, Our Common Future, defines sustainable development as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
1987
The Single European Act incorporates environmental protection into the Treaty of Rome. The year is designated as the European Year of the Environment.
1987
The UN adopts the Montreal Protocol, which commits the signatory countries to phase out, by 2000, substances that deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere.
1988
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is established by the World Metereological Organisation and UNEP. Its aims are to review scientific research and provide governments with advice on climate problems.
1989
The collapse of communism across central and eastern Europe is symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall.
1990s
This is the decade of international commitments to sustainable development and of the consolidation of the importance of environmental information. The UN holds a summit on the environment and development in Rio de Janeiro. The Agenda 21 programme is adopted.
The European Environment Agency sets up office in Copenhagen. Its aim is to provide independent, reliable and comparable environmental information for decision-makers and the public.
The Aarhus Convention is a milestone in the push for access to environmental information.
The European Community becomes the European Union through the Maastricht Treaty, which also strengthens the role of the European Parliament in making environmental policy. Later, the EU adopts the Amsterdam Treaty, which states that environmental protection requirements are to be integrated into Community policies and activities.
Membership of the Union rises to 15 with the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, seen by many as pioneers in environmental policy.
1990
East and West Germany are united in October.
1990
A Council Regulation is issued establishing the European Environment Agency and theEuropean environment information and observation network (Eionet).
1990
The first report of the International Panel on Climate Change sparks the beginning of formal negotiations towards an international agreement on climate change.
1990 +
Adoption of, among others, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (1991), the Habitats Directive (1992), the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (1994), the Air Quality Framework Directive (1996), and the Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Directive (1996).
1991
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe initiates the Environment for Europeprocess with the first pan-European conference of environment ministers at Dobris, Prague.
1992
At the UN summit on the environment and development in Rio de Janeiro, the Agenda 21programme is adopted. The Community and its Member States sign the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biodiversity.
1992
The EU’s 5th Environment Action Programme puts integration of environment into other policy areas at its core, signalling a shift from purely regulatory measures to an emphasis on economic and fiscal measures.
1993
The Maastricht Treaty enters into force, creating the European Union.
1994
The European Environment Agency sets up office in Copenhagen in 1994. It aims to provide independent, reliable and comparable environmental information for decision-makers and the public.
1994
The first genetically modified food crop is released on the market. It remains a strongly controversial environmental issue.
1995
The EEA publishes its first pan-European state of the environment report, the ‘Dobris’ report.
1995
The EU gains three new Member States, Austria, Finland and Sweden, seen by many as pioneers in environmental policy.
1996
The EEA publishes its first report on environmental taxes.
1997
The Kyoto Protocol is adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December. It sets specific targets and deadlines to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
1998
EEA publishes Europe’s environment: the second assessment. It supports the fourth ministerial conference in Aarhus, Denmark, June 1998.
1998
The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the ‘Aarhus Convention’) is adopted at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the 'Environment for Europe' process.
1998
At a meeting in Cardiff, Europe’s leaders invite sectors such as agriculture, transport and energy to develop appropriate environmental strategies.
1999
The Amsterdam Treaty enters into force, requiring that environmental protection be integrated in the definition and implementation of Community policies and activities, with a view to promoting sustainable development.
1999
The EEA publishes Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century.
The Next 50 Years
Major environmental challenges remain. The unsustainable development of some key economic sectors is still the major barrier to further improvements.
- We face increasing urbanisation and land abandonment.
- Climate change is already here.
- Progress on energy demand management is slow.
- We are healthier, but exposure to pollutants remains.
- We are depleting our natural resources.
- We are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate.
- We are increasingly exporting our environmental impacts to other continents.
Technology still has a vast potential to reduce environmental impacts. European policy-makers are however coming to realise that widespread behavioural changes are required in order to move towards a sustainable society.
If we want to seriously address Europe’s sustainability, we need a long view, far beyond two or three legislative cycles. Climate change, globalisation and demographic change are just a few factors that will profoundly change the context of policy-making in the future.
We need to take the possibility of different outcomes into account when making strategic decisions.