| Author (Person) | Banks, Martin |
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| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.20, 3.6.04 |
| Publication Date | 03/06/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Martin Banks Date: 03/06/04 THE costs of environmental disasters in Europe are running at around €10 billion per year and rising yet the EU is failing to manage agriculture, transport and energy in a sustainable way, the European Environment Agency (EEA) states in a new report. After last year's hot summer claimed thousands of lives, the price of neglecting the environment should be uppermost in people's minds, it says. Low flows were recorded in the Danube, Rhine and other major rivers and forest fires in Portugal killed many and cost some €700 million, according to the EEA. In its report, Signals 2004, the agency calls for more use of market-based instruments to change behaviour. But, despite efforts by the EU to reduce waste from excess packaging, it has continued to increase. On renewable energy, the UK fares particularly poorly, coming 20th. Only Poland, Belgium, Hungary, Estonia and Malta do worse. The report says that evidence of climate change comes from receding glaciers, disturbance of marine species and rising energy consumption. The number of weather- and climate-related disasters in Europe during the 1990s was double the figure of the previous decade and the cost "is conservatively estimated at around €10bn per year and rising". Its executive director, Jacqueline McGlade, said the report showed the need for more progress in managing the environmental impacts of agriculture, transport and energy in particular, and for influencing the behaviour of consumers. The EEA's members are the 25 EU states, the three candidate countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Article discusses a report from the European Environment Agency 'EEA Signals 2004', issued June 2004. The 2004 edition of the EEA's annual survey of environmental trends in its member countries covers aspects of agriculture, water pollution, nature protection, packaging waste, energy, transport, air pollution and climate change. It also provides an environmental perspective on the economic and social situation in Europe, including trends in demography and resource use, in the context of progress towards sustainability. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Environment |
