Environmental indicator report 2017 : in support to the monitoring of the Seventh Environment Action Programme

Finally, the lower economic activity level in the EU following the 2008 financial crisis, contributed to several of the positive past trends shown in the scoreboard. As EU economic growth is returning, increased efforts are likely to be necessary in the coming years in order to maintain progress. Two key actions would be to implement better existing environmental legislation as well as to mainstream further environmental objectives into socio-economic policies such as energy, agriculture and transport. Looking beyond 2020, the EU and its neighbours will need to accelerate progress in coming decades on climate change mitigation and adaptation, air pollution and other environmental problems in order to achieve the 7th EAP's 2050 vision of 'living well, within the limits of our planet'. Such accelerated efforts will, at the same time, contribute to meeting the many related EU commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Overall, the EU can most effectively make progress through ambitious policies and targets, alongside sizeable sustainable financial investments. Together these can transform the key systems of production and consumption that most contribute to environmental and climate pressures, and impacts on human well‑being - e.g. food, energy, mobility - across Europe and the rest of the world.