Green is for go: what the EU is doing to save the planet
by Victoria Holdsworth
The strength of the European Union lies in the power of people acting together to make important decisions that can make a real difference. Stavros Dimas, the EU Commissioner for Environment, says: "...I believe that despite the enormous challenges we are facing, the battle can be won if all countries make a contribution..."
For many young people in Europe, issues about the environment and global warming are high on their list of concerns.
The EU takes these problems seriously, too. Decision-makers in Europe know that the world they leave behind for their children will be much different from the one they grew up in. And while in many ways, this world could be a better place, it is widely recognised that our planet is in poor shape and that something needs to be done about it, fast.
So what are some of the problems and what is the EU doing about them?
Problem: our changing climate
This is an urgent problem, and it needs a lot of attention. The atmosphere around our earth is made up of many gases, including greenhouse gases. These keep the earth at just the right temperature for animals, plants and people to live. But scientists believe the earth has warmed up over the past 100 years because more and more greenhouse gases (mostly from pollution) are being trapped in the atmosphere. Also, the world's big forests, which soak up many of these gases, are being chopped down. This is not good news because it could cause many problems, like floods, droughts, and other freak weather conditions, such as heat waves and violent storms. Scientists are very worried that this will mean some types of plants and animals may not survive our warmer world. It will obviously affect us, too.
Green is for go
Worldwide, the EU is leading the way on climate change. The EU played a key role in making two international decisions about climate change happen: The UN Framework Convention on Climate in Change in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2005. These are important because it means that many countries have signed up to work together to improve the situation. The Kyoto Protocol set environmental targets for countries to reach by certain dates. By doing so, these countries promised to make changes to cut back on producing greenhouse gases.
In 2000, the European Climate Change Programme was launched. This will also help Europe meet the targets set by Kyoto.
The EU is actively encouraging research into and use of renewable energy, like wind, water, solar (sun) and bioenergy. This would reduce our need for "fossil fuels" (coal, oil and gas) which are polluting and give off greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 (carbon dioxide), the main greenhouse gas.
The EU can also help by making sure that member countries stick to the rules that have been made about the environment and that energy is used efficiently and effectively.
It is encouraging individuals and bigger groups of people like businesses and schools to "go green" by informing them about how to change the way they use energy. The campaign "You Control Climate Change" http://www.climatechange.eu.com/ - with Superheroes animation - is one example of this. The EU is encouraging people like you to "Turn down. Switch off. Recycle. Walk. Change." This is short for: Turn down the heating, switch off the lights, recycle waste and walk or cycle to school. We can all make a difference!
Problem: losing our biodiversity
Biodiversity is the word used to describe the clever way in which our natural world is interlinked. Human life is dependent on all living things working together within this ecosystem. The things we need to survive like clean water, healthy soil and a stable climate are the results of biodiversity. These are called "ecosystem services". If parts of this system (animals or plants) die out, or become extinct, then it will eventually affect us.
Many things we do are causing damage: People are polluting the land, water, sea and air and we are destroying the places (habitats) animals and plants need to make their home, through practices like intensive farming and building. Researchers have estimated that human activity has caused between 50 and 1000 times more extinctions than would have occurred naturally over the past century. In the EU, nearly half of mammals are "endangered" and vulnerable to extinction.
Green is for go
The EU has been making laws to protect plants and animals for over 30 years. It is strongly believes it can help reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2010, but admits this will be a difficult task. Find out more about the Countdown 2010 campaign here: http://www.countdown2010.net/
In addition, many countries, including the EU states have signed up to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which means that they are working to halt the extinction of plants and animals worldwide.
The EU's Natura 2000 describes a group of environmentally protected areas within the EU, which will be the biggest network in the world. This is equal to about 18 per cent of EU land where the most important wild plants and animals are protected. The plan is for Natura 2000 to be extended to marine (sea) areas, too.
The EU is giving money to member states to support Natura 2000. It is also funding research into biodiversity so that we know what we are dealing with. Many groups of people, in their own countries, within nature organisations and at local level are working towards this goal.
Problem: pollution in our air
Breathing is vital to life, but the air we breathe is filled with tiny particles called pollutants that can affect our own health as well as the health of our environment. These particles are produced by transport, farming, factories and industry. Some pollutants mix with water in the air and cause "acid rain", which can kill forest trees and fish in lakes. When these pollutants mix into the soil, they can affect the groundwater and our drinking water, as well as damaging plants, which grow in this soil. Europe is one of the world's worst offenders when it comes to air pollution.
Green is for go
The EU has clear goals for cutting air pollution and member countries are working together to meet these targets. The EU has used its powers to make and enforce laws to reduce these pollutants. Air quality is constantly monitored across Europe and the EU sets limits for pollutants.
EU scientists are researching the problem so that they can help member countries manage it. The EU also encourages environment-friendly transport practices like cycling, walking and public transport. We can also help by the decisions we make in our daily lives.
Every year, the EU has a 'European No-Car Day', which is part of European Mobility Week. More and more towns, cities and countries across Europe are joining in.
Problem: pollution of our water
About 80 per cent of the earth's surface is water, with 97 per cent being salt water, two per cent frozen and only about 1 per cent fresh water that we can use. Like air, clean water is an essential element of life. But our rivers and oceans are increasingly vulnerable to pollution. This pollution is caused by human activities like industry, farming, transport, sewerage, over-fishing, shipping, oil spills and plastic rubbish.
Another problem is that we are demanding more fresh water than the natural rain cycle can produce. This amount remains the same, but we are using seven times more water now than since the beginning of the last century.
Green is for go
Way back in the 1970s, Europe began taking action to protect our waters by making laws and checking pollution levels in our seas and rivers. Since then, more laws have been introduced, which require member states of the EU to meet certain safe standards for water and to build water cleaning systems in towns and cities.
The storage and use of certain polluting chemicals from farming is also subject to strict rules.
Sea pollution is of particular concern in Europe, which has over 95 000 km of coastline. A quarter of the world's oil is shipped through the Mediterranean Sea, which means that oil spills and pollution is always a worry. The EU has a special unit, which works only on the safety of sea transport. This means that countries can work together and react quickly if there is a pollution problem.
You can help, too by using only the water you need and by keeping our beaches and rivers free of litter.
Problem: too much rubbish
In the EU, which is a comparatively rich part of the world, we throw away seriously large amounts of rubbish - and these "waste mountains" are growing each year.
Recently, the amount of electronic rubbish we discard is causing new worries. Technology is changing within a such a short space of time and items like mobile phones, computers and televisions are being replaced more often. We want the best, and the newest. But what happens to all the stuff we throw away?
Most of our waste is buried in the ground in landfill sites. But a lot of what we throw away contains materials that can harm the soil and leak into rivers and the sea. In addition, much of our waste, including plastic does not rot (biodegrade) and remains as rubbish for many years. Research has shown that it can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. And so our landfills fill up and we have to find space for new ones.
The rest of our rubbish is burned. This makes the rubbish smaller, when it eventually goes into our landfill sites and the energy from burning can be used for power. But some items produce poisons when burned and these can cause serious health problems as well as polluting the water and soil.
Green is for go
The EU is well aware of these issues and has set very strict rules about burning certain waste. It is also controlling the use of particularly poisonous substances, which are known to be dangerous to humans and our environment.
Recycling is also high on the list of things to do. The EU helps by telling people how they can change not only their rubbish habits, but also their buying habits.
For example, you can recycle your rubbish, but you can also choose to buy products made from recycled or environmentally-friendly materials. The EU is supporting research into greener ways to make the things we use. It is also making laws about transport to encourage people to rely less on using their cars.
The EU has introduced an Eco-label so that we can choose to buy products that make less of an impact on the environment when they are made and when they are thrown away. It has also set goals to reduce packaging. Much of what we buy has too much unnecessary packaging!
© Victoria Holdsworth. All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to the European Commission.