The environment, resources and waste

Overview

The protection of the environment and the rational management of resources and waste are priorities within European and national policy. At European level, the first sustainable development strategy dates from 2001 (the Gothenburg Strategy, which completed the Lisbon Strategy). More recently, within the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy, and notably its sustainable growth pillar, protection of the environment has been identified as a priority and the efficient management of resources is considered a priority for developing smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth of the European Community space. One of the stated goals is to increase the percentage of reduction of European Union greenhouse gas emissions from 80% to 95% between now and 2050.

The environment is being subjected to increasingly more significant European regulations.
The seventh environment action programme (EAP), entered into force in January 2014, is composed of several topics constituting some of the stakes for cross-border sustainable development such as:

• the protection of natural land and maritime spaces
• low-carbon economic cooperation
• the sharing of knowledge and investment in research and innovation
• the integration of environmental concerns into sectorial policies (farming, fishing, energy, and transport).