Environment and climate, 26 key indicators from the EU for monitoring

A package of 26 key indicators to monitor progress on the EU's environment and climate targets up to 2030 and the long-term vision for 2050.

The European Commission, after intensive consultations with stakeholders and Member States, presented the monitoring framework under the Eighth Environment Action Programme, which aims to measure progress, promote transparency and inform European citizens about the impact of EU environmental and climate policy.

The Eighth Environment Action Program , which entered into force on 2 May 2022, in fact requires the Commission to present a monitoring framework based on a limited number of key indicators.

“We have very ambitious environmental and climate goals – said Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal – to deliver the green and just transition that Europe and the world need. But you can't manage what you can't measure. To stay on track, we need to know if we are achieving our goals. These indicators help us know that.”

The core indicators follow the structure of the Eighth Environment Action Program based on the European Green Deal and include the two or three most relevant and statistically robust indicators for each priority thematic objective (climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, circular economy, zero pollution, biodiversity, climate-environmental pressures, enabling conditions and the long-term priority objective for 2050).

The list also includes five indicators for measuring progress in response to key environmental and climate pressures . In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, this is the transition that must be completed in the coming years towards sustainable systems for energy, industry, mobility and food.

In addition, the core set includes indicators to monitor progress towards key enabling conditions , namely sustainable finance, polluter finance burdens and the phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies. The last chapter of the monitoring framework includes systemic indicators that aim to capture the progress made towards the three dimensions of environmental well-being , including, in addition to nature protection, also economic and social aspects.

“Policies – said Virginijus Sinkevičius , Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries – are effective to the extent that they are effectively implemented. These key indicators will help us pursue the policies agreed under the European Green Deal, by shedding light on trends and facilitating an informed debate among policy makers on where further efforts are needed."

The Commission will have to report annually on progress , based on the assessment carried out by the European Environment Agency since 2023 , using selected key indicators. It will also make two in-depth evaluations during the life of the programme: a mid-term review in 2024 and a final evaluation in 2029. (Source: https://www.fondazionesvilupposostenibile.org /)