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• Analyze underlying dynamics and mechanisms of the nuclear trade network formation. • Use ERGM to estimate which network structures proactively influenced the formation. • The current network was formed by intensive imports and active exports. • The network was formed by the trade of nuclear commodities between specific states. • Economic/military power and environmental policy contribute to network formation. This empirical study analyzes the dynamics and mechanisms underlying the formation of the nuclear trade network in Europe. For this analysis, we use ERGM (the Exponential Random Graph Model) to estimate whether and the extent to which specific subnetwork structures and the attributes of state actors proactively influenced the formation of the EU's nuclear trade network. We examine both endogenous and exogenous factors. In terms of endogenous effects, the analysis results show that the current nuclear trade network in the EU was formed by intensive imports in certain states and active exports from others. Therefore, the network was formed by the active trade of nuclear commodities between specific states. In terms of exogenous effects, the analysis results show that certain attributes of European states, such as economic power, military power, and environmental policy, contributed to the formation of the nuclear trade network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comparative impact analysis of different responses to farmland abandonment. • Benefits and risks of different abandonment trajectories vary spatially. • Maps help guiding preferential management strategies after abandonment. • Natural revegetation brings high benefits but also frequent trade-offs. • Rewilding with natural grazing is often the most positive trajectory. Farmland abandonment is a major proximate driver of landscape change in European rural areas and is often followed by natural revegetation. In certain conditions, it might be preferable to prevent or reverse farmland abandonment or manage these areas towards active restoration (i.e., guided rewilding with wild or domesticated animals). These alternative responses to farmland abandonment lead to context-dependent impacts, which can potentially contribute to European Green Deal objectives for environment and rural areas. While previous studies analysed direct impacts of abandonment, there is little insight into how alternative ways of managing abandoned farmland can best contribute to environmental policy goals, and what type of management is preferred where. To assess opportunities in these areas, we compared three abandonment trajectories: natural revegetation, active restoration with rewilding, and extensive re-farming. We analysed the potential positive and negative environmental and cultural impacts of developing these management strategies in all farmland locations that could potentially be abandoned across Europe. Mapping and quantification of the benefits and risks associated with different management responses to abandonment indicate a large spatial variation across regions. While natural revegetation can support high benefits for carbon sequestration and erosion reduction, it is also linked to more frequent trade-offs than re-farming and rewilding. However, there is a very strong spatial variation in these trade-offs. It is worthwhile to focus on areas with the largest gains and fewest trade-offs when targeting investments for prevention of abandonment or rewilding. Our maps can help inform interventions in abandoned farmland to maximise the potential contributions of these lands to the European Green Deal environmental and rural policy targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to measure the rebound effect (RE) or take back effect of jet fuel prices for air transport by using the unbalanced panel data of the airlines of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) from 1986 to 2013. Three equations are set and modelled simultaneously: (1) traffic demand, (2) aircraft, and (3) fuel efficiency. We consider endogenous changes in fuel efficiency, and the impact of environmental policy such as the EU ETS is also included. Our results show the smaller short run RE, but much larger RE in a long run of air transport. The short-run RE for 1986–1999 is 2.9% and 2.1% for 2000–2013, while the long-run RE is 49% for 1986–1999 and 19% for 2000–2013, respectively. It indicates the effectiveness of the regulation or economic instrument to reduce emissions (fuel consumption) in the air transport market by improving fuel efficiency due to the large RE compared to other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil is important as a critical component for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The largest part of the terrestrial biodiversity relies, directly or indirectly, on soil. Furthermore, soil itself is habitat to a great diversity of organisms. The suitability of soil to host such a diversity is strongly related to its physico-chemical features and environmental properties. However, due to the complexity of both soil and biodiversity, it is difficult to identify a clear and unambiguous relationship between environmental parameters and soil biota. Nevertheless, the increasing diffusion of a more integrated view of ecosystems, and in particular the development of the concept of ecosystem services, highlights the need for a better comprehension of the role played by soils in offering these services, including the habitat provision. An assessment of the capability of soils to host biodiversity would contribute to evaluate the quality of soils in order to help policy makers with the development of appropriate and sustainable management actions. However, so far, the heterogeneity of soils has been a barrier to the production of a large-scale framework that directly links soil features to organisms living within it. The current knowledge on the effects of soil physico-chemical properties on biota and the available data at continental scale open the way towards such an evaluation. In this study, the soil habitat potential for biodiversity was assessed and mapped for the first time throughout Europe by combining several soil features (pH, soil texture and soil organic matter) with environmental parameters (potential evapotranspiration, average temperature, soil biomass productivity and land use type). Considering the increasingly recognized importance of soils and their biodiversity in providing ecosystem services, the proposed approach appears to be a promising tool that may contribute to open a forum on the need to include soils in future environmental policy making decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of genetic diversity for the assessment and maintenance of biodiversity is widely recognised, although not yet explicitly incorporated into conservation decision making in many European Union Member States. A detailed assessment of 4311 genetic studies relevant for the conservation and management of European species revealed that research is extensive and, therefore, could be more effectively implemented in existing conservation programs. However, research was overly biased towards the study of species with an economic value or iconic status, with research on threatened species or species with undetermined conservation status being scarce. The largest volume of research focused on species identification and relationships, population subdivision and dispersal; with microsatellite and mtDNA sequences as the most widely used markers. These results emphasize the need for further collaboration between researchers and conservation stakeholders to devise genetics research programs that can provide effective solutions for species conservation in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite services benefit civil society by helping tackle challenges such as climate change, the digital divide, etc. They have the potential to deliver concrete benefits to European society through innovative services supporting economic, societal and environmental policies. Such benefits can trigger increased public support for space in Europe. However, this potential has yet to be achieved. This paper argues that technological bias, the diversity of interests and initiatives among stakeholders and their individual actions do not always serve their collective objective to ensure wide diffusion of satellite services. It draws on theories of diffusion of innovation and on its authors' participatory work with the space and the user communities and at their interface in an effort to help diffuse satellite services within civil society. One of the major causes of insufficient service diffusion is the weakness of the interface between the space and user communities; some of factors that currently contribute to this state of affairs are the space community's over-reliance on publicly financed, technical demonstration projects as solutions to service diffusion; insufficient coordination by public authorities of innovation policies and programmes with other public policies and objectives; and an insufficient integration of satellite services within users' culture, traditional tools and services. The discussion allows for conclusions to be drawn on how the system of stakeholders could function better in order for satellite services to be successfully diffused in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Netherlands and Denmark are the two biggest pig meat exporters in Europe, both with a strong focus on the German market. The structure of pig farms is very different: an average Danish pig farm has 3500 pigs, 170 ha of agricultural land on which a major part of the feed cereals are grown, whereas a typical Dutch pig farm has 2500 pigs with only 10 ha. As a consequence, Dutch pig farmers have to purchase all feedstuff and need to dispose nearly all the manure off-farm. A literature based study revealed that the main factors for the contrasting development were a stronger competition for land, resulting in higher land prices, and stimulation of intensive animal husbandry in the Netherlands, while in Demark environmental policies more strongly coupled manure production to land area. As a result the Dutch pig farmers have focused on intensification of livestock production on small holdings using external sources of feed supply, and Danish farmers on efficient production of feed cereals on large holdings. Due to a gradual lowering of manure and fertiliser application standards, Dutch farmers increasingly have to process manure and export manure, further increasing the total costs of pig production. Manure disposal costs per kg of slaughter weight in 2011 were on average 3.5 times higher in the Netherlands than in Denmark. Manure is exported mainly to Germany and France, which also supply the feed cereals. Therefore manure export contributes to closure of nutrient cycles. Danish pig farmers are less sensitive to nutrient policies and feed prices than those in the Netherlands, but the high debt rate makes the sector vulnerable to low pig prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a growing number of forest biodiversity indicators being applied in forest policy documents and even more being suggested by the scientific community, there is a need to evaluate, review and critically assess the strength of evidence for individual indicators, their interrelationships and potential overlaps and gaps. Biodiversity indicators proposed for forest ecosystems in Europe were reviewed with the overarching aim of providing advice on strategic selection and combination of indictors. The objectives were to (1) establish interrelationships between indicators and their indicandum (i.e. the indicated aspect of biodiversity); (2) assess the strength of scientific evidence for individual indicators; and (3) identify a set of indicators with confirmed validity for further scientific testing and inclusion in long-term reporting and decision-making regarding forest biodiversity. Ten indicator groups and 83 individual indicators were identified with application from stand scale up to landscape scale in 142 eligible scientific papers. In 62 of the 142 studies no statistical correlations between indicator(s) and indicandum were performed and 42 (out of the 62) did not even present a clear indicandum. In the remaining 80 studies, 412 correlations between indicator and indicandum were identified. However, only six correlations were assessed as being supported by strong evidence, i.e. three or more studies found statistical correlation between the indicator and indicandum, and no studies reported contradictory results. For the species richness relationships, there was strong evidence for positive correlations between deadwood volume and wood-living fungal species richness; deadwood volume and saproxylic beetle species richness; deadwood diversity and saproxylic beetle species richness; age of canopy trees and epiphytic lichen species richness. There was strong evidence for a negative correlation between tree canopy cover and spider species richness. Concerning species composition-related correlation, there was strong evidence that the species composition of epiphytic lichens changed with the age of canopy trees. These results imply that the validity of most indicators on which monitoring and conservation planning are based are weakly scientifically supported and that further validation of current biodiversity indicators for forest ecosystems is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When new energy efficient products are struggling with their commercialisation and diffusion into widespread applications you would typically expect policy-makers and green lead-users to guide the way. This paper examines the case of the hot water circulator pump industry in Europe, where parts of the industry envisioned and worked for a voluntary energy label, bringing technological innovation, new business and energy savings of approx. 85% for each new circulator pump. The case study explores the complexities of innovation processes where technology, market, actors and policy co-evolve over time to transform an existing socio-technical regime. The paper highlights the importance of policies to reduce barriers towards innovation and energy efficiency and shows that it is not always policy-makers that establish the crucial policies that change the innovation dynamics for the benefit of the environment and the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using patents data on environmental road transport technologies filed by 355 assignees over the period 1999–2010, the paper investigates under what conditions the European environmental transport policy portfolio and the intrinsic characteristics of assignees' knowledge boost worldwide green patent production. The findings suggest that post-tax fuel prices, environmental vehicle taxes, CO 2 standards and European emission standards, introduced into the empirical model through an innovative methodology based on Self-Organising Maps (SOM) (Kohonen, 1990, 2001), positively influence the creation of environmental inventions. Most importantly, the paper highlights that assignees anticipate the introduction of regulatory instruments ( i.e. European emission standards and CO 2 targets) by filing patents before the effective implementation of regulations when legislation is announced. Furthermore, the paper provides evidence that in a technological space (which measures the applicants' technological proximity), closely located assignees enhance their patent output through the exploitation of technological knowledge produced by others. This means that the greater the proximity between assignees, the higher their likelihood of gaining advantage from this potential spillover pool. Finally, the paper observes that dynamic changes in assignees' patent portfolios spur inventive performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of attention in the debate on the 2014–2020 programming period of the EU CAP and rural development policy revolves around the policy's contribution to enhancing resource use efficiency, decreasing environmental impact, restoring ecosystems and how to ensure more efficient and effective agri-environmental measures (AEMs). Nevertheless, studies that simultaneously address multiple measures with multiple environmental objectives and targets are underrepresented in the scientific literature. The objectives of the present article are (i) to present an integrated tool-kit for AEM design resulting from the combination of farm modelling with the Sustainable Value Approach (SVA), and (ii) to evaluate the potential of the tool-kit to support AEM design through an application to estimate cost-effective organic agriculture payments for the dairy sector in Mugello, northern Tuscany. Sustainability assessment of organic and conventional farming systems (OFS and CFS, respectively) under the 2007–2013 EU CAP support schemes and a no EU support scenario show better OFS performances regarding nitrogen leaching (−52% and −47% under the current CAP and the no EU support scenarios, respectively), soil erosion (−24% and −34%), potential pesticide risks (−100%), biodiversity (+13% and +30%). Income foregone for the production of environmental benefits from organic agriculture under a no EU support scenario is equal to 210 Euro/ha. Sustainable value calculations combined with modelling results indicate soil erosion and nitrogen leaching as the environmental processes to be addressed with specific policy measures to further increase the efficiency of organic farming. A new organic agriculture support scheme designed based on such indications further increases the OFS SV and almost closes the GAP with a benchmark farm of the area, featured with ideal performances in terms of environmental and economic indicators. The payment scheme we designed with the support of the integrated tool-kit shows to be more cost-effective and efficient of current AEMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last years the European Union (EU) has implemented ambitious climate and energy targets for 2020, i.e. the 2020 Climate and Energy Package (Package), to become a highly efficient, low carbon economy. The Package assigns binding renewable energy sources (RES) target for each EU member countries. Indeed costs to reach Package's targets vary among EU countries, given heterogeneity among regions and different instruments implemented to spur RES deployment. The aim of our paper is to provide a policy tool for EU policy makers in the negotiation process that assigns achievable quantitative targets according to which countries are not inclined to deviate from the agreement. We compute potential extra costs that may arise when some EU countries fail to reach the assigned objective within the Package with reference to RES target. More generally, our simulation model is an instrument that allows EU policy makers to assess incentives that countries might have to participate or not to the environmental agreements. Our analysis shows that partial participation to the Package produces inefficiencies by rising costs for other participating countries to the environmental agreement. Finally, we propose a new policy mechanism based on progressive sanctions for countries that do not meet their national targets, which are proportional to the monetary value of the penalty they impose to the rest of the EU countries with their opportunistic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland biodiversity dramatically declined in Europe during the 20th century. Agri-environment schemes (AES) were introduced in the late 1980s in European Union countries as a solution to combat biodiversity decline. We examined the effectiveness of AES in enhancing biodiversity in a new EU member country (Estonia) over the period of 2010–2012. We compared species numbers and abundance of bumblebees and birds, plus cover of flowers, between three farming systems in two regions of Estonia. Farm types included conventional and two under AES (organic and a less strict environmentally friendly management agreement). Environmentally friendly management practices in Estonia include diversified crop rotations, at least 15% of arable land (including rotational grasslands) under legumes, permanent grassland strips, protection of landscape elements, reduced applications of agrochemicals, etc. The two selected regions (North and South) differed in landscape structure, soil types and crop yields. Flower cover and bird species richness and abundance without the dominant species (skylark) were higher on organic farms. Bumblebee species richness was significantly higher under both types of AES than under conventional farming. Flower cover, abundance and species richness of bumblebees and birds were significantly higher in the more heterogeneous landscapes of Southern Estonia. Environmentally friendly management may be a viable alternative to organic farming for a widely accepted, simple but large-scale greening of agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We provide a review of monitoring requirements and priorities in supranational biodiversity policies. [•] We quantify overlaps and gaps among policies. [•] In terms of spatial priorities, guidelines are lacking in most policies. [•] We suggest an overarching system for priority setting in biodiversity monitoring. [•] Our suggested system could serve as a first step towards more systematic prioritization of monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to streamline environmental procedures for those products containing or consisting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) among the European Union (EU) Member States are ongoing but still need to be further developed. These procedures can be complex, resource-intensive and time-consuming. Some candidate vaccines currently under development for COVID-19 include genetically modified viruses, which may be considered GMOs. Given the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, on July 15, 2020, the European Parliament approved a temporary derogation of the European environmental requirements to facilitate that those clinical trials with GMOs intended to treat or prevent COVID-19 can start as soon as possible in Europe. This measure has been very controversial, since it could entail risks to human health and the environment, and could be seen as unfair for other products targeting unmet medical needs. With the adoption of this measure, the bottlenecks and obstacles for the development of innovative GMO-based medicines in the EU that the environmental legislation entails have become even more evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Floodplains in Europe are heavily impacted by human intervention and often disconnected from the main river channel. Restoring lateral hydraulic connectivity between wetlands, fringe habitats and riparian land with the adjacent river channel is extremely important to maintain natural functioning of floodplain wetlands. However, there is no simple solution to restoring and rehabilitating rivers and their floodplains, particularly in terms of long-term sustainability. Floodplains are often the most fertile and productive part of the landscape, in terms of both agricultural production and natural ecosystems. Restoration projects must be able to balance conflicting needs and interests. Flood management is one of the most powerful drivers of developing strategies for floodplain restoration. Appropriate restoration management of floodplains is vital for the conservation of unique bio-diverse systems and for sustainable agricultural productivity. By developing strategies that better incorporate floodplain restoration in the context of the basin scale, it will become more feasible to develop the most effective restoration actions for a specific river type and location. Within this context we must not forget that successful natural resource management is much more than developing good science; it requires working with landowners, meeting deadlines, securing funding, supervising staff, and cooperating with politicians. Furthermore, the benefits of floodplain restoration must be equally demonstrated for multiple purposes including a range of ecosystem services. This paper explores the various interactions associated with floodplain dynamics. Through case studies it explores the various approaches that have been taken across Europe to forward the restoration of these fragile and important ecosystems and embeds these in the context of current European environmental policy and directives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Over the last decades, European rivers have mostly shared the same fate. Until the mid 1980s many of them were in rather bad shape. Nobody would have thought about using the waters for recreation. However, continuous efforts over the last three decades have achieved success and today''s water quality has changed to the better. This obvious change in water quality, which was proved by investigations done on the basis of the European Directive 2000/60/EC framework for Community action in the field of water policy, made people consider using the rivers for recreation or irrigation. In the present study a Central European River was investigated from hygienic perspectives (faecal indicators), and its toxicological status was examined — both of which are parameters which are not included in the Directive 2000/60/EC. The pivotal question was whether these parameters provide essential and additional information about the river''s status and its quality. In general, the monthly values for all sampling points from the toxicological tests correlated with the determined physical and chemical statuses according to the national water management plan. Once, however, the toxicological values did increase significantly. This detection of a single toxicological burst within a year of observation underlines the applicability of the tests as screening methods for the detection of toxic substances. Moreover, our microbiological investigations show high numbers of faecal indicators and Salmonellae. These results are not consistent with the apparently good quality of the river. Therefore faecal indicators, which are directly related to the discharge of waste water, should be an integral part of the procedure of water classification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon accounting has evolved rapidly over the past twenty years and now encompasses a wide range of activities with significant financial implications. This paper examines how competence in carbon accounting is being defined and claimed by different actors and communities. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the accountancy profession in carbon accounting, charting its engagement over time and its relationship with other communities involved in carbon accounting. The paper builds on recent work showing that multiple framings and activities are associated with carbon accounting, leading to conflicting views on what it means, how it should be done, and who should be involved. It draws on the concepts of epistemic communities and boundary-work to help explain the role of professions and the emergence of new institutions that mediate between different communities to achieve policy change. We find that, while accountants have undisputed authority in the field of financial reporting of rights and liabilities created under emissions trading schemes (’financial carbon accounting’), their claims to competence in other aspects of organisational carbon accounting overlap with those made by several other communities. Although the accountancy profession’s interest in organisational carbon accounting can be traced back at least as far as 2001, the introduction of emissions trading in Europe in 2005 coincided with the start of a new, as yet largely un-scrutinised, initiative to extend its claims of relevant expertise, through a variety of methods including the promotion of standards for disclosure of physical and strategic climate-related information. The Climate Disclosure Standards Board provides an example of a boundary organisation that has been established by different communities with an interest in carbon accounting, with mutually beneficial results, which has nevertheless resulted in the production of a new Climate Change Reporting Framework that is heavily aligned towards the existing competence of accountancy professionals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A range of policy initiatives have been promoted in recent years to address the decline of bee populations in Europe and North America. Among these has been the establishment of flower-rich habitat within or around intensively farmed landscapes to increase the availability of pollen and nectar resources. The composition of these habitats depends on location and compatibility with adjacent cropping systems, but they often consist of fields planted with temporary flowering cover crops, field borders with perennial or annual flowering species, hedgerows comprising prolifically flowering shrubs, and grass buffer strips (used to manage erosion and nutrient runoff) which are supplemented with dicotyledonous flower species. While the primary objective of such measures is to increase the ecological fitness of pollinator populations through enhanced larval and adult nutrition, such strategies also provide secondary benefits to the farm and the surrounding landscape. Specifically, the conservation of pollinator habitat can enhance overall biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides (including pest population reduction), protect soil and water quality by mitigating runoff and protecting against soil erosion, and enhance rural aesthetics. Incorporating these secondary benefits into decision making processes is likely to help stakeholders to assess the trade-offs implicit in supplying ecosystem services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, per capita CO2 convergence among the EU-25 countries between 1920 and 2007 is analysed using the distribution dynamics approach. Furthermore, the analysis is complemented by investigating the asymptotic half-life of convergence, mobility indices and the continuous version of the ergodic distributions. The novel aspect of this work consists in the fact that it examines whether patterns could differ if weighted by either the population of each country or their economic sizes. The unweighted analysis indicates that the convergence patterns differ strongly before and after World War II, with more convergence being displayed after the seventies. Results of weighting both by population and by economic size show that convergence is much faster when these features are introduced into the model. Conclusions from this analysis are important for the environment policy adopted across the EU-25 countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Lead isotopes are widely used for age dating, for tracking sources of melts, sediments, Pb products, food and animals and for studying atmospheric Pb contamination. For the first time, a map of a Pb isotope landscape at the continental-scale is presented. Agricultural soil samples (Ap-horizon, 0–20cm) collected at an average density of 1 site/2500km2 were analysed for Pb concentration and Pb isotopes (206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb). Lead concentrations vary from 1.6 to 1309mg/kg, with a median of 16mg/kg. Isotopic ratios of 206Pb/207Pb range from 1.116 to 1.727 with a median of 1.202. The new data define the soil geochemical Pb background for European agricultural soil, providing crucial information for geological, environmental and forensic sciences, public health, environmental policy and mineral exploration. The European continental-scale patterns of Pb concentrations and Pb isotopes show a high variability dominated by geology and influenced by climate. Lead concentration anomalies mark most of the known mineralised areas throughout Europe. Some local Pb anomalies have a distinct anthropogenic origin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a mixed activity-based costing decision (MABCD) model for green airline fleet planning under the constraints of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), in which activity-based costing (ABC) model is incorporated with a modified product-mix decision model for total operating costs of individual flights under EU ETS constraints. A numerical example for comparing cost-effectiveness between the B747-400 airline and the A380 airline in one of the busiest route between Asia and Europe is demonstrated. It is shown that subject to different changes of revenue tone kilometers (RTK), the cost trends of carbon emissions and the changes in profits of different flight routes appear to be similar. Moreover, it is also shown that when the RTK are higher, a choice of a wider-bodied aircraft could lead to higher profits. Finally, it is shown that without the pre-assumptions of considering more complicated routes and financing methods, a self-purchased aircraft appears to contribute more profits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Human biomonitoring (HBM) can be an effective tool to assess human exposure to environmental pollutants and potential health effects and is increasingly seen as an essential element in a strategy when integrating health and environment. HBM can be used (i) to prioritise actions and measures for policy making; (ii) to evaluate policy actions aimed at reducing exposure to potentially hazardous environmental stressors; and (iii) to promote more comprehensive health impact assessments of policy options. In support of the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004–2010, European scientists, experts from authorities and other stakeholders joined forces to work towards developing a functional framework and standards for a coherent HBM in Europe. Within the European coordination action on human biomonitoring, 35 partners from 27 European countries in the COPHES consortium aggregated their experiences and expertise and developed harmonized approaches and recommendations for better comparability of HBM data in Europe via the elaboration of a harmonized study protocol. This protocol is the product of discussion and compromises on the selection of environmental exposures, national environmental health concerns, and political and health priorities. The harmonised approach includes sampling recruitment, and analytical procedures, communication strategies and biobanking initiatives. The protocols and the harmonised approach are a means to increase acceptance and policy support and to in the future to enable determination of time trends. The common pilot study protocol will shortly be tested, adapted and assessed in the framework of the DEMOCOPHES in 17 European countries, including 16 EU Member States. COPHES and DEMOCOPHES constitute important steps towards establishing human biomonitoring as a tool for EU environmental and health policy and to improve quantification of exposure of the general European population to existing and emerging pollutants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Environmental policies in Europe have successfully eliminated the most visible and immediate harmful effects of air pollution in the last decades. However, there is ample and robust scientific evidence that even at present rates Europe’s emissions to the atmosphere pose a significant threat to human health, ecosystems and the global climate, though in a less visible and immediate way. As many of the ‘low hanging fruits’ have been harvested by now, further action will place higher demands on economic resources, especially at a time when resources are strained by an economic crisis. In addition, interactions and interdependencies of the various measures could even lead to counter-productive outcomes of strategies if they are ignored. Integrated assessment models, such as the GAINS (Greenhouse gas – Air pollution Interactions and Synergies) model, have been developed to identify portfolios of measures that improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least cost. Such models bring together scientific knowledge and quality-controlled data on future socio-economic driving forces of emissions, on the technical and economic features of the available emission control options, on the chemical transformation and dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere, and the resulting impacts on human health and the environment. The GAINS model and its predecessor have been used to inform the key negotiations on air pollution control agreements in Europe during the last two decades. This paper describes the methodological approach of the GAINS model and its components. It presents a recent policy analysis that explores the likely future development of emissions and air quality in Europe in the absence of further policy measures, and assesses the potential and costs for further environmental improvements. To inform the forthcoming negotiations on the revision of the Gothenburg Protocol of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, the paper discusses the implications of alternative formulations of environmental policy targets on a cost-effective allocation of further mitigation measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of specific emission control measures on the air quality of urban centres and local area hotspots. In order to achieve this, a sequence of regional, urban and local scale models was applied to assess the impact of European emission control strategies on urban and local scale air quality. First, vehicle fleet and activity data were estimated using appropriate models. The results of these models were used as input to the COPERT model in order to estimate vehicle emissions (NO2 and PM10) at country level up to the year 2030. Vehicle emissions were calculated according to two different scenarios: A baseline scenario, CLE (Current LEgislation) and an optimistic alternative, MFR (Maximum Feasible Reductions). Urban background and traffic hotspot concentrations of air pollutants were then calculated using the OFIS (Ozone FIne Structure) and OSPM (Operational Street Pollution Model) models respectively for 20 cities in Europe and for particular types of streets. Air quality was found to improve in 2030 compared to the reference year 2000, in line with the stricter NOx and PM vehicle emission limits imposed. The NO2 street increments for narrow canyons estimated for the reference year were found to be in the range of 16–53 μg m−3, depending on the city considered. These were reduced to 14–36 μg m−3 in the CLE scenario and 7–24 μg m−3 in the MFR scenario. The corresponding range for PM10 was estimated to be 5–15 μg m−3 for the reference year and was reduced to 2–8 μg m−3 and 0.2–2.4 μg m−3 for the CLE and the MFR scenarios respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Estimates of population exposure to air pollution on the European scale are required for policy development and health impact assessment. Long term exposure estimates of this type can be made using spatially distributed air quality and population density data. Gridded chemical transport models (CTMs) are often used for this purpose, however the grid resolution of CTMs that cover entire continents is usually limited to 25–100 km and there may be a significant level of unresolved variability within the grids that will impact on the exposure estimates. In this paper sub-grid variability and its impact on long term exposure estimates is assessed by investigating the covariance of concentration and population, which is shown to be the defining term in estimating the average sub-grid population exposure. A parameterisation of the sub-grid covariance is described, based on the sub-grid covariance of other proxy data, and this is applied using EMEP model results for all of Europe. The study shows that the error made in the exposure calculations for all of Europe is significant for the typical CTM resolution of 50 km. The error is largest for NO2, where the average European urban background exposure using CTMs is underestimated by 44 ± 4%. Particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) is also underestimated, but only by 15 ± 4%. Calculation of the sub-grid covariance for the ozone health indicator SOMO35 (Sum of Ozone 8 h running Means Over 35 ppb) was not carried out for all of Europe as the sub-grid parameterisation was considered too uncertain for useful application. However, estimates based on observations alone show that population weighted SOMO35 concentrations are overestimated by around 13% when using model grid resolutions of 50 km. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although many of today's ecological, climatic and socio-economic problems seem unprecedented, similar events have occurred in the past. As such, historic periods of climatic and economic volatility can be used as a way of developing frameworks for analyzing today's predicament. Western Europe's “middle ages” (circa 11–14th century) may be one such case. By the 12th century, medieval Europe had shifted from the subsistence agrarian economy that emerged following the collapse of the Roman Empire to one where spatially dispersed trade in agricultural commodities helped support a complex society that devoted considerable resources to cultural works. This shift was facilitated by new institutional arrangements centred on monastic orders that provided access to both new agricultural and food processing technologies as well as trade routes. These institutional arrangements contributed to population growth and land clearing. All of these factors increased the wealth of society but also concentrated this wealth in a small number of communities that were dependent on an ever-increasing and exploited hinterland for resources. Ultimately, this created a tightly coupled continent-wide subsistence system that was vulnerable to the weather, economic and disease shocks of the 14th century when Europe's population declined by perhaps 50%. In exploring this history, the goal of this paper is to draw on a diverse theoretical body of literature (that includes resiliency theory, landscape ecology, political science and ecological economics) to develop a series of hypotheses about how large-scale complex civilizations can become vulnerable to climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: According to Article 9 of the European Water Framework Directive, water-pricing policies have to provide adequate incentives for users to use water resources efficiently by 2010. In this paper, we investigate some of the conflicts that may arise when introducing the polluter pays principle for the recovery of costs of water supply and sanitation services. We argue that conceptually, there are no a priori reasons to question the co-existence of the polluter pays principle with other principles of environmental policy, although the latter do influence its practical implementation. There also seem to be no major formal conflicts with the rules that govern services of economic interest. This, however, does not mean that it is easy to implement the polluter pays principle in the water sector. Rather, it is a consequence of the fact that the Water Framework Directive does not reflect a strong commitment to a very stringent implementation of the principle that the polluter should pay. This does not imply that the ideas that lie behind the polluter pays principle should therefore be abandoned, but the neoclassical motive of cost-efficiency might not be the main argument to recommend its use in the context of water supply and sanitation services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We analyze trends in crop yields and yield variability of barley, maize, oats, rye, triticale and wheat in Switzerland from 1961 to 2006. It shows that there have been linear increases in crop yields since the 1960s. However, yields of barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat have leveled off in Switzerland since the early 1990s, which contrasts linear trends in cereal yields that is usually assumed for Europe. We show a relationship between the introduction of agricultural policy measures towards environmentally friendly cereal production that fostered widespread adoption of extensive farming practices and the observed leveling-off of crop yields. Thus, this paper emphasizes that agricultural policy can be an important reason for slowing crop yield growth. Agricultural policy measures will be one of the key driving forces of future crop yields. Thus, the potential leveling-off of crop yields that is indicated in this study should be considered in analyses of future land use and food supply as well as in the evaluation of agri-environmental measures and policy reforms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present pace of carbon emission is not sustainable. Human societies need to react and to change. A rational responsive policy to deliver the required carbon emission reduction can be delineated if the key objective parameters are identified and addressed. This article attempts to lay the groundwork for a viable carbon energy policy for Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reviews definitions and uses of the Driving Forces–Pressures–State–Impacts–Responses (DPSIR) framework and argues that it is a relevant tool for structuring communication between scientists and end-users of environmental information, while it is inappropriate as an analytical tool. An apparently deterministic ‘causal’ description of environmental issues inevitably downplays the uncertainty and multiple dimensions of causality inherent in complex environmental and socio-economic systems. Consequently, the paper complements and reframes ‘DPSIR’ using a complex system methodology based on the distinction between four ‘spheres’ of sustainability (environmental, economic, social and political) and the analysis of their functioning and relationships. The pair-wise interface aspects are characterised through investigation of the ‘demands’ and ‘supply’ of each sphere relative to the others. Within the resulting conceptual framework, each of the five D, P, S, I and R concepts are specified, for application in integrative analysis of relationships between policy, society, economy and biodiversity in one of the world's largest European integrated research projects on biodiversity (ALARM). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Satellite services benefit civil society by helping tackle challenges such as climate change, the digital divide, etc. They have the potential to deliver concrete benefits to European society through innovative services supporting economic, societal and environmental policies. Such benefits can trigger increased public support for space in Europe. However, this potential has yet to be achieved. This paper argues that technological bias, the diversity of interests and initiatives among stakeholders and their individual actions do not always serve their collective objective to ensure wide diffusion of satellite services. It draws on theories of diffusion of innovation and on its authors'' participatory work with the space and the user communities and at their interface in an effort to help diffuse satellite services within civil society. One of the major causes of insufficient service diffusion is the weakness of the interface between the space and user communities; some of factors that currently contribute to this state of affairs are the space community''s over-reliance on publicly financed, technical demonstration projects as solutions to service diffusion; insufficient coordination by public authorities of innovation policies and programmes with other public policies and objectives; and an insufficient integration of satellite services within users'' culture, traditional tools and services. The discussion allows for conclusions to be drawn on how the system of stakeholders could function better in order for satellite services to be successfully diffused in Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The European Water Framework Directive is shaping a new conception of integrative water protection. In this article, the consequences of the Water Framework Directive in respect to national environmental policy will be discussed in referring to the notion of responsibility which is a central concept of political philosophy and theory. It will be shown that the new conception of integrative water protection entails a fundamental change in European water protection policy and also environmental policy at all. It implies that environmental policy has not only to prevent environmental damage but in particular has to warrant a good status of the environment, such that it must maintain a good status of water or even achieve it if this status does not exist. Achieving and maintaining a good status of the environment is, however, an encompassing task. Thereby, state power will eventually be overexerted. The threat of such overexertion has to be kept in mind in discussing the perspective of the so called New Environmental Governance. It will be pointed out that the New Environmental Governance is not primarily a form of some sort of democratic participation but rather designed to improve state power in environmental politics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Forest condition, biodiversity and ecosystems services are strongly interlinked. • A transferable and operational European wide forest condition indicator is presented. • The methodology includes structural, functional, and compositional variables. • This spatially explicit indicator is built on information accessible EU databases. • This supports the monitoring and assessment of efforts towards EU and SDG goals. Forest condition, biodiversity, and ecosystem services are strongly interlinked. The biodiversity levels depend to a large extent on the integrity, health, and vitality of forests at the same time as losses of forest biodiversity lead to decreased forest productivity and sustainability. Under this conceptual framework, this study presents a methodology for mapping forest condition at European scale supporting the attainment of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Target 5 " the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced" and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), as well as the EU forest strategy since the sustainable forest management is oriented to support the provision of forest services and to enhance the condition of biodiversity forests' host. The work presents the developments of an operational indicator at European scale. This spatially explicit information on forest condition can be the baseline map with a 1 km resolution to monitor the state and changes of condition by exposition to pressures and threats. This condition indicator considers structural, functional, and compositional aspects of forest with relevance for health and vitality of species and habitats hosted by forest ecosystems. The methodology implemented used harmonized, published and open datasets. It provided confident results for the assessment of the condition within hemiboreal, temperate and alpine forests, showing the Carpathian, Dinaric Alps and Alps, among others, as hotspots with pre-dominantly good condition. The results were validated with data derived from the reporting for the EU Habitat Directive and explicit dataset on known primary forests in Europe. However, this method underestimated the forest condition in the Mediterranean and Boreal forest types due to data gaps, regional specific characteristics, and design limitations. This study illustrates an operational and transferable approach for addressing the assessment of ecosystem forest condition at European scale being considered as a support tool for European countries when mapping and assessing their national territory, as potential common approach to map forest ecosystems that allows for consistent aggregation and comparisons across scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural emissions in Europe are important to several atmospheric transport-related environmental issues. These include local and regional air quality problems, such as PM exposure, eutrophication and acidification, toxics and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a number of environmental impacts. Over Europe, agricultural emissions are variable in space and time and the contribution to the different issues are variable. Most important are ammonia (90%), PM (20%) and methane and nitrous oxide (both 5%). Policies have been developed to combat some of the emissions with success in some countries. However, future, national and European policies are necessary to successfully decrease emissions and its related problems. Current research issues include the quantification of non-point sources, the atmosphere–biosphere exchange of ammonia, the quantification of landscape processes and the primary and secondary emissions of PM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Manure management systems are conducive to nutrient and carbon losses, but the magnitude of the loss highly depends on the nutrient element, the manure management system and the environmental conditions. This paper discusses manure management systems in the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU-27) and nutrient losses from these systems, with emphasis on nitrogen (N). In general, losses decrease in the order: C, N>>S>K, Na, Cl, B>P, Ca, Mg, metals. Assessments made with the integrated modeling tool MITERRA-EUROPE indicate that the total N excretion in 2000 by livestock in EU-27 was ∼10,400 kton. About 65% of the total N excretion was collected in barns and stored for some time prior to application to agricultural land. Almost 30% of the N excreted in barns was lost during storage; approximately 19% via NH3 emissions, 7% via emissions of NO, N2O and N2, and 4% via leaching and run-off. Differences between Member States in mean N losses from manure storages were large (range 19.5–35%). Another 19% of the N excreted in animal housing systems was lost via NH3 emissions following the application of the manure to land. The results indicate that maximally 52% of the N excreted in barns was effectively recycled as plant nutrient. Various emission abatement measures can be implemented and have been implemented already in some Member States to reduce the emissions of NH3 and N2O, and the leaching of N and P. There is scope to reduce NH3 emissions by ∼30% relative to the reference year 2000, although the uncertainty in estimated emissions and in the estimated effects of emission abatement measures is relatively large. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Increased adoption of silvoarable agroforestry (SAF) systems in Europe, by integrating trees and arable crops on the same land, could offer a range of environmental benefits compared with conventional agricultural systems. Soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, carbon sequestration and landscape biodiversity were chosen as indicators to assess a stratified random sample of 19 landscape test sites in the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions of Europe. At each site, the effect of introducing agroforestry was examined at plot-scale by simulating the growth of one of five tree species (hybrid walnut Juglans spp., wild cherry Prunus avium L., poplar Populus spp., holm oak Quercus ilex L. subsp. ilex and stone pine Pinus pinea L.) at two tree densities (50 and 113treesha−1) in combination with up to five crops (wheat Triticum spp., sunflower Helianthus annuus L., oilseed rape Brassica napus L., grain maize and silage maize Zea mays L.). At landscape-scale, the effect of introducing agroforestry on 10 or 50% of the agricultural area, on either the best or worst quality land, was examined. Across the 19 landscape test sites, SAF had a positive impact on the four indicators with the strongest effects when introduced on the best quality land. The computer simulations showed that SAF could significantly reduce erosion by up to 65% when combined with contouring practices at medium (>0.5 and <3tha−1 a−1) and high (>3tha−1 a−1) erosion sites. Nitrogen leaching could be reduced by up to 28% in areas where leaching is currently estimated high (>100kgNh−1 a−1), but this was dependent on tree density. With agroforestry, predicted mean carbon sequestration through immobilization in trees, over a 60-year period, ranged from 0.1 to 3.0tCh−1 a−1 (5–179tCh−1) depending on tree species and location. Landscape biodiversity was increased by introducing SAF by an average factor of 2.6. The implications of this potential for environmental benefits at European-scale are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) (2002/96/EC), to be implemented in stages from August 2004, attempts to tackle the growing quantity WEEE by making producers responsible for the costs of the collection and recycling of their products at the end of usable life. This is considered to give producers a financial incentive to reduce waste at source through eco-design. This link is, however, under-researched and little is known generally about the effectiveness of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and policies to promote it. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study to address these important gaps in knowledge. Literature review was used to develop an analytical framework to explain the relationships between the drivers for eco-design and the role of policies to promote EPR. This was applied to eight case studies of firms from the European lighting sector. While quantitative data to confirm the link between EPR and eco-design were difficult to obtain, the case studies showed that EPR has had little effect on product development so far. Within the sector studied, most producers have been able to pass on incremental costs associated with EPR to customers with negligible effects on sales. This reflects perceptions in the lighting sector that, because demand for products is relatively price inelastic and the regulation affects all producers equally, EPR is unlikely to drive eco-design at least in the short run. The cases also showed that choice between individual and centrally provided waste recovery schemes rested on perceptions of relative costs and practicability. It was evident that other drivers, such as bans on hazardous substances, product declarations and supply chain pressures, were often more effective promoters of eco-design. Thus it seems a mix of policy measures is required rather than reliance on economic instruments alone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Environmental policy requires increasing monitoring and reporting and Europe''s GMES initiative offers good prospects in this regard. With this in mind, the potential to use remote sensing data for tasks mandatory for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and its assigned agencies was analysed. The general potential of satellite data applications was studied for a total of 13 departmental issues, concentrating on nine specific remote sensing products and services important to the agencies, with the emphasis on the monitoring of land cover and land use. Product costs were estimated for an efficiency analysis and an independent product appraisal was performed by thematic experts. The evaluation showed most products to be of paramount importance for mandatory tasks in the fields of environmental observation and the Federal Environmental Specimen Bank; soil protection; water management (implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive); and air pollution control (impacts on sensitive ecosystems). Concluding recommendations discuss the harmonisation, implementation and shared funding of a stock of satellite data for federal and state agencies, the German position on further implementation of GMES, and the continuity of data provision to be secured by operational satellite missions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Main results of the second stage of the so-called “European Dioxin Emission Inventory” are presented. They cover emission testing data gained from various facilities in the EU (among these the first emission measurements reported from Portugal and Greece) and some central European countries. Further, updated dioxin emission estimates for the most important emission sources in the 17 western European countries and an evaluation of the emission time trend from 1985 to 2005 are presented. The major conclusions are, that

There are increasing calls for greater policy integration within European policy documents and research programmes. In the area of land use planning, transport and environment policy, there is widespread acceptance that integrating decisions across these sectors is crucial for sustainable development. Despite this, relatively little European research has been (or is being) carried out on the issue of policy integration, particularly in relation to transport, land use planning and environment policies. Most of the research is mainly technical and mainly focuses on policy options, instruments or assessment methods, rather than on decision-making processes and/or implementation issues; little attention has been given to organisational and/or institutional aspects of policy integration and how this relates to theories from organisational, policy or political sciences. This paper provides a review of policy integration in academic literature, European policy documents and research activities. The paper aims to give a historical perspective to the issue of policy integration, summarise recent policy and research, identify key research gaps and identify promising new areas for future research. The paper is divided into five main sections. The introduction is followed by a short overview of academic literature concerning policy integration. The next section discusses the importance of policy integration in European policy-making and policy documents. This is followed by an assessment of the importance of policy integration for European research programmes and projects. The last section presents some conclusions and recommendations for promising areas of research concerning policy integration in relation to transport, land use planning and environmental issues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Water supply and reuse through non-conventional water resources can significantly decrease the stress on natural water resources. Decentralized systems can help not only to alleviate issues of water security in arid areas, but also to create a sustainable framework within a circular economy. Although these small-scale innovative technologies are able to achieve ready-to-use, high quality of recovered/treated water on-site, the loop cannot be closed in most cases due to legislative barriers. Similarly, the end-use of sewage sludge after treatment in decentralized systems still lacks specific regulations that limit its valorization. This work analyzes the current policy and legislations related to water supply, wastewater treatment, water reuse and resource valorization within the context of decentralized state-of-the-art technologies applied in rural areas. The drawbacks in the current EU legislation that set barriers to close water-related loops in European countries are highlighted. A regulatory fitness check was applied to each type of loop to identify the key factors to accomplish the legislative compliance, and financing pathways were further evaluated at the EU level. As a possible solution, further development of an innovation deal approach is recommended to address the environmental, regulatory and financial gaps in water management through an integrated framework, providing ad-hoc policies and prescriptions for sustainable reuse of all water resources. • Regulatory fitness check was applied to closed water loops to identify legislative and financing barriers. • Current EU legislatives do not provide ad-hoc guidelines to decentralized systems. • No general barriers were detected for the reuse of reclaimed water in the EU legislation. • Serious limitations exist on drinking water production from non-conventional water resources. • Major constraints were determined for EC-marked compost for organic farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies have the potential to make the transport system more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable and sustainable. That is, digital technologies could fundamentally transform how people and goods are moved, with significant impacts on transport demand and on the related energy consumption and environmental impacts. This article proposes a scenario analysis for the future of European passenger transport, by evaluating the potential effects of digitalization on mobility demand, energy consumption and CO 2 emissions under different assumptions. The analysis illustrates that the penetration of digital technologies can lead to opposite effects with regard to both energy consumption and emissions. Two opposite scenarios are compared, to evaluate the effects of a "responsible" digitalization, in the direction of a sustainable mobility, against a "selfish" digitalization, where the final users maximize their utility. The likelihood of these two possible pathways is related to multiple drivers, including users' behavior, economic conditions and transport and environmental policies. Results show the variability range of the potential effects on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in Europe by 2030 and 2050, by considering digitalization trends including Mobility as a Service, Shared Mobility and Autonomous Vehicles. The variability of key parameters is evaluated in a dedicated sensitivity analysis, where the effects of electric vehicles, electricity generation mixes and vehicles' efficiency improvements are assessed. The article concludes that in order to fully exploit the advantages of digitalization, proper policies are needed to support an efficient and effective deployment of available technologies through an optimized and shared use of alternative transport options. • The paper evaluates the effects on energy consumption of digitalization in transport. • Different scenarios allow comparing alternative digitalization pathways. • Digitalization needs a tailored policy support to avoid higher energy consumption. • A sensitivity analysis supports the discussion on the various aspects involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]