Europe
The pan-European region comprises of 53 countries and extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Geographical groupings include northern, southern, eastern and western Europe (UN groupings). Sub-regional groups include the European Union (EU), South Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Russian Federation and Central Asia. The region is diverse in terms of cultural, social, economic, environmental and political attributes (UNEP and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe [UNECE] 2016).
Introduction
There are many common environmental and sustainable development challenges faced by all the countries in the region as well as country-specific challenges. There are also differentiated responsibilities between sub-regions and countries in terms of priorities and implementing the SDGs. Europe is not only affected by global megatrends occurring well beyond its boundaries (e.g. diverging population and migration trends, increasing urbanisation, more global competition for resources, an increasingly multipolar world, and climate change) but also contributes to global drivers.
Statistical availability and capacity
Many European countries are well prepared from an institutional perspective to implement and monitor the SDGs both at the national level and at the multi-national level and are already using well established processes. SDGs implementation is the responsibility of everyone and each country will move forward with their own priorities; however, multilateralism and transboundary cooperation are not only critical, but a prerequisite for achieving the ambitious SDGs. In this regard, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Statistical Division and UN Environment are active in raising UNECE countries’ capacities to monitor progress towards SDGs and targets through coordination and methodological work including support and guidance for the development of national SDGs reporting systems and capacity building.
In May 2017, following a wide consultation process, the EU agreed on 100 indicators through which to monitor progress towards the SDGs. These indicators are aligned as far as considered appropriate to the UN global framework (which the EU member state reports on) but are also linked to the context of long-term EU policies. Eurostat has been tasked with monitoring progress towards achieving the SDGs for the EU. It has produced two annual reports (Eurostat 2018) on progress
Sustainable Development Goal
in 2017 and 2018 which include a detailed monitoring report and an overview report. Eurostat also manages the SDGs database and has a comprehensive website displaying the indicators, providing datasets by region and by country.
Progress and gaps
Overall the EU Member States are making progress towards achieving most of the SDGs (European Union [EU] 2017). Over the last five years the most notable areas of progress have been for SDG 3 (Health), SDG 4 (Education) and SDG 7 (Energy). However, some progress has also been made on SDG 11 (Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production), SDG 5 (Gender), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 17 (Partnerships and Means of Implementation), and SDG 1 (End Poverty) (EU 2017).
Minor progress has been made for SDG 15 (Land and Biodiversity); however, this sends mixed messages as, based on other indicators, the EU is not on track to meet its policy targets “to protect, preserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital” (European Environment Agency [EEA] 2018). At the broader pan-European regional level, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are continuing and are mainly caused by increased land-use change, particularly unsustainable agricultural intensification, urbanisation, soil contamination and habitat fragmentation. Ongoing biodiversity decline and loss is particularly high in Eastern
Haze covers an urban center behind a neighbourhood in the pan-European region (Valentiny and Rodriguez 2016).
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