“Significant progress has been made, but the overall state of the environment in Europe is not good,” said the EEA. The report emphasizes that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to the health, prosperity, and competitiveness of the EU.

Recent extreme weather conditions have shown how vulnerable prosperity and security are to pollution and climate change, according to European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera. “Protecting nature is not a cost; it is an investment in our competitiveness, resilience, and the well-being of our citizens.”

At the same time, the report also shows positive trends: since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 37 percent, largely due to reduced dependence on coal, oil, and gas, while the share of renewable energy in electricity production has doubled since 2005.

But in other areas, the agency is sounding the alarm. Biodiversity and water resources are under high pressure. The transport sector remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, and the European continent is warming twice as fast as the global average.

There is also work to be done in Belgium: despite some successes, the pressure from mobility, urbanization, and intensive agriculture on the environment remains high. This pressure must be reduced to slow down biodiversity loss and improve water quality and soil health.

Additionally, Belgium will need to shift up a gear to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants by 47 percent by 2030, as agreed at the European level.