Sustainable development indicators

Sustainable development in the European Union

The EU sustainable development strategy, launched by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001 and renewed in June 2006, aims for the continuous improvement of quality of life for current and future generations. The Eurostat monitoring report, published every two years, provides an objective, statistical picture of progress, based on the EU set of sustainable development indicators. Quantitative rules applied consistently across indicators, and visualised through weather symbols, provide a relative assessment of whether Europe is moving in the right direction, and with sufficient haste, given the objectives and targets defined in the strategy. The data presented cover the period from 1990 to 2010 (or the latest year available). The statistics covered illustrate the range of issues relevant for sustainable development, and should contribute to raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges lying ahead.

Driving forces behind EU-27 greenhouse gas emissions over the decade 1999-2008 - Issue number 10/2011

In this publication we look at important trends in the source sectors of greenhouse gas emissions to help understand what has led to the emissions reduction in the decade of 1999-2008. The European Statistical System collects official statistics that are often used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions which are then reported in emissions inventories. Thus, while the inventory data is collected by the European Environment Agency, Eurostat has statistics that provide a solid basis for analysis of the underlying driving forces behind emissions. Climate change is a major threat to sustainable development. Indicators that monitor progress towards the objectives and targets of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy are utilized in the publication to provide the framework for the present analysis.

Sustainable development in the European Union - 2009 monitoring report on the EU sustainable development strategy

The EU sustainable development strategy, launched by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001 and renewed in June 2006, aims for the continuous improvement of quality of life for current and future generations. The Eurostat monitoring report, to be published every two years, provides an objective, statistical picture of progress, based on the EU set of sustainable development indicators. Quantitative rules applied consistently across indicators, and visualised through weather symbols, provide a relative assessment of whether Europe is moving in the right direction, and with sufficient haste, given the objectives and targets defined in the strategy. The data presented cover the period from 1990 to 2008 (or the latest year available). The statistics covered illustrate the range of issues relevant for sustainable development, and should contribute to raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges lying ahead.

Measuring progress towards a more sustainable Europe - 2007 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy

The EU sustainable development strategy, launched by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001 and renewed in June 2006, aims for the continuous improvement of quality of life for current and future generations. The Eurostat monitoring report, to be published every two years, underpins the European Commission's progress report on the implementation of the strategy. It provides an objective, statistical picture of progress, based on the EU set of sustainable development indicators. Quantitative rules applied consistently across indicators, and visualised through weather symbols, provide a relative assessment of whether Europe is moving in the right direction, and with sufficient haste, given the objectives and targets defined in the strategy. The data presented cover the period from 1990 to 2006 (or the latest year available). The statistics covered illustrate the range of issues relevant for sustainable development, and should contribute to raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges lying ahead.

Measuring progress towards a more sustainable Europe - Sustainable development indicators for the European Union - Data 1990-2005

This publication, aimed at the general public as well as decision-makers, provides a first progress report on the implementation of the sustainable development strategy, launched by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001. It focuses on quantitative trends, restricting the analysis to the set of sustainable development indicators (SDI) adopted by the European Commission in February 2005, and provides a useful complement to the Commission's communication on the review of the sustainable development strategy. Trends are assessed against policy objectives to inform the readers about the achievements, trade-offs, and failures in achieving the commonly agreed objectives. The data presented cover the period from 1990 to 2005 (or the latest year available). The emphasis is on the visualisation of trends – the actual data can be downloaded from the Eurostat SDI webpage. The wide range of themes covered illustrates both the practical implications of sustainable development for EU citizens, and the complexity of issues involved. This report should contribute to raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges lying ahead.

Analysis of national sets of indicators used in the National Reform Programmes and Sustainable Development Strategies

The present report informs about the results of a study of the national sets of indicators used in the National Reform Programmes and Sustainable Development Strategies. The project was implemented by the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna together with the Research Institute for Managing Sustainability at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration as sub-contractor.