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Over the past decades the EU has put in place a broad range of environmental legislation. As a result, air, water and soil pollution has significantly been reduced. Chemicals legislation has been modernized and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances has been restricted. Today, EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world and over 18% of EU's territory has been designated as protected areas for nature. However, significant challenges remain for which the EU is taking action including at the international level.

The 7th Environment Action Programme, presented in the previous government report, will guide European environment policy until 2020.

On 2 December 2015, the European Commission adopted an ambitious new Circular Economy Package. It is aimed at using resources in a more sustainable manner for the benefit of both the economy and the environment, and to contributing to the sustainable development Goals under the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, notably on responsible consumption and production. The Package is now being implemented with a range of concrete actions. In this context, the EU is in the process of adopting new rules on waste, while a strategy on plastics use, reuse and recycling (including the issue of marine litter) is expected in the course of 2017.

An Action Plan against wildlife trafficking was presented in February 2016 focusing on greater enforcement, better cooperation and more effective prevention, and including measures to strengthen the EU's contribution to global efforts.

The most prominent examples of EU instruments with environmental objectives are the Timber Regulation and related Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreements addressing trade in illegal timber, and the EU Regulation addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. With reference to the EU FLEGT Action Plan, in May 2016 the European Commission published the results of an independent evaluation of its implementation during the period 2003-2014. The evaluation showed that it has been an innovative response to the challenge of illegal logging and has improved forest governance in all targeted countries. A number of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with selected timber exporting countries that commit themselves to trade only in verified legal timber covered by FLEGT licenses are concluded or under negotiation. As of end of February 2017, the EU has signed VPAs with the following six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Liberia, Republic of Congo and Indonesia. Negotiations are ongoing with the following nine countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guyana, Honduras, Laos, Malaysia, Viet Nam and Thailand. The FLEGT VPA with Indonesia has been operational since 15 November 2016.

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP21) sketches out the road towards a transition to a low greenhouse gas emission, resource efficient, and climate resilient global economy. This transition demands a fundamental shift in technologies, energy systems, business and investment behaviour, and ultimately, in society as a whole. To date, 190 countries have submitted their national plans (indicative nationally determined contributions).

The EU's leadership ahead of and during COP21, including through its collective diplomatic outreach under the framework of the 2015 climate diplomacy action plan, contributed to the positive outcome. In particular, the EU and its Member States played a critical role in shifting negotiations dynamics at the crucial stage of COP21 and, as a result, the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, after the EU had ratified it. In November 2016, at the meeting held in Marrakech (COP22), the EU committed itself to defend and implement the Paris Agreement, continuing to lead the way towards a more sustainable and competitive economy.

Climate change has been central to the EU's actions for several years. In this respect, as an integral policy of the European Energy Union, the EU has developed the "EU Climate action - decarbonizing the economy" for implementing at EU level the measures aimed at reaching the goals set in COP21, as well as in the Agenda 2030.

The EU’s objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 compared to 1990. The EU Climate and Energy framework includes a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40% below 1990 levels for the year 2030. The EU has also committed itself to dedicating at least 20% of its entire budget from 2014-2020 to climate-related actions.

The EU was also instrumental in achieving another important milestone, notably the agreement reached in October 2016 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The agreement aims at implementing a market-based measure which is based on the offsetting of CO2-greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve carbon-neutral growth of international civil aviation as of 2020. The technical details of this new scheme will be finalized over the coming years.