Informe El medio ambiente en Europa: Estado y perspectivas 2020

PART 2
FIGURE 7.9
Overview of major pathways of indirect climate change impacts for Europe
Trade (non-agricultural commodities)
- Risks to raw materials supply
- Risks to manufacturing industry
- Improved Arctic sea transport
Trade (agricultural commmodities)
- Global food price volatilities
- Reliability of supply and distribution
Infrastructure
- Risks to energy supply
- Vulnerable energy infrastructure
- Transport network disruptions
Human mobility
- Changing tourism flows
- Climate-induced migration
- Critical role of Africa
Geopolitical risks
- Climate and armed conflict
- Climate and security strategies
- Rights and access to Arctic resources
Finance
- Economic repercussions
of extreme events
- Insurance systems
Source:
Adapted from EEA (2017c).
impact on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions from methane (CH 4
) and
nitrous oxide (N 2
O). The Montreal
Protocol on ozone-depleting substances
has been one of the most successful
multilateral environmental (and indirectly
climatic) agreements to date, contributing
to substantial reductions in GHG
emissions in Europe and worldwide. This
was because many of the substances
addressed in the Montreal Protocol
such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are
also potent GHGs (Velders et al., 2007).
The banning of CFCs, however, led to an
increase in the consumption of substitute
gases such as HFCs. In 2016, the Montreal
Protocol was thus amended in Kigali,
where countries committed to cutting the
production and consumption of HFCs by
over 80 % over the next 30 years.
Considerable co-benefits exist for air
pollution and climate policies, not
only at national but also at local level,
although there are some trade-offs
as well (Chapter 8). For instance, to
Considerable co-benefits exist
for air pollution and climate
policies.
stimulate the transition towards a more
environmentally friendly future, the
European Commission adopted the
circular economy action plan (EC, 2015a).
It includes measures covering the entire
cycle from production and consumption
to waste management. These actions
should encourage greater recycling
and reuse, and bring benefits for the
environment, the economy and the
climate (Chapter 9).
Moreover, the EU’s Large Combustion
Plant Directive has encouraged efficiency
improvements and fuel switching from
solid fuels to cleaner fuels and thus
helped reduce emissions, not only of air
pollutants but also of greenhouse gases
(EEA, 2011, 2019a). Indeed, the EU has
been able to reduce GHG emissions and
air pollution, improve energy efficiency
and achieve higher shares of energy
from renewable sources and, at the
same time, increase economic growth.
Nevertheless, much remains to be done,
and considering the co-benefits and
trade-offs between climate policies and
other policies, including environmental
policies, in the design of new legislation
would achieve maximum benefits.
In relation to direct effects, and the
effectiveness of climate and energy
policies, EEA analysis (EEA, 2016a) has
shown that there is statistical evidence of
a long-term relationship between GHG
emissions, economic growth and use of
energy from fossil fuels, and that GHG
emissions can be predicted in the short
term based on these two variables, with
some variations due to, for example,
particularly cold or warm years. A later
analysis (EEA, 2017a) also showed
that, based on projections reported
by Member States, this long‐term
180 SOER 2020/Climate change