Latest ETC Reports (included in homepage)

This report offers an in-depth foresight assessment that critically evaluates and questions the foundational assumptions of European environmental policies related to the Green Deal. To enhance the resilience of these frameworks, the two-year study utilises a comprehensive set of methods, including impact wheel analysis, Ishikawa diagrams, cross-impact analysis, semi-structured interviews, and causal layered analysis. This approach reveals the cascading effects, entrenched cognitive biases, and intricate interdependencies present in policy design. These techniques facilitate a detailed examination of specific policy areas while providing a systemic perspective on how the connections among circular economy, bioeconomy, clean air and health, and the decarbonisation of transport impact overall sustainability results. By harnessing these diverse foresight techniques, the assessment reveals that conventional policy narratives are often oversimplified, obscuring risks and trade-offs that, if unchallenged, may impede a successful transition to a sustainable Europe. The impact wheel and Ishikawa diagrams facilitate the structured identification of primary and secondary effects, while the cross-impact analysis maps the interactive dynamics between assumptions. Semi-structured interviews provide nuanced stakeholder perspectives that uncover underlying worldviews and metaphors shaping policy discourse when synthesised via causal layered analysis. The study offers actionable recommendations for enhancing policy resilience, promoting integrated governance, and fostering adaptive strategies capable of addressing the multipronged challenges posed by environmental uncertainty.

Fuel quality monitoring under the Fuel Quality Directive

This report provides an up-to-date assessment of the burden of disease from transportation noise in children and adolescents in Europe. Novel exposure response functions are derived by means of an Umbrella+ review, combining systematic reviews with recent original research. Calculations are conducted for three scenarios: i) using a quantification threshold of 55 dB; ii) using the WHO guidelines as a quantification threshold; and iii) using the identified effect threshold of 45 or 50 dB, respectively. According to scenario i) 564,000 children with reading difficulties, 63,000 children with behavioral problems and 272,000 children with overweight are attributable to transportation noise exposure in Europe. Substantially higher number were found for scenario ii) and iii). A review of intervention studies identified five types of interventions ranging from noise reduction at the source to social interventions including education. Research evaluating the effectiveness of such interventions for children’s health is very limited.