A quality environment. How the EU is contributing

The European Union’s environmental policy is based on the conviction that economic growth, social progress and environmental protection all help to improve our quality of life. What is more, they are interlinked. A careful balance must be struck between them if development in, and around the world, is to be sustainable — in other words, if future generations are also to enjoy a better quality of life. The major challenges for the environment today are climate change, the decline in biodiversity, the threat to our health from pollution, the way in which we use natural resources and the production of too much waste. The EU is addressing these challenges by setting high environmental standards, and by promoting new ways of working and cleaner technologies. New environment-friendly technologies developed in Europe could also make our economy more competitive, thus creating jobs and funding social progress.

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