Every five years, the European Environment Agency publishes a state of the environment report.

The 2025 report stresses that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness, which depends on natural resources. Protecting natural resources, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and reducing pollution will build the resilience of vital societal functions that depend on nature, such as food security, drinking water and flood defences.

We need to rethink the links between our economy and the natural environment, land, water and natural resources. The circular economy is part of this dynamic, and is addressed in chapter 4 on Managing the dynamic between our economy and our natural resources.