Eurostat estimates that in 2023, EU countries invested about 67 billion euros into assets essential to provide environmental protection services. These services included wastewater treatment plants, vehicles to transport waste, acquisitions of land to create a natural reserve, or cleaner equipment for production.
About 40 billion euros (60 per cent of total environmental protection investments) was spent by corporations, both the specialist providers of environmental protection services (e.g. private companies dealing with waste collection and processing and with sewerage) and corporations other than specialist producers, which purchase technologies and equipment reducing the environmental pressures arising from their production process (e.g. equipment reducing their air emissions). The general government and non-profit sector accounted for the remaining 40 per cent investments.
More:
- WEALTHY COUNTRIES HAVE LEARNED THEIR LESSON – THEY ARE TRYING TO RESTORE THEIR ESTUARIES
- EARTH DAY: WHAT IS IT, WHEN IS IT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- OIL SPILLS POSE A BIGGER THREAT TO FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
The share of environmental protection investments in total investments was about 1.8 per cent in 2023. More specifically, 1.7 per cent of all investments of corporations were environmental protection investments, and 4.5 per cent of all general government investments.
The largest amount of investments was related to wastewater and waste management services. In 2023, they accounted for 41.6 per cent and 26.6 per cent of the total investments for environmental protection, respectively. Air protection accounted for 10.4 per cent of investments for environmental protection. General environmental administration, R&D and protection against radiation accounted for 8.4 per cent. Biodiversity and landscape protection accounted for 6.4 per cent; soil and groundwater protection for 5.6 per cent and noise reduction for the remaining 1.1 per cent.
Source: Eurostat
