ENVIRONMENT

 
Environmental policy lies at the heart of sustainability, encompassing everything from responses to climate change to energy policy. This criterion covers government activities aimed at safeguarding the environment and enabling sustainable economic development.

In times of global warming and resource scarcity, energy mix is a critical element of environmental policy. Though the fact of human-caused climate change has been widely accepted, not all countries have effectively reduced the emission of greenhouse gases, or have increased the share of alternative and renewable energy sources used.

For European countries, EU directives are a critical spur to environmental progress. The question of how to balance ecological and economic concerns remains important everywhere.