"From green to gray": 1.500 km2 of land artificialized each year in Europe, according to a survey

"Between 2018 and 2023, we lost approximately 9.000 km2 of gross land to construction, "an area equivalent to the size of Cyprus," the authors - 41 journalists and scientists from eleven countries - of this investigation coordinated by the Arena for Journalism in Europe network and entitled "Green to Grey" indicate in a press release.

Every week, nearly 30 km2 of land is artificialized, and every day the equivalent of 600 football pitches, they warn.

These results show that the European Environment Agency (EEA) data "probably underestimates the extent of artificialization in Europe," at least 1,5 times greater according to the survey data, which is based on an analysis of satellite images, with finer resolution than that of the EEA, coupled with a machine learning model.

In 2019, the EEA published a report showing that while "a considerable area" slightly smaller than Slovenia was concreted or asphalted between 2000 and 2018 in Europe, the rate of growth of this artificialization had slowed, falling from 1.086 km2 per year between 2000 and 2006 to 711 km2 per year between 2012 and 2018.

Artificialization, to build accommodation, factories or roads but also sometimes tourist activities, is carried out first on natural spaces, such as forests, meadows or wetlands, of which 900 km2 are destroyed each year.

600 km2 of agricultural land are also being nibbled away annually, with "serious consequences for food and health security".

"For years, Europe has promised to be a leader in climate and nature conservation, but what this survey shows is that we are literally concreting our own future," said Lena Schilling, an Austrian MEP and environmental activist, quoted in the press release.

In 2011, Brussels set a non-binding target of reducing land take to 800 km2 per year. It aims for zero net land take across the continent by 2050. But internal political tensions within the EU have led to the unraveling or narrowing of the scope of certain environmental texts.

In France too, the "zero net artificialization" (ZAN) has been significantly relaxed by the law simplifying the economy.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.