Protecting air, water and land
The EU aims at contributing to a more sustainable transport system by setting air quality targets, by establishing fuel standards and by promoting alternative energy sources to avoid harmful nuisances on the population. To protect sensitive areas, framework regulation has been created to maintain high standards of preservation and to assess projects for economic and societal use on their ecological compatibility.

Water Framework Directive
The EU Water Framework Directive aims at protecting all EU waters, including surface waters and groundwater. Water management is organised on the basin of river basins. The directive has as objectives to:
- achieving "good status" for all waters by a set deadline
- "combined approach" of emission limit values and quality standards
- getting the prices right
- getting the citizen involved more closely
- streamlining legislation.
The implementation of the Water Framework Directive raises a number of shared technical challenges for the Member States, the EC as well as stakeholders and NGOs. In addition, many of the European river basins are international, crossing administrative and territorial borders and therefore a common understanding and approach is crucial to the successful and effective implementation of the Directive. Member States and EC hence agreed on a Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework. Hot items such as climate change, water scarcity and droughts, flood management are addressed in this framework to ensure a coordinated approach.
≡ EU WFD website 
≡ Common Implementation Strategy  
≡ Water Information System for Europe WISE  

Flood risk management directive
The directive on the assessment and management of floods aims to reduce and manage the risks that floods pose to human health, the environment, infrastructure and property. The directive is compatible with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and outlines a three-stage strategy to be implemented by Member States:
1. Preliminary flood risk assessments of river basins and coastal areas by 2011;
2. Flood hazard maps for high risk areas by 2013;
3. Flood risk management plans by 2015.
Flood risk management plans are to focus on prevention, protection and preparedness in order to reduce the probability and negative consequences of future floods. For example, flood plains and wetlands are to be restored and future developments in flood prone areas are to be avoided. This is a positive opportunity to include flood defense into waterway works.
≡ EU flood risk management directive  

Clean Air for Europe (CAFE)
The aim of CAFE is to develop a long-term, strategic and integrated policy to protect against significant negative effects of air pollution on human health and the environment. The EC monitors air pollution across Europe and formulated a new proposal to improve ambient air quality. The “CAFE directive proposal” aims at revising and replacing previous directives, and concentrates on particulate matter and ozone. As for inland shipping, the main handicap to speed up eco-innovation is that current EU legislation maintains the same fuel standards for inland shipping as the heavy marine fuels with high sulphur levels. Ultra sulphur-low fuels however give the quickest results to slash harmful emissions in the short term. Therefore, INE calls upon the EU to soon enact measures for ultra-low sulphur.
≡ Clean Air for Europe (CAFE)
≡ CAFE directive proposal
≡ Kyoto Protocol
≡ Sulphur & eco-innovation

Sustainable development policy under review
The Sustainable Development Strategy, adopted in 2001, proposing measures to deal with threats to our quality of life – focusing on issues such as climate change, transport congestion, biodiversity loss etc., is now under review to make a greater effort in focusing and implementing the real changes needed to make progress. Climate change, clean energy and sustainable transport are at the heart of the debate. Cleaner and more energy efficient vehicles will be promoted to cut emissions. INE is hopeful this will provide adequate support for research projects developing clean vessels using renewable energies.
≡ EU Sustainable Development Strategy