AUTHORS: Leonardo Mazza – Patrick ten Brink

There have been growing demands for a more robust and comprehensive evidence base to respond to the multiple challenges facing policy makers. Within the EU, an improved evidence base to support policy-making would prove invaluable. The proposed 7th Environment Action Programme (7th EAP) on which discussions are current underway could be a major catalyst in improving the availability and use of indicators and accounts and ensuring that opportunities for integrating the wider evidence base into policy-making, implementation and evaluation are realised. This would support the Europe 2020 Strategy and the transition towards a resource efficient, green economy.

This paper was prepared to inform discussions on the 7th Environmental Action Programme under the IEEP project on ‘Charting Europe’s environmental policy future’. It provides a brief overview of the context and state of play in the area of “measurement to manage” and needs for future action in this area. It also examines the potential role of the 7th EAP in improving the availability and use of indicators and environmental accounts in the EU in both the short and long-term.