In 2023, EU countries invested approximately €67 billion into essential assets for providing environmental protection services, according to Eurostat estimates. These investments covered a range of initiatives, including wastewater treatment plants, waste transportation vehicles, land acquisitions for natural reserves, and cleaner production equipment.
Corporations were the primary contributors, accounting for about €40 billion or 60% of the total investments. This included both specialist environmental protection service providers and other corporations investing in technologies to reduce environmental impact. The remaining 40% of investments came from the general government and non-profit sectors.
Environmental protection investments constituted around 1.8% of total investments in 2023. Corporations dedicated 1.7% of their total investments to environmental protection, while the general government allocated 4.5%.
The majority of the investments were directed towards wastewater and waste management services, comprising 41.6% and 26.6% of the total investments, respectively. Air protection received 10.4% of the funds, while general environmental administration, R&D, and radiation protection accounted for 8.4%. Biodiversity and landscape protection saw 6.4% of the investments, soil and groundwater protection 5.6%, and noise reduction the remaining 1.1%.
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