Building sustainable competitiveness in an uncertain future

Europe faces an increasingly competitive and uncertain global environment, shaped by geopolitical change, technological disruption and growing exposure to climate and environmental risks. What strategic choices can Europe make today to remain prosperous, resilient and competitive towards 2040? A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report explores the forces likely to shape Europe’s future and identifies six ‘no-regret’ options that could strengthen its long-term competitiveness.

The new EEA report, Competitive by nature: Europe’s long-term competitiveness through the lens of sustainability, explores key factors likely to shape Europe’s future to 2040 and shows how investing in sustainability can help Europe strengthen its long-term competitiveness. 

The new EEA report looks beyond conventional measures of competitiveness, such as productivity, investment, prices and economic growth. For Europe, long term sustainable competitiveness means creating economic value while maintaining and regenerating the natural and social capital on which future prosperity depends. 

Competitiveness based on resource depletion, environmental degradation or the externalisation of social costs may deliver short-term gains while weaking resilience and productive capacity over time. At the same time, sustainability cannot be achieved without innovation, investment and economic dynamism.