The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is an example of a governance mechanism employed in an attempt to limit investment in companies involved in illegal logging.

Mineral fuels for electricity and heat generation take primarily two forms: fossil fuels in the form of oil, natural gas and coal, and uranimum ore for nuclear power. Oil and gas are distributed in different belts, primarily in the North Sea, Caucasus and Northern Russia. Coal in different forms is still an important fuel resource and resources are distributed over the region. Uranium resources are primarily in Ukraine and Central Asia.

The political map and landscape in Europe has changed drastically in the period of 1957-2007. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the European Communities was formed in 1957 by the treaty of Rome, with six signatories. This was a time with considerable poltical tension between the Eastern Bloc (Warsaw pact, COMECON and associated countries) on one side, and NATO on the other. Through time, the communities expanded with the associated EFTA c...

The global conveyor belt thermohaline circulation is driven primarily by the formation and sinking of deep water (from around 1500m to the Antarctic bottom water overlying the bottom of the ocean) in the Norwegian Sea. When the strength of the haline forcing increases due to excess precipitation, runoff, or ice melt the conveyor belt will weaken or even shut down. The variability in the strength of the conveyor belt will lead to climate change in...

Life expectancy has increased in all countries surveyed in this graphic, from both Western and Eastern Europe. In the Western European countries, life expectancy at the end of the eighties is higher than 72 years old, with the former Eastern Bloc countries trailing behind.

The amount of natural water resorces available per inhabitant in Europe, in cubic meter per year. Water resources are at the highest in the Nordic countries and Central an Easter Europe, while scarce in Western/Central Europe

Water resources are a major political issure with most European countries a large portion of their fresh water supply orginating from other countries. Hungary has over 90 percent of its fresh water coming from river flows of other coutries.

On the continental scale, Europe appears to have abundant water resources. However, these resources are unevenly distributed, both between and within countries. Once population density is taken into account, the disequity in the distribution of water resources per inhabitant is striking.

Renewable water represents the main water resource available to society. This is the water that is continously recharged in the hydrological cycle. This graphic shows renewable resources in cubic meter per capita in Eastern and Western Europe

The graphic shows the development of organic matter, phosphorus and nitrate in EU 15 rivers. Water resources in Europe have been profoundly influenced over the past century by human activities, including the construction of dams and canals, large irrigation and drainage systems, changes of land cover in most watersheds, high inputs of chemicals from industry and agriculture into surface and groundwater, and depletion of aquifers. Some of the most...

The graphic shows relative importance given to environmental issues in different regions of the world, listing Asia-Pacific and Europe as the regions with most environmental issues of critical importance.

Presentation of impact analysis from the Europe and Asia GLOBIO2 analysis and scenarios prepared for the GEO-3 publication. Much of Arctic Russia is very sparsely populated and will remain one of the World's few wilderness areas.

Presentation of impact analysis from the Europe GLOBIO2 analysis and scenarios prepared for the GEO-3 publication. In addition to the human impact on the mountains of Southern Norway this also displays selected protected areas.

Presentation of impact analysis from the Europe GLOBIO2 analysis and scenarios prepared for the GEO-3 publication. In addition to the human impact on the mountains of Southern Norway this also displays selected protected areas.

The GLOBIO-2 model is based on settlements and modern infrastructure such as roads, powerlines and pipelines. This map presents the situation as it could have been before the advent of industrialization, with very little impact and fragmentation. The main human impact at this stage would have been the conversion of land, primarily in Europe.

The Kyoto Protocol is only a first step towards combating climate change. Drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are required to avoid the most threatening consequences of global warming. Concerns are raised that the price for the economy will be too high, but studies indicate that there will only be a small reduction in GDP to reach the Kyoto targets and that it is possible to stabilize the concentration of CO2 at low costs. The GDP los...

Shows the amount of power that is used in the three main regions from fossil fuels, hydropower and other sources. While Central America and the Caribbean have a very carbon intense electricity production, even more intense than North America and Europe, South America has the lowest carbon intense electricity production . Between 1990 and 1999, emissions from electricity and heat production in fthe Caribbean and Central America increased by more...

Some 11 countries in Europe (Western, Central Europe and the Balkans) are affected by anti-personnel mines. Several Balkan countries are severely affected as a result of the recent armed conflicts. However, the long-term legacy of anti-personnel mine contamination is also apparent in this region, where some countries are still removing anti-personnel mines laid during the Second World War.

The graphic shows the number of physicians per 100 000 inhabitants in Europe. As the World Health Organization, which compiled this data, notes, 'Estimates of health personnel are extremely difficult to obtain.'

In 2000, the world had 6.1 billion human inhabitants. This number could rise to more than 9 billion in the next 50 years. For the last 50 years, world population multiplied more rapidly than ever before, and more rapidly than it will ever grow in the future.