Environment of Belgium

These efforts have led to Belgium being ranked as one of the top 10 countries (9 out of 132) in terms of environmental protection trends.

However, water quality still suffers from a relatively low, yet increasing percentage of sewage waste-water treatment, and from historical pollution accumulated in sediments.

[5] Belgium was poorly ranked in the Climate Change Performance Index due to the lack of regional teamwork.

It was the only region to respect the uletrior targets set by the European Commission, while Flanders and Brussels had poorer performance.

Wallonia is, thus, the only region following European expectations, although the use of the car remains relatively high due to hilly terrain.

Only 1,5% of municipal waste ends up to definitive disposal (either through landfills or brute incineration), which means a bit more than 5 kgs per capita.

[7] The generation of industrial waste is relatively high, as mentioned previously, but on average, 96% is treated, either in Europe or in Asian countries.

Moreover, according to the EU Commission (2015 report), the water quality at the Belgian coast was ranked excellent in over two out of three locations (i.e. 17) where samples were taken.

Belgium has cooler and wetter conditions compared to much of the rest of Europe due to the North Sea.

[10] In order to reduce noise pollution, the capital region of Brussels has announced several measures including support for quieter public and private transport fleets, extension of limited speed zones, increased use of quiet road pavement, and promotion of using acoustic insulators in construction and renovation of new buildings.

[11] A bit less than 70% of Belgium's overall energy supply comes from fossil fuels, which is under the OECD limit of 79%, but relatively high to many countries in Europe.