Europe's land import dependency

1 October 2011

New research commissioned by Friends of the Earth Europe from Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) shows the scale of flows of ‘virtual land’ around the world – this is all the land that has been used to produce traded products. Europe’s 'land footprint' is one of the largest in the world, and the continent is more dependent on land from outside its borders than any other, contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and negative social impacts like land-grabbing and land rights violations.

Related issues

    • Agriculture

      Food and farming in Europe and its global impacts

    • Agrofuels

      Plant-based fuels from agriculture. Also known as biofuels

    • Biodiversity

      Species protection in Europe and around the globe

    • GMOs

      Genetically modified crops and organisms

    • Land

      Measuring Europe’s land footprint and tackling the drivers of land grabbing

    • Biodiversity

      Species protection in Europe and around the globe

    • Extractive industries

      Oil and gas exploration, and mining

    • Land

      Measuring Europe’s land footprint and tackling the drivers of land grabbing

    • Materials and waste

      Reducing, reusing and recycling resources

    • Resource use

      Europe’s consumption of land, materials, water and carbon

    • Shale gas

      Unconventional gas and the extraction process known as ‘fracking’

    • Tar sands

      Unconventional oil. Also known as oil sands

    • Water use

      Measuring Europe’s water footprint