KAZALCI OKOLJA

Environmental indicators in Slovenia


Environmental indicators are based on graphs, maps and assessments and as such present environmental trends in Slovenia. The indicators represent one of the four pillars of our environmental reporting, and are prepared in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act. The Environmental Indicators in Slovenia website enables users to browse among 180 indicators. They are based on numerical data and they indicate the state, characteristics and trends of environmental development in Slovenia. They are prepared using a systematic approach based on data and monitoring, as shown in the information pyramid.

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Neutral

In 2018, more than half of Slovenia's land area was covered by forests (56% or 58% including shrubland), while other mostly natural vegetation accounted for 3%. Farmland occupied 34% of land area, while slightly less than 4% was artificial land, and less than 1% was water. In the periods 1996–2000, 2000–2006 and 2006–2012, land cover and land use changes were relatively small (they occurred on 0.12%, 0.13% and 0.09% of the entire territory, respectively). In the latest period 2012–2018 land cover and land use changes slightly increase (they occurred on 0,44 % ot the entire territory).

Bad

In Slovenia, built-up areas continue to increase, representing 5.7% of the land use structure in 2023. In the period 2019-2023 built-up areas were predominantly spread to grasslands (42%), forest (18.6%) and the category other (16.1%), with the total built-up area increasing by 1,618.9 ha over this period. Existing data sources in Slovenia have recently made it possible to evaluate the actual loss of land to development.

Neutral

The intensity of SO2, NOx and CO2 emissions from electricity and heat production in public thermal power plants in 2021 was significantly lower than in 2005, with SO2 emissions intensity 94% lower, NOx  71% lower and CO2 28% lower. Compared to the EU-27 average, the intensity of CO2 emissions in Slovenia in 2021 was higher, NOx emissions slightly lower and SO2 emissions significantly lower.

Neutral

 

During the period from 2012 to 2022, taxes on energy sources in Slovenia fluctuated, generally decreasing except for electricity for industrial consumers, where they increased due to levies. Between 2020 and 2022, temporary measures were introduced to reduce taxes on certain energy sources due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Compared to the EU-27, the taxation of electricity and natural gas for households in Slovenia was lower, while it was higher for industrial consumers; diesel fuel taxation was higher, while gasoline taxation was lower.

 

Neutral

Over the period 1990-2022, the amount of spent nuclear fuel, the only high-level radioactive waste, increased at an average rate of 5% per year. In the absence of a satisfactory permanent storage solution, there are concerns about the accumulation of this waste.

Neutral

Soil erosion is a natural geomorphic process of soil particle detachment and transport. Due to human activities, it can be significantly accelerated, reaching levels much higher than in natural conditions. Erosion (water, wind, and tillage erosion) remains the most significant threat to soils in many regions of the world. Measuring erosion is typically done under controlled conditions on standardized test plots, which is a time-consuming, costly, and organizationally demanding process. Therefore, erosion risks and intensities are often assessed using computational models.