JUNIPER-Europe indicator-specific resource–environment nexus hotspots across six countries against a wider European reference

Integrated sustainability assessments often compare countries through separate sectoral indicators, limiting diagnosis of cross-sector resource–environment hotspots. We present JUNIPER-Europe, the European implementation of the Joint Use of Nexus Indicators for Policy and Environmental Resilience framework, for Greece, the United Kingdom, Finland, Czechia, Spain and Romania, together with a wider European reference covering the EU-27, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Harmonised 2000–2019 data were used to compare 2019 baseline states across water, food, energy, transport, health and biodiversity. Spain recorded the highest Water Exploitation Index (31.23%), whereas Greece had the largest agricultural share of total water withdrawals (77.1%). The Energy-module contribution dominated total simulated greenhouse-gas emissions in all six national implementations, although Food- and Transport-module contributions varied. Simulated biodiversity-risk proxies identified different national profiles: Romania had the lowest Red List Index (RLI, 0.72), whereas Czechia had the lowest Red List Index of Ecosystems (RLIe, 0.57). The calibrated Quality of Life (QoL) proxy produced a distinct cross-country ordering and is interpreted as a comparative living-conditions measure rather than as an observed welfare statistic. The European reference often fell within national ranges but represented no single national profile. JUNIPER-Europe provides a harmonised baseline for country-specific nexus diagnosis and future pathway analysis.