Summary: April 15, 2005: Speech by Stavros Dimas, Member of the European Commission, responsible for Environment, on 'Sustainable Development in the Commission's policy agenda', Stakeholder Forum (Brussels)
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you today - and I want to thank the Economic and Social Committee for hosting this event together with the Commission. It will surely produce very useful input to the Commission's internal discussions in the coming months on the revision of the Sustainable Development Strategy.
I am here today mainly to listen to what you have to say, and to learn from your two days of reflections. But I would like to start with a few words of introduction and give you a taste of the Commission's approach.
SD is at the heart of the Commission's policy agenda
The first clear message is that SD remains at the heart of the Commission's policy agenda.
All strategic decisions made by the new Commission confirm this. The Commission's strategic objectives, setting the priorities for the coming five years, recognise the need for sustainable management and protection of our environment as a key duty towards future generations. The strategic objectives stress that actions that promote competitiveness, growth and jobs can be mutually re-enforcing with social cohesion and a healthy environment. This is embodied in the concept of Sustainable
Development.
Unsustainable trends are worsening
The second key message is that, in many areas, the situation is getting worse - not better. In other words, the unsustainable trends identified in Göteborg are still a serious cause for concern.
Climate change is one of the most worrying of these. Evidence of the negative impacts of climate change is growing. Last year - 2004 - was the most costly year in insurance history in terms of natural catastrophes. Global insured losses totalled over €30 billion, according to the world's largest re-insurer, Munich Re. Windstorms and other climate-related severe weather events were responsible for 90% of these losses. Climate change may also exacerbate many other problems such as the loss of
biodiversity, the degradation of water resources and the spread of disease.
Further proof that ecosystems around the world continue to be exploited was given recently by the publication of the United Nation's "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report". A wide range of species are now threatened by extinction. The economic and environmental costs, not to mention all the resulting human tragedies, will continue to rise unless we take action now.
We need a strong SDS
This brings me to my third message: for the reasons that I've just mentioned, the revised SDS should be more comprehensive and more ambitious. The Commission's Orientation paper of 9 February says how we intend to do this.
It emphasizes the importance of a clear, integrated and holistic vision of a sustainable society to help steer all EU policies towards this common aim.
It also emphasises the need to set detailed targets, milestones and measures involving all actors. These need to be coherent with our international commitments. They also need to be coherent with and complementary to actions taken at national level.
Finally, to keep track of progress and make sustainable development a regular focus of attention at the highest political level the strategy needs an effective monitoring procedure.
Spring Council - Support for SDS
With this in mind, I believe we can be very pleased with the results of the Spring Council. It recognised the urgency and need to act and confirmed that sustainable development is the overarching aim of the EU.
In this respect, Lisbon also contributes to this aim, not only by focusing on growth and making sure that people have good jobs, but also importantly by firmly anchoring environment in the Lisbon agenda.
The Spring Council conclusions send a strong message to promote environmental technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energy and to tackle climate change. They also recognise the importance of biodiversity for key economic sectors covered by the Lisbon strategy and the need to shift to more sustainable production and consumption patterns.
We need concrete actions
When it comes to proposing concrete actions, I think this last point is very promising: changing production and consumption patterns.
Tapping the full potential of green public procurement would be an important step towards doing this. But we also need to find other ways.
The Commission is working to reduce the negative environmental impacts of products and services throughout their life cycles, for example through its Integrated Product Policy.
On the demand side we also need to address consumer habits. Take transport as an example: despite the fact that we have much more fuel-efficient cars and cleaner fuels than before, CO2 emissions from the sector have grown by 22% since 1990 and continue to rise. One way we can get consumers to change their habits is to make sure that we get prices right, so that they reflect the full costs to society.
We also need to reform environmentally harmful subsidies. The European Environment Agency has estimated that energy subsidies in the EU for solid fuels, oil and gas totalled around € 24 billion in 2001. For renewable energy they were € 5.3 billion. This imbalance needs to be corrected.
As our Emissions Trading Scheme for greenhouse gases shows, market-based instruments work well in influencing production and consumption habits. Later this year, I will present proposals on the use of market-based instruments to address emissions from aviation, which is a growing environmental concern. And Commissioner Piebalgs will also be presenting a new initiative on energy efficiency.
I can also assure you that the Commission stands by its proposal on REACH, which is currently with the Parliament and Council. This is a strong proposal that protects us and the environment from the risks of chemicals - while striking a good balance with the interests of industry. It is therefore an essential part of the sustainable development agenda. We will, of course, try to accommodate any amendments that are proposed at first reading, provided they do not jeopardise the fundamental aims
of REACH. These are: a high level of protection for human health and the environment, and a workable and transparent framework that allows companies to thrive and provides for safe and secure jobs.
Lastly, I am also looking forward to the adoption of seven Thematic Strategies this year. The strategies on natural resource use, and on waste prevention and recycling, will be particularly important in the context of sustainable production and consumption.
We need to involve everyone
I would like to finish by emphasizing the importance of involving all actors in the process. Each of us in our respective capacities has a responsibility to contribute to sustainable development. The revised SDS should reflect this by including measures aimed at involving all important actors.
The idea of a declaration of principles put forward by the Luxembourg presidency could also encourage more participation. Sustainable development is a concept which is elusive to many of our citizens. And the current EU SDS is made up of a set of different decisions, conclusions, and international commitments. It is not always easy to find one's way through it. The idea of a declaration is to give a high profile to SD. It would focus attention not only on the three pillars of sustainable
development - economic, social and environmental - but also on other important aspects relating to the international dimension or to governance. The aim would be to produce a short text which is understandable by everyone.
Events like this stakeholder forum are also particularly important because they help us focus on the issues that people believe are the most important. I would like to thank the organisers for coming up with such an innovative approach where participants decide for themselves what they consider most important. The best ideas will certainly be picked up by the Commission in its final proposal for a revised strategy. And if we forget any, I am sure you will be there to remind us.
Thank you for your attention.
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