Brussels, 19/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - Changing the global economy to ensure efficient use of resources is not an option but a necessity if the world is to be saved from going to its ruin. European Environment Commissioner Janez Potoènik spelt out this point at the Davos World Resources Forum on Monday 19 September, setting out how the transformation is to be achieved. In so doing, he revealed the key points in the roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe which the European Commission will adopt on Tuesday to pave the way for separating resource use and its effect on growth, to ensure sustainable growth within the limits set by the availability of resources (see EUROPE 10452).
If this move is to be successful, four challenges have to be tackled. Firstly, the market has to be used to change behaviour by getting the prices right, “prices that reflect the real value of resources. That is why we call on countries for a shift in the tax base from jobs to resources and pollution”, Potoènik said. Secondly, subsidies that perpetuate inefficient and environmentally damaging consumption must be ended. “We can no longer afford to pay twice: first to subsidise 'dirty' behaviour, and a second time around to repair the damage”, the commissioner argued. Thirdly, companies must be encouraged to develop sustainable products, services and processes. He said that getting the prices right “will already encourage such innovation”. Just as companies found ingenious ways to improve labour productivity when labour costs were increasing and resources were cheap, so they “will be creative and effective in increasing resource productivity as resource costs rise”. Fourthly, focus has to be on housing, transport and food and on the energy used in these three sectors.
To make clear the scale of the task and to set the scene and the problem to be resolved, the commissioner said: “The era of plentiful and cheap resources is coming to an end. Raw materials, water, air, biodiversity and terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems are all under pressure. And this pressure will only continue to grow in the coming years. The world's population is increasing by around 200,000 people a day, and is likely to reach 9 billion by 2050. And many of these people rightly aspire to higher standards of living. To the same we in Europe enjoy today. This means that by 2050 demand for food, feed and fibre is forecast to increase by 70%. And yet 60% of our ecosystems underpinning these resources are already degraded. As we don't have another planet the only option we have is to find ways to live within its limits. We need to use our creativity and ingenuity to use limited resources more efficiently”. (AN/transl.rt)