Brussels, 20/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The time of abundant resources and good markets is over, and the time for efficient use of global resources has arrived - a process that Environment Commissioner Janez Potoènik describes as a revolution that makes sense for Europe and the world, respecting planetary restraints and limits.
With the roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe, adopted on Tuesday 20 September by the college of commissioners (see EUROPE 10455 and 10452), the European Commission sets out paths for reflection and action for transforming the economy, making Europe less dependent on imports of increasingly costly strategic resources, and meeting the challenge of attaining sustainable growth by 2050 with, as an intermediary step, by 2020. This will be achieved by efficient use of all resources - services linked to ecosystems, biodiversity, minerals, metals, water, air, soils and marine resources - and by making an effort for food, building and transport/mobility, three priority sectors which alone are responsible for 70-80% of the impact on the environment.
When it comes to fixing targets and indicators, it will be necessary to wait for 2013 after broad consultation with all stakeholders (experts, member states, Commission, NGOs, companies and consumers), and a detailed environmental impact assessment of possible legislative proposals. For now, the only objective is that of resource productivity in relation to GDP - to the great disappointment of ecologists who expected more. Potoènik, who addressed the press as he presented the document that completes the flagship initiative “Resource Efficiency EUROPE 2020” by opening the road to concrete initiatives, said the roadmap is an agenda for a better environment but also for future competitiveness, jobs and growth. He went on to specify that, although not being as naïve as to think that the roadmap will provide all the answers, they sincerely hope it will mark the beginning of a coherent, organised and irreversible process resulting in an effective resource-efficient future.
The roadmap represents the activities and encouragements needed to promote methods of sustainable production and consumption. It recommends good integration of all policies, the use of market based instruments, the elimination of subsidies that are detrimental to the environment, and a transfer of taxation from work to resource taxation. It also proposes concrete action in coming years for all resources and main economic sectors, and the necessary structures of government and follow-up, as part of the European semester. The Commission supports the establishment of a transition platform bringing all stakeholders together and the creation of a round table on financial efficiency.
Today's financial crisis is mainly the result of excessive borrowing, but that is not the only excessive indebtedness of our times, said Potoènik. Throughout the 20th century fantastic eco growth was achieved, but this came at a price, he said. It was based on unsustainable use of limited resources. Europe, he went on, has the highest net imports of resources per person in the world. Our economy is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and energy - but supply is limited, he argued. There are good reasons for believing that we are already borrowing on the resources of the future, he said, arguing that, if we do not alter the way we produce and consume, by 2050 we could need three times the resources: 104 tonnes to maintain our lifestyle, according to UNEP calculations. Demand for foodstuffs, animal feed and fibres will increase by 70%, yet 60% of the ecosystems which sustain these resources have already been weakened. According to the commissioner, we must be ready for fundamental change. For that reason, the Commission has called for large-scale shift towards a resource-efficient society, a society which saves resources because it is possible - it is not just a European challenge but a global one, Potoènik explained. He pointed out that some major economies had already taken this paradigm to heart: it was clear, he said, in Japanese and South Korean industrial policy and in the latest Chinese five-year plan.
Environmentalists disappointed. The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament welcomed the Commission's recognition of the importance of resource efficiency, but regretted the lack of clear targets and new immediate measures to improve it, when “reducing our absolute consumption of imported resources should be an urgent priority”. Bas Eickhout (Greens, Netherlands) is disappointed that “instead of proposing clear and robust resource-efficiency targets to steer investment and eco-innovation, the Commission relies on voluntary milestones to improve our use of resources”. Friends of the Earth reacted in similar fashion: the roadmap is too vague and does not go far enough towards ending Europe's over-consumption of the world's resources. It called for indicators to measure the entirety of Europe's land, water, carbon and material footprints. (AN/transl.jl/rt)