Strasbourg, 26/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament takes the view that the future strategy for the sustainable use of natural resources in the EU lacks vision, and that the European Commission's action platform for examining this strategy is far too cautious and limited in scope to convince the public and political decision-makers to pursue ambitious goals. “The sustainable use of natural resources poses a problem similar to that of climate change. What is the Commission communication doing? It is proposing neither general objectives nor targets (…). The objectives of the sixth action programme for the environment relating to the sustainable use of natural resources will remain a dead letter if joint actions presented in the thematic strategy are not improved in a more functional way”, stresses Kartika Tamara Liotard (GUE/NGL, NL), author of a highly critical own-initiative report, adopted on 25 April by the plenary session in Strasbourg.
Agreeing with its rapporteur, the Parliament considers the Commission should take the Parliament, European public opinion and the environment more seriously in order to provide responses equal to the situation. MEPs therefore call for binding targets to be set at political and sectoral level, together with timetables, for the development and implementation of best practice for each production chain and for cutting back on the use of natural resources. Parliament considers that by 2030 the use of primary non-renewable resources in the EU must be reduced by a factor of 4, or the use of natural resources must be halved by 2030, while simultaneously increasing worldwide prosperity. This would mean a 6% improvement per year in resource efficiency.
The Parliament invites the Commission to make an assessment within the next three years of the possibilities and instruments that allow decoupling of the use of natural resources and economic growth - an instrument which, MEPs say, should be included in the revised strategy, as well as in revision of all existing policies. The EU is, moreover, invited to ensure that all Community instruments and legislation contribute overall to the conservation of natural resources at world level, and to pursuit of sustainable development both in the EU and in third countries. MEPs also call for a redistribution of subsidies in favour of small hydroelectric plants, wind energy and solar energy in order to promote the use of new technologies and improve Europe's competitive position in the world, as well as reduce its dependency on imports of fossil fuels. The Parliament also stresses the importance of public information and education to foster the sustainable use of resources and sustainable methods of consumption. (an)