Brussels, 12/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The second civil society Agora opened on Thursday 12 June at the European Parliament in Brussels to tackle the theme of climate change (see EUROPE 9678). Europe's resolve to play a leading role by providing a response to the problem of climate change and the necessary cooperation with civil society in this field were highlighted.
Meeting the challenge of climate change provides an economic opportunity. Many speakers made the energy/climate package during talks at European level the cornerstone of the European response to climate change (see EUROPE 9586). “The sooner we act, the lower costs will be and the more advantages there will be”, said José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. He said the energy/climate package was not an obstacle to growth. On the contrary, it could prove beneficial for the European economy and for the employment situation. Adoption of the package is a “question of credibility”, said Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament. Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary General of Eurochambres, said it was up to European companies to be as creative as possible so that they can make their fight against climate change as economically viable as possible. Guido Sacconi (PES, Italy) called for the current period to be seized as an “opportunity'” for changing models of production and consumption. Roger Helmer (NA, UK) questioned the reality of climate change.
But time is running short. American economist Jeremy Rifkin pointed out that GIEC experts say the window of opportunity for action is less than ten years. Convinced of the central role that hydrogen plays in the third industrial revolution coming up, he urged the EU to remain a pioneer in combating climate change. “If you are in the lead, the others will follow. (…) Be the guiding light for humanity!” “Europe can be the driving force in global change”, confirmed the president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Dimitris Dimitriadis.
What role must civil society play? “Why have you not asked us, the civil society, for our opinion before?”, said the representative of the international federation for women democrats. Monique Goyens, from the European Consumers' Organisation, said the role of her organisation is to keep citizens informed, make them aware of the impact that their consumer habits can have on the climate, and ensure that policies set in place do not penalise the most vulnerable groups. The representative for an organisation of young Bulgarians stressed the need to “listen more to young Europeans, as they are the ones that will have to fight climate change”. Claire Roumet of the European committee on social housing, was ironical in her comment: Why try to sell more environmentally friendly cars? What Europe needs is “ambitious public policies”. Speaking on behalf of the European technological construction platform, Claude Lenglet pointed out that construction was the leading sector of activity that contributes to climate change, with one third of greenhouse gas emissions. Saying that, at this stage, the market was not sufficiently mature to raise the challenges, he called for close collaboration with the public sector for fine-tuning ambitious energy-efficiency plans. In 2009, the first positive energy building will be developed, he promised. (A.D./M.B./transl.jl)