Transcript Slide 1
EU Environment Policy
02.07.2012
Natural resources (1)
Competition for resources (including raw materials) increases, resource
scarcities appear, prices go up - this will affect the European economy
Natural resources (2)
Over the 20th century, the world
increased its fossil fuel use by a
factor of 12, and material
extraction grew by a factor of 8
Demand for food, feed and fibre
may increase by 70% by 2050
60% of the world’s major
ecosystems that help produce these
resources have already been
degraded or are used unsustainably
The World Business Council for
Sustainable Development estimates
that by 2050 we will need a 4 to
10 fold increase in resource
efficiency, with significant changes
needed by 2020
Natural resources (3)
Growth of the World Economy
2050: 9 billion
2011: 7 billion
1950
2010
2050
Population to reach 9 billion by 2050
By 2050, world economy projected to
nearly quadruple, with growing
demand for energy and natural resources
Two billion middle income earners in
'developing countries' are expected to
triple their consumption by 2020
If the growing global population matched
OECD consumption by 2050, world
consumption would be 15 times bigger
than now
The life-cycle (1)
The Life-cycle
Growing
technosphere
Extraction:
16 tons
Source
To physical stock:
10 tons
Environment
Disposal:
6 tons
Sink
Threats to ecosystem services !
The life-cycle (2)
Cost of inaction (1)
OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 (OECD 2012):
• Progress on an incremental, piecemeal, business-as-usual basis in the
coming decades will not be enough.
• Pressures on the environment from population growth and rising living
standards will outpace progress in pollution abatement and resource
efficiency.
• As a result, continued degradation and erosion of natural environmental
capital are expected to 2050 and beyond, with the risk of irreversible
changes that could endanger two centuries of rising living standards.
• Well-designed policies can reverse the trends projected in the Baseline
scenario, safeguarding long-term economic growth and the well-being
of future generations.
Cost of inaction (2)
•
Natural systems have “tipping points” beyond which damaging
change becomes irreversible (e.g. species loss, climate change,
groundwater depletion, land degradation).
•
"The benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of
not acting" (Stern Review, 2006).
Action => 1% global PDB each year until 2050; Inaction => up to 20% of global
GDP/year
•
Biodiversity: “2008 financial crisis has cost around $1.000-$1.500 billion to
Wall Street, but every year we lose a natural capital of $2-$5.000 billion."
(Pavan Sukhdev, TEEB Leader, ex Direttore Deutsche Bank)
•
Transport: the environmental impacts of transport and congestion are
estimated to have a cost equivalent to up to 5% of GDP.
•
Air pollution: causes in Europe the loss of ca. 150 million working days a
year and health costs estimated at between €50 and 100bn a year.
Waste as a resource
Moving up the
waste hierarchy
Prevention
Re-use
Recycling
Recovery
Disposal
Example
A Mine of the Future
•“Urban mining”
•
1t of good ore contains
5g of gold
1t mobile phones
contains 150g of gold!
=>
ecodesign + ricycling
Key sectors
In industrialised countries food, housing and mobility are responsible
for 70-80% of all environmental impacts of consumption.
Key Resources
FOOD
BUILDINGS
WATER
CLEAN AIR
LAND & SOIL
MATERIALS
MARINE
MOBILITY
Environment:
an EU priority
Article 191 (TFUE)
• 1. Union policy on the environment shall contribute to pursuit of the
following objectives:
• — preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,
• — protecting human health,
• — prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources,
• — promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or
worldwide environmental problems, and in particular combating climate
change.
• 2. Union policy on the environment (…) shall be based on the
precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action
should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.
The 6th EAP (1)
The Sixth Environment Action Programme of
the European Community
10 year time-frame (2002-2012)
Four priority areas:
• Climate change;
• Nature and biodiversity;
• Environment, health and the quality of life;
• Natural resources and waste
Two cross-cutting areas:
• international co-operation;
• strategic approaches to policy-making
(implementation, cooperation with the market)
In total, the 6th EAP contains total 156 actions
Recent strategic
policy initiatives
• A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon
economy in 2050 (March 2011)
• Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity
strategy to 2020 (May 2011)
• Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (Sept 2011)
• … and CAP, CFP, R&D, Cohesion reforms
In the (env) pipeline
2012:
•
Blueprint for Europe’s waters
•
SCP Communication
•
Invasive Alien Species proposal
•
Green Paper on Green Infrastructure
•
Sustainable use of phosphorous
2013
•
Air quality review
•
Communication on Sustainable Food
2014
•
Waste policy review
•
Communication on Land Use
Thinking about the 7th
EAP
• 2020 timeframe, 2050 vision
• Emerging themes:
Enhancing our ecological and climate resilience
Green & competitive growth – low-carbon, resource-efficient economy
Health & environment, human well being
_________________________________________________
• Supporting instruments:
• Cross-cutting issues:
o Implementation
o International
o Integration, coherence
o Urban environment
o Knowledge base
o Financing
Timetable
• Since November 2010: various stakeholder events
• 31 August 2011: Final assessment of the 6th EAP
COM(2011) 0531 final
• 12 March – 1 June 2012: online public consultation
(background document + questionnaire)
• November 2012: Commission proposal for the 7EAP
• 2013-14? - Co-decision process leading to adoption
More information
DG Environment:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/environment
Towards a 7th EAP:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/newprg/7eap.htm
Resource efficiency:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency
Summary of EU Environmental policy/legislation:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/index_en.htm
[email protected]
Thank you
for your attention!