Environmental Advisory Council (MVB)

Miljövårdsberedningen

Statens Offentliga Utredningars hemsida

 Miljövårdsberedningen (MVB)
Vasagatan 8-10
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel. +46 8 405 10 00
Fax: +46 8 20 43 31
www.sou.gov.se/mvb

Past Activities

Activities as from 2008 - The Climate Committee 

The main task of the all-party Climate Committee was to give input to the government bill on climate policy to be presented in 2008. The terms of reference and Chair of the Climate Committee were presented in the spring of 2007. The Climate Committee had access at an early stage of its work to the most recent evaluation report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other international material for the assessment of Swedish action. The recommendations of the Scientific Council, which were presented to the Climate Committee, was another important source of supporting information. The work of the Climate Committee has been compiled in a report that was presented on 4 March 2008. The report will form a basis for the climate policy bill in 2008.

Chairman
Hans Jonsson, 		 Chairman of Länsförsäkringar AB
Members
Carl B. Hamilton		 Member of the Riksdag (Liberal Party) 
Claes Västerteg Member of the Riksdag (Centre Party)
Anders Wijkman Member of the European Parliament (Christian Democrats) 
Sofia Arkelsten Member of the Riksdag (Moderate Party) 
Lena Hallengren Member of the Riksdag (Social Democratic Party) 
Wiwi-Anne Johansson Member of the Riksdag (Left Party) 
Maria Wetterstrand Member of the Riksdag (Green Party)

Activities as from 2007 - The Scientific Council on Climate Change 

The Scientific Council on Climate Change was set up in January 2007 and it was operational until September 2007. During 2007 the main task of the Council was to give scientific and political advice on climate change. The Scientific Council on Climate Change delivered a report by in September 2007. It was composed of 10 researchers in different areas of relevance to climate change.  

Chairman
Prof. Lisa Sennerby Forsse		 Rector, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 
Members
Prof. Christian Azar		 Professor in Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology 
Prof. Sten Bergström Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, (SMHI)
Prof. Anders Biel Göteborgs University, Department of Psychology
Prof. Runar Brännlund Umeå University, Professor in Economics
Prof. Katarina Eckerberg Professor in Political Science, Stockholm Environment Institute 
Prof. Thomas B. Johansson Director, The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Professor in Energy System Analysis, Lund University 
Markku Rummukainen, SMHI Docent, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, (SMHI)
Prof. Erland Källén Stockholm University, Department of Meteorology
Prof. Caroline Leck Stockholm University, Department of Meteorology

Activities as from 2006

During 2005 the group worked with a "Strategy for reduced transport dependency". To create conditions for sustainable transport in Sweden, the Council recommended the Government to adopt a strategy for reduced transport dependency which a) increases the focus on access and on sustainable transport solutions in overall political management, b) strengthens planning tools and c) reforms economic policy instruments. The focus is on reforming policy instruments that currently steer in the wrong direction and which thereby contribute to transport dependency, sending contradictory messages to important societal actors in the climate challenge. The Council also proposes ten measures, with considerable potentials to reduce CO2–emissions, to put this strategy into effect.

Activities as from 2003

Since spring 2003 the Council focuses on two clusters and have formed working groups for those. One cluster is on the sustainable use and management of natural resources and includes agriculture, forestry and fishery. During 2004 this working group has looked at marine issues and especially eutrophication. The work resulted in a paper with recommendations to the Government "A Strategy for Ending Eutrophication of Seas and Coasts" (Memorandum 2005:1). Since spring 2005 the group is working with a paper on sustainable fishery.

The other cluster deals with decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation and the need for transition of the energy and transport systems, of consumption and production patterns and of construction and cityplanning. This working group has focused on climate and energy. In December 2004 a paper on energy savings in buildings was handed over to the Government "A Strategy for Energy-Efficient Buildings" (Memorandum 2004:2). Since spring 2005 the group works with a paper on sustainable transport.

Activities as from 2001

The resilience paper has also been jointly published by the UN's scientific body ICSU (International Council for Science) and the Environmental Advisory Council in the ICSU's Rainbow Series which focuses in particular on the Johannesburg summit. The report was also presented at the end of May 2002 at a "side event" seminar during the fourth preparatory meeting in the run-up to Johannesburg, held on Bali and at a special seminar during the conference Stockholm thirty years on 17-18 juni 2002. Read the report and the brochure.

A scientific background paper had been produced as a basis for the meeting that took place in March 2002: Decoupling - past trends and prospects for the future, which the Council had asked research scientists at the Department of Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers University of Technology to produce in cooperation with their research colleagues. The paper's main authors, Christian Azar, John Holmberg and Sten Karlsson, also have links to the international research network Alliance for Global Sustainability. The paper, along with a short brochure summarising its important conclusions, has been published as part of the Environmental Advisory Council's series of reports. Read the report and the brochure.

Another meeting with contacts from invited organisations was held on 15 May 2002. It was decided at the meeting that a conference for the research community would be arranged during the autumn of 2002 in order to follow up the results of the Johannesburg summit.
Conclusions from the seminar "Decoupling economic growth from environmental impact", organized by the International Council, August 31st at the WSSD in Johannesburg.

 Activities between 1994 and 2001

The Council is to elaborate strategies with the purpose to develop an ecologically sustainable industrial sector. The terms of reference define two main aims:

The Council has initiated a dialogue with two sectors of the business society with the purpose to raise environmental standards and ensuring more efficient use of resources, while taking account of the need for enterprises to improve their performance in increasingly environment-oriented markets. The sector in focus have been Construction and management of building and Trade with everyday commodities. A method called back-casting has been used. The dialogues started with formulating a common vision for a sustainable sector in the year 2025. The vision has then formed the basis for the working out of objectives, strategies and plans for action. Reports on the results from the two dialogues will be published in December 2000. The Council is to present a report on progress achieved and strategies for the future in December 2000.

Summary of the report to the Government

Building/Living summary and brochure

Future trade summary and brochure

The Council was engaged in the development of headline indicators for an ecologically sustainable development. These indicators represent measures of development towards an ecologically sustainable society and provide the public and decision makers alike with a simple and readily understandable tool that is designed to indicate whether developments are going in the right direction and at an appropriate speed. The indicators relate to significant environmental problems such as acidification, eutrophication and the greenhouse effect, but they also measure important factors that have a bearing on environmental problems, for example energy consumption and the measures taken by households and enterprises to adapt to an ecologically sustainable society.

Green Headline Indicators - Monitoring Progress towards Ecological Sustainability (95 K)

The Council was engaged in implementing the second phase of a project on sustainable development in Sweden's archipelago areas. It supported and monitored the drafting of regional environmental and resource management programmes by seven county administrative boards. A report was handed over to the government in June 2000.

Sustainable Industry - summary

The Council proposed the establishment of a center for exchanging scientific knowledge and practical experience on sustainable development located at the university of Umeå. The center is independent and acts as a link between municipalities, industry and investors on the one hand and the scientific community on the other. It facilitates access to research findings for practicians and enables researchers to understand what questions practicians need to find answers to. Collaboration also take place through networks with other organizations that work in the field of sustainable development.

In 1995 the Council was commissioned to investigate to what extent the protected forestry area needs to be enlarged. The Council proposed goals and measures for the protection of forestry areas.

The Council made proposals for integration of environmental considerations into all sectors of society. The Council proposed actions to be taken in order to integrate environmental aspects into the public administration. The Government and its agencies should be driving forces. Environmental management systems and strategies for integration of environment should be developed for all sectors including a more environmentally conscious public procurement that could contribute to new markets for environmentally friendly products.

In 1993 the Environmental Advisory Council was commissioned to propose a strategy for using IT in the environmental work. Proposals were made on establishing appropriate web-sites and on developing conference systems for dialogue and debate

The main issue for the Council was to analyse the environmental situation and to propose measures to be taken to reach a sustainable development in the mountain region. The Council focused on planning, reindeer "management", scooter traffic noise, tourism and monitoring the environmental development.

Copyright © 2000-2008 by European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights Reserved.
Last update: 3 November 2008