17th Annual Conference of the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils EEAC,
Dubrovnik (Croatia), 22-24 October 2009

Towards Sustainable European Infrastructures

Hosted by the Croatian Council for Sustainable Development (SORZO). 
Co-organised by the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU).

Background
 The European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils EEAC held its 17th EEAC Annual Conference on the subject “Towards Sustainable European Infrastructures”.  

Since the early 1990s, the idea of Trans-European Networks has been a key element of European Integration. The Internal Market requires a European Infrastructure Network as basis for its functioning. Infrastructure networks are also considered to be important for the cohesion of Europe, namely for the better integration of the peripheral regions to the economic centers. Infrastructure investments also play an important role for the economic recovery programmes which are to be launched in 2009. They can be both: part and parcel of a Green New Deal - a recovery programme which prepares the ground for the transition to a low carbon economy - but they may also be in conflict with environmental objectives, such as establishing a green network of habitats or reducing the energy needs of our transport systems. Infrastructure policies are an area where it is crucially important to think “a long way ahead”, as EEAC requested in its 2008 statement. Transport, Energy and Biodiversity Networks need to be shaped in such a long term perspective. Wrong short term decisions may get in the way of a pathway towards a more sustainable future.

The theme of the EEAC annual conference was to discuss the principles for and essential elements of a system transition towards a low-carbon future. The fourth IPCC report concludes that industrial nations should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95% until 2050. This is the benchmark for the transition of our mobility and energy systems which will need new types of infrastructures. Policies on transport, energy and biodiversity networks are interlinked and need a more coordinated approach. During the conference we will discuss what how we can work towards this objective in Europe.

The EEAC Working Group Energy prepared a statement (pdf. 500kb) on Sustainable European Networks that has served as a basis for the conference. You can also download the press release.

The outcome of the conference is a number of recommendations towards EU and international policy makers supporting a major event in 2012 on a sustainable global society and economy (download the document). 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the UN Rio Conference on Environment and Development. 

The Croatian Council for Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection (SORZO) was hosting the conference and also prepared a special session on “Environmental Risks of Oil and Gas Transport by Tankers in the Adriatic and Management Solutions“ on 22 October. 

More information: 
the Chair of the EEAC Working Group Energy: Christian Hey, Secretary General of SRU, Germany
the EEAC Annual Conference Host in Croatia: Professor Dr. Natalija Koprivanac, President of SORZO, Croatia

The harbour of the old town, Dubrovnik;

After the APS

Copyright © 2000-2009 by European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights Reserved.
Last update: 30 June 2009