16th Annual Conference, Bordeaux (France), 9-11 October 2008
of the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils EEAC

Sustaining Europe for a Long Way Ahead

Hosted by the French National Council for Sustainable Development (CNDD)

Outcome of the Conference

The European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils EEAC has held its 16th EEAC Annual Conference on the subject “Sustaining Europe for a Long Way Ahead” in Bordeaux, Friday 10 October 2008. The main conference day attracted a an informed audience with a range of invited guests. Internal meetings of the EEAC were hold on the Thursday and Saturday, 9 and 11 October.

The purpose of the conference was to assess the capacity and effectiveness of present day governing institutions for designing and creating sustainable futures for Europe, and to relations to the planet as a whole, for the rest of the century.

Addressing the very long term through the lens of sustainable development is now a matter of urgency. The prospect of highly damaging, and extremely costly, effects of global change in climate, in natural hazards caused by human intervention, the loss of biodiversity and disruption of food security, poses serious threats to personal and collective human health and wellbeing. The consequences of climate change are already becoming more painfully evident, particularly in developing countries, through the human misery of increased poverty, catastrophic disruption to livelihoods, and enforced migration. In addition, unstable financial markets, the widening gap between rich and poor, social riots, and lately, sharply rising food prices worldwide, need to be taken into account. The long term is indeed here already.

The difficulties in achieving such purpose are enormous. It is not evident that society has adopted, or adapted, its methods of governing, of establishing social justice, of designing markets, of offering education and learning, of responding to its changing demographic patterns, of readying its cultures and social outlooks for the convulsive changes ahead, and of maintaining the very varied and regional communities and landscapes of the European Union for this purpose.

The Statement, Sustaining Europe for a Long Way Ahead: making long-term sustainable development policies work, is part of the outcome of last year's work in the EEAC network. The Statement has recommendations for action and is endorsed by 15 member councils of the EEAC. The Statement was made public at the Conference in Bordeaux.  

Background Paper - This Background paper was prepared by the EEAC Working Group on Sustainable Development  and accompanies the EEAC Statement. It is designed to provide more analysis and supporting evidence for the Statement and is meant to act as a bridge between the endorsed EEAC statement and the accompanying theme papers. 

Theme Papers - The members of the Working Group Sustainable Development, partly in collaboration with others and with other Working Groups, notably the Working Groups Governance and Biodiversity, have prepared a set of papers on eight theme topics. They are analysing how far these key themes and ways of working are suitably fashioned for promoting a sustainable long term. Brief descriptions of the theme papers follow below:

  1. Governance (Roel in't Veld and Louis Meuleman, RMNO, The Netherlands)
     What kinds of governing arrangements and forms of democracy will be required to steer nations, regions, localities and the European Union of member states towards long term sustainability.  

  2. Social Justice (Jan de Smedt, FRDO-CFDD, Belgium )
    What principles of rights, obligations and responsibilities will be required to steer change towards sustainable long term futures along lines that widen the basis of social justice both for present and future generations.

  3. Demography (Guenther Bachmann and Dorothee Braun, RNE, Germany)
     How to adjust to demographic change is an issue for a growing number of societies. The schemes for social protection, pension systems, human resources and education are threatened to fall behind, as do also concepts for the quality of life and urban environments.     How should strategies and policies be designed to develop opportunities for demographic transition, such as a profound modernisation of society, prosperity, new jobs and renewed identity of local communities?

  4. Markets (Tim O'Riordan and Victor Anderson, SDC, UK)
    What forms of market planning for uncertainty, social, economic and technological change, and for regulation involving effective participation by an informed society will be needed for sustainable long term futures.  

  5. Education (Michel Ricard, CNDD, France)
     How should education for all citizens for all stages of their lives be adjusted to ensure both an awareness of uncertainties and of social responsibilities, and a capacity to handle the unknown and unknowable.

  6. Culture (Noel Casserly, Comhar, Ireland)
    What forms of cultural norms, social outlooks and patterns of citizen behaviour will be needed for guaranteeing sustainable long term futures, bearing in mind the shifts that will also have to take place in governance and education and markets.  

  7. Diversity (Xavier Cazorla, CADS, Catalonia)
    How should Europe evolve between the needs of a multinational framework for common purpose and agreed regulation to local patterns of cultures, history, evolutionary change and adjustment to the limits set by local natural resources and ecosystem functions. In essence, how do we create a local economy and democracy that is faithful to culture as well as to ecology?  

  8. Budgets (Marjan Margadant and Agneta Andersson, RLG, The Netherlands)
    How can Europe develop a sustainable long term EU financing system based on the objectives of the EU Treaty and the EU Sustainable Development Strategy that goes beyond the present intergovernmental bickering about short-sighted national budget returns and that puts public and European values at the heart?

At the annual plenary session of EEAC the representatives of national environmental and sustainable development councils decided to give their view on the financial situation in the context of their statement on Sustaining Europe for a long way ahead. As a result the EEAC steering committee created the Bordeaux declaration. It is addressed to the Council of the EU and the European Commission, as well as for EEAC member councils to take to their national governments.

The Bordeaux Declaration along with the Statement Sustaining Europe for a long way ahead - making long-term sustainable development policies work were sent to President Sarkozy, Minister Borloo, President Barroso and Secretary General Catherine Day. Download the letter to president Sarkozy.

 

                   

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Last update: 17 December 2008