Welcome to the Network of European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils (EEAC)
So far around 30 advisory councils for environmental policy and sustainable development from 15 countries in the European Union are participating in the EEAC network. The councils collaborate in this network for a number of reasons, in particular to enrich the quality of policy advice on national and regional level by exchanging information with colleagues from other countries and to exert, where appropriate, an influence on policy developments at EU level by acting cooperatively.     Read more
EEAC Annual Conference 2010: Sustainable Land Use 14-16 October, Bruges and Tournai (Belgium) As the preparations for the EEAC Annual Conference 2010 in Bruges are in a final stage, invitations have been sent and the tentative programme is available on the EEAC website. We are glad to announce that Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment, will give a key-note speech on the main conference day (15 October). On that day, different aspects of land-use will be discussed in depth in four breakout sessions, with speakers from the EEAC councils that have produced an advice contributing to the topic, from the European Commission (DG Environment, Agriculture, Regional Policy and the Secretariat General) and organisations as the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and European Landowners' Organisation (ELO).  On Thursday 14 October EEAC member councils will present a recently published advice on past, ongoing and future work. This will be followed by a special session organised by the Belgian FRDO-CFDD on "how to reinforce international governance for sustainable development". Check the updated conference website for more information. The event will be organised by the Minaraad, in cooperation with the Walloon Environmental Council for Sustainable Development (CWEDD) and the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO-CFFD) on the topic "Sustainable land use" for which a policy statement is prepared by the Working Group Agriculture. This document is now being consulted within EEAC councils.  Read more on the Working Group page.  Also check the event on the website of the Belgian EU-presidency.
Follow-up of the 2009 EEAC Statement "Towards Sustainable European Infrastructures" Workshop "Scenarios and Policies for Decarbonisation of the European Power Sector" On March 22, the WG Energy held a workshop in the premises of the EESC (European Economic and Social Committee) in Brussels with the title "Scenarios and Policies for Decarbonisation of the European Power Sector". This event is also registered under the activities within the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). The workshop brought some of the scenario writers on energy together and discussed common and diverging assumptions, methods and outcomes.  A key conclusion from the workshop is, that renewable sources in Europe have the potential to provide most if not all the electricity needed. 100% RES (Renewable Energy Sources) for electricity can be achieved at competitive costs while respecting biodiversity and while ensuring that the electricity demand is met at all times. The scenarios illustrate, that electricity from renewable sources may become the sustainable solution to our electricity system.  - press release (.pdf) - chair's conclusions (.pdf) - more information and speakers' presentations The Statement 2009 The EEAC held its 17th Annual Conference, 22-24 October 2009 in Dubrovnik. 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. In this light a new EEAC statement "Towards Sustainable European Infrastructures" (.pdf 500kb), was endorsed by 19 member councils. The WG Energy prepared this document. A press release (.pdf) summarises the highlights of the 2009 Statement. The EEAC 2009 statement and press release can be viewed in different languages on our statements page.  The annual conference was hosted by the Croatian Council for Sustainable Development (SORZO) and co-organised by the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU). Read more
The Working Groups The Working Group Agriculture (WG Agriculture) finalised the Statement "Sustainable Land Use - A Central Challenge for Society", which is now under consultation within all EEAC councils. In its statement, the EEAC considers 'sustainable land use' not as something that can be reached on isolated pieces of land: specific land uses must be considered in its combination with other, neighbouring land uses and with its repercussions on landscapes, watersheds, and all relevant scales up to the global level. 'Sustainable land use' can then be seen as a dynamic state of land mosaics serving to meet current local and global needs while retaining the potential to meet future requirements. The challenge of 'sustainable land use' has many economic, political and governance aspects. Important ones among them are to integrate or harmonize the different EU policies that have impact on land use and to effectively incentivize sustainable land use. The EEAC asks the Commission to support an EU scheme aimed at a coherent network for connecting and strengthening landscapes. The EEAC recommends that the concept of 'sustainable land use' should form one of the main topics to be taken forward within the context of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. Read more
The Working Group Sustainable Development (WG SD) met on 6 July in Gent, right after the Annual Conference of the European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN) where, the WG co-chair Tim O'Riordan (SDC, UK) gave a presentation on "Switching to SD from Financial Turbulence". Around 12 members of the WG SD participated in the event. The WG planned the input and its preparation for the forthcoming UN conference on sustainable development in June 2012 (UNCSD, "Rio+20"), which will also entail the preparation of the EEAC annual conference 2011. The UN General Assembly in December 2009 selected two main topics for the UNCSD: "Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication" and "Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development". The WG will develop a policy paper around the topic green economy, while the RNE (DE) prepares a framing paper and will start with a collection of best practices. The WG is already working on the institutional issue: For this purpose it is undertaking an update and widening of the EEAC benchmark study on governance for sustainable development from 2004.  Read more
The Working Group Biodiversity (WG Biodiversity) met in March to discuss the work plan and to give input to the statement prepared by the WG Agriculture. With 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity, the Belgian EU-presidency also has a focus on Biodiversity. Els Martens of the Flemish administration gave a presentation on the Headlines of discussion and preparation of the Belgian presidency in relation to the Nagoya-conference. After the meeting, the Chair of the EEAC, and the co-chairs of the WG Biodiversity wrote a letter to the new European Commissioner of Environment calling for urgent action at EU level and inter-governmental level to halt the loss of biodiversity.  Read more
The Working Group Energy (WG Energy)  Following the workshop on 22 March on "Scenarios and Policies for Decarbonisation of the European Power Sector", WG chair Christian Hey (SRU, DE) produced a paper with conclusions, stating that renewable sources in Europe have the potential to provide most if not all the electricity needed. 100% RES (Renewable Energy Sources) for electricity can be achieved at competitive costs while respecting biodiversity and while ensuring that the electricity demand is met at all times. The scenarios illustrate, that electricity from renewable sources may become the sustainable solution to our electricity system. Go to the conference webpage to read the full text or the press release. Also, all the presentations given at the workshop are online and available for download.  Recently, the WG commented on “Stock Taking Document” of the European Commission, called “Towards a new Energy Strategy for Europe 2011 – 2020”. These comments relate to the arguments proposed in the EEAC Statements of 2008 and 2009 outlining energy infrastructure policy needs from a long-term perspective.  Read more or download the document (.pdf)
The Working Group Marine (WG Marine) held a meeting initiated by the Portuguese National Council on Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS) in March in Lisbon.  The WG decided to work on the following topics this year: – governance of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive; – spatial planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management; – Maritime Protected Areas and the European Fishery Policy. The WG is currently conducting a survey on Marine Spatial Planning within the EEAC network. Over summer, the answers will be analysed and discussed at the next WG meeting, which will take place in Autumn. Read more
The Working Group Governance (WG Governance) will concentrate on Rio+20 and the financial crisis as topics to work on in 2010. Concerning the first topic, the WG will cooperate with the WG SD. The WG also finalised the document "Sustainable development and the Governance of Long-term Decisions" last year. This book can be downloaded (pdf. 1,4 mb) or paper copies can be ordered at louis.meuleman[at]rmno.nl. Read more
News from our members Abolishment of the RMNO (NL) - On 31 December 2009 the RMNO closed its offices after 28 years of service and expertise in the relation of knowledge policy and society. The EEAC would like to express its gratitude for the RMNO’s intensive contribution and the leading role it has taken within the EEAC: the fact that RMNO hosted the EEAC office in 2002-2005 and the EEAC Conference in 1997 and has been chair of the WG Governance for the last two years mentions just a few examples. RMNO-documents will still be accessible for a few months on www.rmno.nl and the website www.knowledgedemocracy.nl. A text containing the closing agreement can be downloaded from the RMNO website (Dutch, pdf, 4 Mb). Common secretariat for RLG and VROMraad (NL) – From 1 January on, the RLG has its office on the same address as the VROMraad. This will be a temporary solution as both councils will merge into a ”Council for the Living Environment” (Raad voor het Leefmilieu).The merged secretariat is already active and has released a work programme for 2010. read more NFFT new Hungarian member council - The EEAC would like to welcome the Hungarian National Council for Sustainable Development (NFFT) as its newest member. The council presented itself at the Annual Conference in Dubrovnik and was accepted unanimously in the plenary session. The EEAC is looking forward to a long-term and fruitful cooperation.
News from previous years Copyright © 2000-2010 by European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights Reserved. Last update: 17 August 2010