EU Sustainable Development Strategy 2001
In 2001, the European Union issued its first Strategy for
Sustainable Development. At their annual conference held at Sesimbra in June
2000, EEAC identified this Strategy as an issue of vital and fundamental
importance. Internationally, it formed the contribution to Rio + 10.
It will also flesh out the concept of 'sustainable development', which is
still one of the EU's formal objectives and the key goal of the environmental
integration duty contained in the Treaty.
As a follow up of the ad-hoc group on the 6EAP EEAC established a Working Group to contribute to forming the EU
Sustainable Development Strategy, and consider what must
be done to move the EU towards a more environmentally sustainable path.
At the moment of its setting, the members of the Working Group Sustainable Development were:
- Danish Nature Council (chair)
- Belgian MiNa-Raad
- Belgian FRDO-CFDD
- German SRU
- German WBGU
- Portuguese CNADS
- Swedish MVB
- English Nature
- RCEP, UK
- SNH, UK
The Working Group aimed at contributing to that process with the special
expertise of independent advisory councils for environmental policy and
sustainable development which are rooted in member states.
In particular the following questions were dealt with:
- Which existing EU policies are obstacles for national S.D. strategies?
- What are best practice examples on national and regional level?
Greening Sustainable Development Strategies is the statement the Working Group produced, following initial meetings with European Commission officials, and in consultation with all the advisory councils that make up the EEAC network: A draft statement was circulated among the EEAC participants for comments, which were considered and, if possible, incorporated in the text. Special thanks from the drafting group go to David Lewis with the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (UK).
The EEAC statement analyses the concept of sustainable development, and proposes changes in the European Union institutions and procedures. It contains examples of national initiatives, and highlights some critical areas of policy where changes are needed. Some would argue that the Strategy should also cover the European Union relationship to the Third World. The focus of this statement, however, is deliberately on European Union policy-making because that lies within the expertise of the EEAC.
The underlying message is that, in the longer term, a healthy environment is fundamental to economic development and human welfare. If European citizens, including the candidate countries, are to move towards sustainability, the procedures and policies of the European Union are in urgent need of fundamental change. A crucial problem is the lack of coherence in EU policies in different fields, especially with respect to their long-term effects. The EU needs to move to a new and more sustainable concept of development.
The Heads of Government of Member States have a decisive role, in that they will approve the Strategy and determine measures for its effective implementation. The Lisbon Process initiated by Heads of Government in 2000, provides a mechanism for judging EU policies against economic and social indicators. At the very least, the environment needs to be integrated into that process.
Based on this statement the Working Group responded
to the Commission's "Consultation paper for the preparation of a EU strategy
for sustainable development" (SEC (2001)517, 27 March 2001), which had been
endorsed by the Stockholm summit on 27 March 2001. This response to ten question
the Commission had raised is available for download.
EEAC response to consultation paper, 24.04.01
"Greening Sustainable Development Strategies" conference, 23 February 2001
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The Swedish Environmental Council hosted this conference in Stockholm at which the EEAC councils discussed the statement with key actors involved in the development of the EU S.D. Strategy, representatives from national governments, business and NGOs. Altogether around 130 participants attended this event. |
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| Presentations
for download are available here |
Download: |
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Jan Bergqvist Chairman of the Swedish Environmental Council |
EEAC greening statement final 28.02.01 (executive summary) EEAC greening statement final 28.02.01 (report)
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Richard Macrory Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution (UK), Chairman of the EEAC Steering Committee |
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First Panel Discussion |
The EEAC statement is also available in Dutch and Portuguese.
The EEAC are sufficiently independent that they do not lightly sign up to common statements. It is therefore very significant that the general orientation of this statement has been formally endorsed by the following 23 advisory councils in 15 countries:
| Austria | Austrian Association for Agricultural Research (ÖVAF) |
| Clean Air Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (KRL | |
| Belgium | Environmental and Nature Council of Flanders (MiNa-Raad) |
| Denmark | Danish Nature Council (DNC) |
| Estonia | Estonian Commission on Sustainable Development (ECSD) |
| Finland | Finnish Council for Natural Resources (FCNR) |
| Germany | German Council for Land Stewardship (DRL) |
| German Council of Environmental Advisors (SRU) | |
| German Advisory Council of Global Change (WBGU) | |
| Hungary | Hungarian National Council on the Environment (NEC) |
| Ireland | The Heritage Council of Ireland (HC) |
| Lithuania | Lithuanian National council for Sustainable Development (LNCSD) |
| The Netherlands | Council for the Rural Area (RLG) |
| Advisory Council for Research on Nature and Environment (RMNO) | |
| Council for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM-Raad) | |
| Portugal | Portuguese National Council on Environment and Sustainalbe Development (CNADS) |
| Slovak Republic | Council of the Government for Sustainable Development of the Slovak Republic |
| Slovenia | Council for Environmental Protection of the Republic of Slovenia (CEPRS) |
| Sweden | Swedish Environmental Advisory Council (MVB) |
| United Kingdom | Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) |
| English Nature (EN) | |
| Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) | |
| Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) |
For different reasons the following councils are not able to endorse the
statement (but contributed to its elaboration):
- Belgian Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO-CFDD)
- Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development (FNCSD)
- State Environmental Council of Poland (PROS)
The themes identified in this statement will be taken forward by EEAC members individually and in our future collaboration. A further major theme will be how all elements in civil society can become fully engaged in moving towards sustainability. We look forward to continuing a wide-ranging and productive dialogue on these subjects with the European institutions and with other actors.
The EEAC councils from the following countries and regions sent the statement to their Heads of Government, to selected Ministers and some also to Parliament: Austria, Denmark Finland, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom; Flanders, Scotland, Wales.
Greening sustainable development strategies
Proposals by the European Environmental Advisory Councils for the EU Sustainable Development Strategy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The European Union urgently needs to commit itself wholeheartedly to sustainable development. Adoption of a Sustainable Development Strategy for the EU will therefore mark a major step forward. This must be a substantial and influential document, which will provide a framework for integrating environmental considerations into EU policies in every sector.
The national and regional advisory bodies which make up the network of European Environmental Advisory Councils (EEACs) are putting forward detailed proposals for the scope and content of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, drawing on the experience of putting sustainable development into effect already gained in Member States.
EEACs acknowledge that sustainable development must fulfil economic, social and environmental objectives. Because survival of the natural environment is crucial for economic and social development in the long run, they have focused on the environmental dimension of sustainability.
Many current trends are not sustainable. They include the rising level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; other forms of pollution from diffuse sources; the effects of congestion and pollution on the quality of life for people in towns and cities; disruption of the water cycle; degradation of soils and terrestrial ecosystems; increasing concentrations of hazardous chemicals in the environment; increasing quantities of wastes for disposal; losses of biodiversity, and of natural and cultural landscapes; and over-exploitation of marine ecosystems. These environmentally unsustainable trends are driven by the high, and increasing, use of basic natural resources that results from traditional patterns of economic growth.
The basic principle of sustainability, EEACs believe, is that the natural environment has critical and unique values that can seldom be substituted by, or traded for, the economic or social products of civilisation. Sustainable development can be achieved only if the EU adopts a new concept of development, involving far-reaching modifications in patterns of both production and consumption. This new concept of development will acknowledge economic needs and social aspirations, but accept protection of the environment and natural resources as fundamental.
By taking the lead in technological and social innovations that decouple economic development from resource use and pollution, the EU can not only improve the quality of life for all its peoples, but also increase the competitiveness of its industries and stimulate employment.
There are many barriers to achieving such a new concept of development. One major barrier is a general lack of coherence in the EU’s existing policies, especially with respect to long-term effects. Notable examples include perverse subsidies given under the Common Agricultural Policy and Structural Funds. Fundamental transformations in policies will therefore be required.
EEACs identify the essential elements for success. A sustainable development strategy must have both wide political support and strong backing at the highest levels of government. It needs to be supported by approaches to learning which make full use of people’s experiences and creativity. It must look at least 20-25 years into the future. It must address the most important long-term environmental problems, and establish clear objectives for resolving them, utilising quantified indicators and targets. It has to bridge the gap between global and local levels, and incorporate carefully designed mechanisms that will ensure effective implementation. A sustainable development strategy should have a strong research base. Once it has been adopted, its effectiveness must be monitored continuously and it must be reviewed at regular intervals.
The EU Sustainable Development Strategy must have tangible content. There
must be significant changes in the procedures of all European institutions.
EEACs believe that:
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The Cardiff Process for integrating environmental considerations into
other policy areas must continue and be reinforced. The Lisbon Process,
which aims to integrate social and economic policies through an annual report
to the spring EU summit, must be extended to include environmental
considerations.
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There should be an annual review of the Strategy at the spring EU
summit. Each part should be reviewed in detail at least every four years,
not least to extend the scope of the Strategy beyond the six initial policy
areas identified by the European Commission.
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To secure better co-ordination of policies, the directorates-general of the
European Commission should establish a programme of joint policy
reviews.
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A Sustainable Development Committee of the European Parliament should
keep under review the extent to which EU policies are environmentally
sustainable.
- Where international obligations have been allocated between Member States, the European Court of Justice should have powers to impose penalties on any Member State which fails to meet its obligation.
EEACs also propose far-reaching changes to policies in particular sectors.
These include:
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ENERGY: The Strategy must focus on the need for very large reductions in
carbon dioxide emissions in the long term. That will require a carbon
tax for products and buildings. Energy markets must be structured to
encourage low-carbon technologies.
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TRANSPORT: More ambitious targets are needed to reduce fuel consumption of
vehicles. A high minimum rate of road fuel taxation must be set at
EU level, and backed by other measures to promote less environmentally damaging
forms of transport. Market-based instruments should be applied to air transport.
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AGRICULTURE: The Common Agricultural Policy needs radical reform.
Financial support should only be given to farmers who go beyond legal
requirements to protect the environment.
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Industry: The main focus must be on the use of materials and energy over
the entire life cycles of products, and on a new strategy for
chemicals.
- NATURE CONSERVATION: In all forms of land use promoting biodiversity should be an objective. To maintain biodiversity and overall productivity, integrated strategies must be adopted for marine ecosystems and coastal zones.
EEACs will draw on the present paper in giving advice to their national and regional governments. They also intend to use it as the basis for a continuing dialogue with the European institutions and other actors about the best ways of moving towards sustainability.
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