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EU Environment Policy
02.07.2012
Natural resources (1)
Competition for resources (including raw materials) increases, resource
scarcities appear, prices go up - this will affect the European economy
Natural resources (2)

Over the 20th century, the world
increased its fossil fuel use by a
factor of 12, and material
extraction grew by a factor of 8

Demand for food, feed and fibre
may increase by 70% by 2050

60% of the world’s major
ecosystems that help produce these
resources have already been
degraded or are used unsustainably

The World Business Council for
Sustainable Development estimates
that by 2050 we will need a 4 to
10 fold increase in resource
efficiency, with significant changes
needed by 2020
Natural resources (3)
Growth of the World Economy
2050: 9 billion
2011: 7 billion
1950
2010
2050

Population to reach 9 billion by 2050

By 2050, world economy projected to
nearly quadruple, with growing
demand for energy and natural resources

Two billion middle income earners in
'developing countries' are expected to
triple their consumption by 2020

If the growing global population matched
OECD consumption by 2050, world
consumption would be 15 times bigger
than now
The life-cycle (1)
The Life-cycle
Growing
technosphere
Extraction:
16 tons
Source
To physical stock:
10 tons
Environment
Disposal:
6 tons
Sink
Threats to ecosystem services !
The life-cycle (2)
Cost of inaction (1)
OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 (OECD 2012):
• Progress on an incremental, piecemeal, business-as-usual basis in the
coming decades will not be enough.
• Pressures on the environment from population growth and rising living
standards will outpace progress in pollution abatement and resource
efficiency.
• As a result, continued degradation and erosion of natural environmental
capital are expected to 2050 and beyond, with the risk of irreversible
changes that could endanger two centuries of rising living standards.
• Well-designed policies can reverse the trends projected in the Baseline
scenario, safeguarding long-term economic growth and the well-being
of future generations.
Cost of inaction (2)
•
Natural systems have “tipping points” beyond which damaging
change becomes irreversible (e.g. species loss, climate change,
groundwater depletion, land degradation).
•
"The benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of
not acting" (Stern Review, 2006).
Action => 1% global PDB each year until 2050; Inaction => up to 20% of global
GDP/year
•
Biodiversity: “2008 financial crisis has cost around $1.000-$1.500 billion to
Wall Street, but every year we lose a natural capital of $2-$5.000 billion."
(Pavan Sukhdev, TEEB Leader, ex Direttore Deutsche Bank)
•
Transport: the environmental impacts of transport and congestion are
estimated to have a cost equivalent to up to 5% of GDP.
•
Air pollution: causes in Europe the loss of ca. 150 million working days a
year and health costs estimated at between €50 and 100bn a year.
Waste as a resource
Moving up the
waste hierarchy
Prevention
Re-use
Recycling
Recovery
Disposal
Example
A Mine of the Future
•“Urban mining”
•
 1t of good ore contains
5g of gold
 1t mobile phones
contains 150g of gold!
=>
ecodesign + ricycling
Key sectors
In industrialised countries food, housing and mobility are responsible
for 70-80% of all environmental impacts of consumption.
Key Resources
FOOD
BUILDINGS
WATER
CLEAN AIR
LAND & SOIL
MATERIALS
MARINE
MOBILITY
Environment:
an EU priority
Article 191 (TFUE)
• 1. Union policy on the environment shall contribute to pursuit of the
following objectives:
• — preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,
• — protecting human health,
• — prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources,
• — promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or
worldwide environmental problems, and in particular combating climate
change.
• 2. Union policy on the environment (…) shall be based on the
precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action
should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.
The 6th EAP (1)
The Sixth Environment Action Programme of
the European Community
10 year time-frame (2002-2012)
Four priority areas:
• Climate change;
• Nature and biodiversity;
• Environment, health and the quality of life;
• Natural resources and waste
Two cross-cutting areas:
• international co-operation;
• strategic approaches to policy-making
(implementation, cooperation with the market)
In total, the 6th EAP contains total 156 actions
Recent strategic
policy initiatives
• A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon
economy in 2050 (March 2011)
• Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity
strategy to 2020 (May 2011)
• Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (Sept 2011)
• … and CAP, CFP, R&D, Cohesion reforms
In the (env) pipeline
2012:
•
Blueprint for Europe’s waters
•
SCP Communication
•
Invasive Alien Species proposal
•
Green Paper on Green Infrastructure
•
Sustainable use of phosphorous
2013
•
Air quality review
•
Communication on Sustainable Food
2014
•
Waste policy review
•
Communication on Land Use
Thinking about the 7th
EAP
• 2020 timeframe, 2050 vision
• Emerging themes:
 Enhancing our ecological and climate resilience
 Green & competitive growth – low-carbon, resource-efficient economy
 Health & environment, human well being
_________________________________________________
• Supporting instruments:
• Cross-cutting issues:
o Implementation
o International
o Integration, coherence
o Urban environment
o Knowledge base
o Financing
Timetable
• Since November 2010: various stakeholder events
• 31 August 2011: Final assessment of the 6th EAP
COM(2011) 0531 final
• 12 March – 1 June 2012: online public consultation
(background document + questionnaire)
• November 2012: Commission proposal for the 7EAP
• 2013-14? - Co-decision process leading to adoption
More information
DG Environment:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/environment
Towards a 7th EAP:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/newprg/7eap.htm
Resource efficiency:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency
Summary of EU Environmental policy/legislation:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/index_en.htm
[email protected]
Thank you
for your attention!