EU Environment Policy

02.07.2012

Competition for resources (including raw materials) increases, resource scarcities appear, prices go up - this will affect the European economy

Natural resources (1)

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 (2)

Growth of the World Economy

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

2011: 7 billion

2050: 9 billion

Natural resources (3)

The life-cycle (1)

The life-cycle (2)

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 (1)

• 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.

Cost of inaction (2)

Prevention

Recycling

Recovery

Disposal

Re-use

Moving up the waste hierarchy

Waste as a resource

Example

•“Urban mining”

•

1t of good ore contains 5g of gold

1t mobile phones contains 150g of gold!

=> ecodesign + ricycling

A Mine of the Future

FOOD MOBILITYBUILDINGS

In industrialised countries food, housing and mobility are responsible for 70-80% of all environmental impacts of consumption.

WATER

CLEAN AIR

LAND & SOIL

MATERIALS

MARINE

Key

Res

ourc

esKey sectors

Environment: an EU priority

• 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.

Article 191 (TFUE)

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

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

In the (env) pipeline

• 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:

o Implementation

o Integration, coherence

o Knowledge base

o Financing

• Cross-cutting issues:

o International

o Urban environment

Thinking about the 7th EAP

• 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

Timetable

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

andrea.vettori@ec.europa.eu

Thank you for your

attention!