For a green economy

“The sustainable management of resources and natural capital is essential, for countries in all stages of development”, said Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik on June 20 who co-presented with Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs a Communication preparing the ground for the EU’s position at the “Earth Summit”, which will be held in June 2012.Visible effects, common response. The Rio+20 Conference will take place in Rio de Janeiro two decades after the 1992 Rio UN Conference on Environment and Development. The Communication outlines objectives and specific actions on the two inter-linked themes of the Conference: “enabling the transition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and ensuring better governance for sustainable development”. Potocnik added on the same occasion: “It can be a particular opportunity for developing countries as resources and natural capital are fundamentally linked to the efforts to eradicate poverty. To make this happen at a global level we have to start putting in place the right market and regulatory conditions globally”. A consolidated EU position needs to be submitted to the UN by 1st November 2011. Thus in the coming months the Communication will be on the agenda of the EU Council, Parliament and Commission. Andris Piebalgs remarked: “Developing countries are the first affected by climate change and degradation of the environment. Floods, drought, and earthquakes are the most visible effects. They put at risk the economic and social development we strive to trigger through our assistance”. According to the EU Commissioner, “Rio+20 is the opportunity to secure political commitment to improve the well-being of millions of people. We need to shift towards a green economy that will help us achieve sustainable growth which benefit to all citizens”.Three main chapters. The Commission’s Communication reposes on three main chapters. The first outlines the need “to invest in key resources and natural capital”. “These are – states the document – water, renewable energy, marine resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services sustainable agriculture, forests, waste and recycling”. These areas “underpin millions of livelihoods and can help alleviate poverty. They could become areas for future economic growth and global markets”. The second key theme highlights how to combine market and regulatory instruments: “eco-taxes, removing environmentally harmful subsidies, mobilising public and private financial resources, investing in skills and green jobs”. The document considers equally important to develop “indicators that reflect a wider sense of progress (both environmental and social), and that can work alongside GDP. Thirdly, it’s important to improve governance and encourage “private sector involvement”, namely, reinforcing and streamlining “the existing international governance structures (for example by upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP)”. The “much greater involvement and engagement of businesses and civil society” is also essential. Citizens’ views. Alongside with the Communication for the fourth “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, the Commission released the findings of a survey on European citizens and their views on environment-related themes. Some figures were to be expected, others weren’t as much: for example, the survey shows that “a large majority of Europeans agree that using natural resources more efficiently and protecting the environment can boost economic growth in the EU”. Furthermore, “almost 9 in 10 Europeans think EU funding should be allocated to support environmentally friendly activities”. Relevant support is given “to legislative activity at community level”: more than 8 in 10 Europeans agree that EU legislation is necessary to protect the environment in their country. To this regard, Potocnik declared: “”Many of these trends show that Europeans are more strongly engaged with the environment than ever before. And these are actions, and not just good intentions: 2 in 3 Europeans say they have separated waste for recycling in the last month, over half are trying to cut their energy consumption, 4 in 10 are trying to use fewer disposable goods, and greater numbers of Europeans are choosing more environmentally friendly forms of transport”.