Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-30-Speech-3-130"
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Mr President, honourable Members, I am very happy to have this opportunity to be present during this debate today. The debate is addressing the strategy for sustainable development and integration of environmental issues in economic policy. The fact that these issues are high on the agenda is an expression of political will regarding change and renewal.
To summarise: sustainability on one continent is unsustainable sustainability. As Mrs Hulthén said, we can never assume that one part of the earth can live sustainably while the rest of the earth suffers poverty and environmental destruction.
In his report, Mr Blokland highlights the correlation between depletion of our natural resources and the impact on the environment on the one hand and economic policy on the other. The conclusion is that the absence of price tags on scarce resources and environmental impact leads to insufficient integration of environmental considerations and economics. To me it seems clear that a vital element of future sustainability policy is to better internalise environmental costs into the costs of goods and services in the economy.
The proposals presented in the report are important instruments for further development of the strategy for sustainable development and sectoral integration. The Presidency’s view is that it is important for environmental integration to be included in the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines. In this respect, market-based financial controls must also be used to a greater extent to put a price on scarce resources and to assess whether subsidies and tax exemptions have an adverse impact on the environment. Development of a strategy for environmental integration must include targets, timetables and follow-up mechanisms in the BEPG.
I would like to end by referring to the conclusion in Mr Blokland’s report. Measures are needed now to avoid the need for more expensive measures later. I can also add to this a report from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, which shows that it generally takes considerable time for nature and the environment to recover from the environmental destruction we have caused and continue to cause. I believe this conclusion complements that of Mr Blokland.
In other words we cannot afford to wait. We must act now, and the reports before us today are an important step forward ahead of the European Council in Gothenburg and the summit in Johannesburg next year.
When sustainable development was written into the Treaty of Amsterdam, we were criticised for it not being sufficient and for implementation not being compulsory. Distrust was expressed regarding our common policy and the abilities of the European Union. This criticism can no longer be levelled at us. Now we must take a stand on concrete proposals, goals and funds, based on the Commission’s well-formulated proposal for a strategy for sustainable development and the reports presented by Mrs Hulthén and Mr Blokland.
An effective policy on sustainable development requires direct and clear social criticism. Biodiversity is under threat, acidification continues, eutrophication is increasing, chemicals are building up in our bodies, air pollution is becoming deadly, climate change is accelerating – and all this is happening at this very moment. We must not, however, forget the great opportunities we have: research is expanding, we have an increasing focus on education and lifelong learning, skills are growing and being passed on, new technology is being developed, efficient solutions are becoming more common, the problems within agriculture and fishing are breeding new ideas and new solutions and political will is strengthening.
We must now adopt a holistic approach in which various political areas cooperate. The economic, social and ecological perspectives must be interwoven and given equal weight in all political areas. We must propose concrete measures, changes in principles and clear goals. Now is the time to formulate a vision for the future. The goal for Europe is to be the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. That goal must be coupled with the ecological aspect in Gothenburg if we are to be the region taking the greatest responsibility for nature and the environment.
It is also important for the policies to be based on the everyday lives of citizens. Research, education, democracy and participation are all preconditions for taking joint responsibility. In the continued work on a strategy of sustainability, dialogue with civil society and between the institutions of the European Union must be strengthened.
The aim for the Presidency ahead of the European Council in Gothenburg is to adopt a strategy which will link the Lisbon Process with the strategy for sustainable development, establishing the ecological dimension by setting a number of clear, monitorable targets in order to reverse the negative trends we see today. It will require all future decisions in the EU being tested from the perspective of sustainability. It will clearly show Europe’s aim of reducing our impact on the climate and actively taking part in global cooperation. It will mean discarding unsustainable subsidies. It will lead to the adverse impacts of chemicals on health and the environment being minimised and it will ensure that sustainable development continues to be discussed at the highest political level.
I would like to emphasise the importance of having the political courage to establish concrete, timetabled targets for achieving sustainable development. As such I am happy to see that the report from Mrs Hulthén, which the European Parliament is examining today, expresses the same view. I would particularly like to mention the requirements in this report for a climate change programme and targets for renewable energy, the requirement for changes to transport policy, the requirement for a new chemicals policy based on the precautionary principle, the requirement for a sustainability analysis of all decisions, and the requirement for a strengthening of the sustainability perspective in the European Union’s global work.
As the report says, it is important that Parliament continues to push the issue forward and to critically review new legislation within the EU. When it comes to global responsibility, I would particularly emphasise what Mrs Hulthén brought up in her report. Sustainable development cannot be achieved unless the global perspective is addressed. This is therefore the vital task for us. The European Union must take a leading role in the work towards global sustainability. We must be clear in our work to ensure that next year’s World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa achieves the necessary results.
As part of the preparations for the European Council in Gothenburg and for the summit in Johannesburg, last weekend I received 250 young people aged 20–25 from 110 different countries around the world. The meeting recognised no borders between countries or between people. So what do these young people have? They have involvement, they have enthusiasm. What do they lack? They lack patience, they lack fear of tackling difficult and complex problems. What do we owe them? I believe what we owe them is to lay the foundation for their faith in the future by being clear, by establishing concrete, political measures, by showing that we have the political courage and the political will to reverse the dangerous trends in the world. What do they demand of the EU, particularly following the US action on climate policy? They demand that the EU takes a clear lead in the global work towards sustainable development, against poverty and against the environmental destruction now taking place."@en1
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