1 SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
(27116)
15796/05
COM(05) 658
| Commission Communication: On the review of the Sustainable Development Strategy - A platform for action
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 13 December 2005
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| Deposited in Parliament |
19 December 2005 |
| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration |
EM of 9 January 2006 |
| Previous Committee Report |
None, but see footnote 2 |
| To be discussed in Council
| No date set (but see para 1.14) |
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
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Background
1.1 According to the Commission, sustainable development is a
fundamental objective under the Treaty, underpinning all Community
policies, actions and strategies and requiring economic, environmental
and social policies to be designed and implemented in a mutually
reinforcing way. The Community first set out its commitment to
sustainable development in June 2001 at the Gothenburg European
Council, which adopted the EU Sustainable Development Strategy
(SDS). This was followed by a Commission Communication[1]
in 2002, which focussed on the external dimension, and which was
endorsed by the European Council in Barcelona ahead of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg
that year.
1.2 These texts together now form the basis of the
comprehensive EU Sustainable Development Strategy, and, since
there is an undertaking that a new Commission will review the
Strategy at the start of each term in office, the current Commission
said that it intended to do this in the course of 2005. It accordingly
produced in February 2005 a Communication[2]
which provided an initial stocktaking and certain future orientations,
and it has now sought in this current document to take that process
forward.
The current document
1.3 The Commission stresses that the purpose of this
Communication is not to replace the current Strategy, but to develop
it further, and, in order to do this, it has identified the key
issues where it believes a stronger impetus is needed and has
proposed ways to measure progress and review priorities.
KEY ISSUES
1.4 The Commission suggests that a number of cross-cutting
factors need to be taken into account, as for example in relation
to climate change, where both energy and transport policies have
a crucial part to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It
also points out that effective responses require international
cooperation, with the Community being committed both to working
closely with the United Nations in meeting the Millennium Development
Goals and to a range of multilateral efforts in relation to such
areas as biodiversity, fish stocks, energy and water; and it highlights
the importance of continuing investment in research and technology
and of education in facilitating change. It then deals with the
following specific areas.
Climate change and clean energy
1.5 The Commission says that, although climate change
cannot be prevented, it can be contained at acceptable levels,
notably through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and its negative
impacts significantly decreased. It also points out that reducing
climate change will provide other opportunities, such as a cost-effective
reduction in energy consumption and greater use of renewable sources,
where the Community has the necessary technologies. It says that
the Community should accordingly seek further commitments to cut
greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2012 (making use of its Emissions
Trading Scheme), and develop future climate change policy through
the second phase of the European Climate Change Programme. It
will itself also launch a debate in 2006 on renewable energy policy,
and will propose an action plan on energy efficiency.
Public health
1.6 The Commission says that, because of the rapid
spread of disease, health is a global issue, and that increases
in Europe's capacity to fight cross-border threats need to be
accompanied by effective action in other countries. It also comments
that, because shortcomings in one Member State could put the whole
Community at risk, it is crucial to remove health inequalities.
More generally, the Commission suggests that the Community has
an obligation to support international efforts to improve health
care, in such areas as HIV/AIDS, malaria and the growth in antibiotic
resistant strains of bacteria. It also says that the Community
and its Member States should upgrade their action plans on handling
health threats, and agree and implement a Community strategy to
address HIV/AIDS, as well as co-ordinate research into the links
between environmental pollutants, exposure and health impacts.
Social exclusion, demography and migration
1.7 The Commission suggests that a significant share
of the Community's population is at risk of poverty, and that
tackling this involves not just increasing low incomes, but promoting
access to employment, housing, mobility, health care, and (above
all) education and skills training. It identifies child poverty
as a particular concern, but also highlights the significant social
challenges arising from an ageing population. This in turn requires
the increased employment of older workers, and improved pensions
and healthcare systems. Another important area is the effective
management of migration flows, including the positive integration
of migrants and their families. The Commission says that it will
present a Communication in 2006 to look at the ways in which the
Community and Member States respond to demographic changes, and
it proposes a European Year of combating poverty and social exclusion.
It also says that the Community and Member States should continue
to develop a Community policy on legal migration and fight illegal
immigration.
Management of natural resources
1.8 The Commission says that there is a heavy reliance
on both natural resources (such as raw materials, food, energy
and land), and on natural processes to absorb the increasing quantities
of waste being produced. It suggests that two-thirds of the ecosystems
on which humans depend are in decline, as a result of increased
traffic congestion, energy use and pollution, increased risk from
flooding, and loss of landscapes, habitats and biodiversity. At
the same time, it points out that the Community can become a world
leader in eco-efficient technologies, and that there is a growing
realisation of the scale of the opportunity presented by investing
in eco-innovation, where it considers that Governments have a
major role in providing a suitable regulatory framework. In particular,
it says that:
- Member States should, together
with the Commission, exchange experience and best practice on
shifting taxation from labour to consumption and/or pollution
in a revenue-neutral way;
- Member States should make more effective use
of their considerable procurement power to support the uptake
of innovative and cleaner applications, and should also implement
their roadmaps for environmental technologies;
- it will propose a directive on public procurement
of green vehicles and draw up an action plan for sustainable production
and consumption;
- the Community should provide funding to drive
forward research and technology development in key areas; and
- the Community and Member States should ensure
sufficient funding and management of the Natura 2000 network of
protected areas, and better integrate biodiversity concerns into
internal and external policies.
Sustainable transport
1.9 The Commission says that although affordable
transport has provided great benefits it has also produced congestion
and adverse health and environmental effects, and that, since
demand has been growing in line with that of the economy, current
trends are unsustainable. It believes, however, that the benefits
can be secured at much lower economic, social and environmental
cost, notably by reducing the need for transport, making better
use of infrastructure and vehicles, changing from road to rail
use, developing public transport, and using cleaner alternatives
to oil, such as biofuels and hydrogen powered vehicles. It also
points out that the resultant benefits are wide ranging and significant.
Accordingly, it suggests that the Community and Member States
should develop the Trans-European Networks and intermodal links
for freight logistics to allow goods to be switched easily between
road, rail and water transport. Also, it will continue to examine
the use of infrastructure charging, and it will propose a package
of measures to improve the environmental performance of cars by
promoting clean and energy efficient vehicles, including a directive
on the procurement of such vehicles, new vehicle standards, and
the increasing use of biofuels.
Global poverty and developmental challenges
1.10 The Commission says that the global threats
to sustainable development — poverty, environmental degradation
and conflict — are all interconnected, and present a threat
to world development, long-term prosperity, peace and security.
It considers that, although the Community is at the forefront
of international efforts to eradicate poverty, it needs to take
action both bilaterally and multilaterally, and in an integrated
way, and that, to meet global challenges, it must ensure that
its internal and external policies work well together. More specifically,
it says that the Community and Member States should increase their
volume of aid to 0.7% of Gross National Income in 2015, achieving
an intermediate target of 0.56% in 2010, with individual objectives
of 0.51% for the Community of 15 and 0.17% for the 10 new Member
States. It also suggests that the effectiveness, coherence and
quality of aid could be increased through more effective budget
support, debt reduction and the untying of aid, and it says that
the Community should step up its efforts to ensure that international
trade is used as a tool to achieve genuine global sustainable
development in both socio-economic and environmental terms.
DELIVERING RESULTS
1.11 In highlighting the need for monitoring and
follow-up, the Commission proposes that it should submit a progress
report every two years, drawing on a set of sustainable development
indicators designed with the assistance of national experts; that
the European Council and the European Parliament should discuss
progress on the basis of this report; that the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions should play
an important role in building stronger support for action. It
also says that it will launch a review of Sustainable Development
Strategy during 2009. In addition, it proposes that Member States
should review their national strategies as appropriate, in the
light of the Community's Strategy, and publish them no later than
the end of 2006; that they should undertake a light peer review
process, focusing on specific themes and in particular seeking
to identify examples of good policies and practices which could
be implemented by all; and consider, where these do not yet exist,
the setting up of independent advisory councils on sustainable
development to stimulate informed debate and contribute to national
and Community progress reviews.
BETTER POLICY MAKING
1.12 The Commission stresses the importance of impact
assessment, and argues for it to be complemented by a wider use
of evaluation after the event to assess the impact of policies.
It advocates the use of the full range of policy instruments,
including market-based instruments, in order to achieve the right
mix needed to contribute to sustainable development, and it says
that it will mainstream sustainable development in its information
and communication activities for both internal and external Community
policies. In order to expand the sustainable development agenda,
it also calls on business leaders and other key European stakeholders
to engage in urgent reflection with political leaders on the medium
and long term policies needed for sustainability, and it says
that it will invite proposals from other Community institutions
and organisations on how best to organise ways to reward the best
sustainable development initiatives taken by regional and local
authorities.
The Government's view
1.13 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 9 January 2006,
the Minister of State (Environment and Agri-Environment) at the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Elliot
Morley) says that the Communication does not have direct regulatory
impact, but rather consolidates existing policy approaches, objectives
and targets. He adds that, although there are some proposals for
new targets, these are limited in scope, but he suggests that
some of the specific targets — for example, the proposal
that national Sustainable Development Strategies should be reviewed
by 2006 — would present difficulties for the UK (and other
Member States) if they were adopted. The Minister also points
out that the European Council in December 2005 reiterated a desire
to see an ambitious and comprehensive strategy, comprising targets,
indicators and an effective monitoring procedure, and that it
wishes to see the Community's sustainable development priorities
and objectives brought together within a clear, coherent strategy
which can be communicated simply and effectively to citizens.
1.14 The Minister says that an initial Regulatory
Impact Assessment is being prepared, and that further such Assessments
will be required as and when proposals for legislation are developed
by the Commission. In the meantime, the Austrian Presidency intends
to consult on the current document, following which a revised
version will be submitted to the Council, the aim being to have
the strategy endorsed by the European Council in June 2006.
Conclusion
1.15 As the Minister points out, this document
largely consolidates existing approaches to sustainable development,
and, although there are some proposals for new targets, these
are limited in scope. On the other hand, he suggests that some
of the specific targets would present difficulties for the UK,
and, in view of this, we think it sensible to reserve a final
view until we have received the promised Regulatory Impact Assessment.
In the meantime, we are drawing the document to the attention
of the House.
1 (23325) 6524/02; see HC 152-xxiv (2001-02), para
13 (17 April 2002). Back
2
(26380) 6433/05; see HC 38-xii (2004-05), para 9 (23 March 2005). Back
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