kh-ai-07-001-en-c learning from the pastec.europa.eu/.../day01/greenweek_2007_issue_1.pdf · with...

With the European Union celebrating its 50th birthday, it seems appropriate to take stock of half a decade of pro-gress in environmental policy-making. The way in which environmental issues are tackled has developed con-siderably over the years. The original ‘end-of-pipe’ approach that dealt with problems once they had already oc-curred has evolved to incorporate ‘life-cycle’ thinking that aims to make

processes inherently cleaner and more effi cient. However, societal and economic changes have added to the pressures on the environment, so we must continue to fi nd new solutions.

Refl ecting on what has been achieved so far, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Today, Europe has in place an extremely comprehensive set of policies, underpinned by over 200 pieces of legislation, to protect

virtually all aspects of the environ-ment. There have been signifi cant and continuing improvements in air and water quality and we have eliminated pollutants such as lead in petrol.”

However, the point of the event is not to take a nostalgic look back at past suc-cesses, but more importantly to look at how new policies and approaches can be developed to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Topping the agenda

The themes of the last two Green Weeks – climate change and bio-diversity – remain top of the EU’s agenda and feature again strongly in 2007. However, this year’s historical perspective allows for discussion on a wide range of current environmen-tal issues that also have important economic and social implications.

Subjects covered will include human health and the environment, resource use, waste electronics, transport, bio-fuels, international development and market-based instruments.

The opening day looks at ‘Where are we today?’ It will review past actions and identify successes and failures to see how best to manage future challenges.

Day two will turn to ‘Future scenarios’, providing insight into the direction policies might take to meet the prob-lems of tomorrow.

Further sessions over the week will widen the geographical scope of discussions, under the themes of ‘Global responsibilities’, ‘Achieving international co-operation’ and ‘ Transatlantic dialogue.

‘Responding to the challenges’ will consider how to develop eff ective policies for several of the most urgent environmental issues.

Lively debate

In all, 22 sessions will give participants the chance to hear from leading deci-sion-makers and experts drawn from a broad range of constituencies includ-ing public authorities, international organisations, European institutions, businesses, NGOs and academia.

The discussions feed into the policy-making process. “Green Week is an important forum for generating new ideas and enhancing co-operation,” concluded Commissioner Dimas.

12 June 2007 – Issue 1

Learning from the past

The Brussels ‘Fête de l’environnement’ launched ten days of events on environment challenges.

Dimas: “We need action on many fronts together”

Why has the Commission decided to focus on the theme of ‘Past Lessons, Future Challenges’ for Green Week 2007?

The 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome this year is a natural milestone for the EU to take stock of what we have achieved in the past half century and anticipate the challenges ahead in the next one. In the past two years, Green Week focused on climate change and then on biodiver-sity – the two biggest global environmental challenges we face – so this year we felt it was right to cover the whole range of current and

future environmental issues. These in-clude making our production and con-sumption patterns more sustainable, protecting our soil resources, assessing the risks and benefi ts of nanotechnol-ogy and making global environmental governance more eff ective.

Looking back over recent decades, what has been achieved in EU envi-ronmental policy?

A huge amount, both in policy terms and on the ground. Today, Europe has in place an extremely c o m p r e h e n s i v e

set of policies, underpinned by over 200 pieces of legislation, to protect

virtually all aspects of the environ-ment. There have been signifi cant and continuing improvements in air and water quality and we have eliminated pollutants such as lead in petrol. We are leading global policy in terms of nature protection, chemicals regula-tion and climate change.

How have the ways we tackle environ-mental problems, and the policy-mak-ing process, changed over the years?

The biggest change has been the in-creasing role played by economic in-struments. We have seen that in some circumstances harnessing the power of the market to help protect the en-vironment can be more eff ective than traditional regulation. The obvious example is the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. By giving carbon a price, we have created a permanent incentive for big polluters to reduce emissions.

What are the major challenges ahead? And what will be necessary to meet them?

Climate change and the loss of biodi-versity are without a doubt the two biggest global challenges, but we must not allow them to eclipse the other issues Green Week will also ad-dress. We need action on many fronts together. The input we get from Green Week participants will help to shape future policy.

The focus of Green Week 2007 is on taking stock of what has been achieved so far in EU environment policy and assessing what is required for the future. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas talks to Green Week Daily about the challenges ahead.

Editorial

Common responsibilitiesWhen considering the relevance of history, George Bernard Shaw said: “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

The Irish playwright’s words seem especially relevant to the theme of Green Week 2007 – ‘Past lessons, Future challenges’. When we look at some of the environmental chal-lenges we currently face – climate change, loss of biodiversity, shrinking natural resources, to name but three – a huge responsibility lies with all sectors of society. A responsibility for the well-being of future generations. A responsibility to address the wider impacts of our lifestyles.

Citizens across the EU enjoy high living standards, but these are only made possible through production and con-sumption patterns that are less than sustainable. What is more, the environ-mental eff ects often occur elsewhere.

Reversing trends such as these is a huge task, and it is clear that there is no ‘silver bullet’. Solutions will require actions on many fronts. Our political leaders must take bold decisions. Businesses must develop innovative processes and bring new technol-ogies to the market. And there needs to be widespread public participation and changes to the way we live.

However, looking back into the past, we can see how far we have come and must ensure that the history of decisive action in environmental policy con-tinues into the future. The Treaty of Rome did not mention the environment specifi cally. It was only in the 1960s and 70s that realisation dawned of the in-creasing damage human actions were infl icting on natural systems.

Today, as the EU celebrates its 50th anniversary, environmental policy is without doubt one of its greatest suc-cess stories. Action at Community level has led to a comprehensive system for environmental protection – from waste and chemicals to car exhausts and greenhouse gases; from cleaner water to protected nature reserves.

Green Week 2007 is a chance to assess what has been achieved so far and to consider how past lessons can be applied in future. It is a forum where representatives of diff erent sectors can learn from each other. In this way, com-mon solutions can emerge and we can meet our responsibilities together.

Some 4,000 participants are expected at the European Commission’s Green Week 2007, which starts today in Brussels. This year the theme of the annual event is ‘Past Lessons, Future challenges’. Debates, workshops and other events will review actions in environmental policy to date, and assess how the lessons of the past can be applied to current and emerging environmental problems, such as climate change, rapid loss of biodiversity and growing pressure on resources.

ContentsAssessing climate change: time to react 2

Is it possible? See for yourself 2

Monitoring health and the environment 3

Are WEEE doing enough? 4

Innovation in the driving seat 4 “ We are leading global policy

in terms of nature protection, chemicals regulation and climate change.”

Constant innovation in electronic and communication technologies means that ever increasing amounts of obso-lete equipment are ending up on the scrap heap. Ensuring that such ‘e-waste’ is treated in an environmentally friend-ly way is a growing global problem.

Computers, mobile phones and other devices have transformed the way we live and work and, in a short period of time, have become essential tools for modern life. However, this has also meant that in less than a decade waste electric and electronic equip-ment (known as WEEE) has developed from a priority waste stream into a sig-nifi cant global problem.

WEEE is problematic and expensive to deal with as it contains a complex mix-

ture of materials, and a cocktail of often hazardous materials. The EU took early action to protect the environment with its WEEE and related RoHS (the Restric-tion of Hazardous Substances) Direc-tives, which became EU law in 2003.

It’s the principle

The broad aims of the legislation are to encourage its separate collection, subsequent treatment, reuse, recov-ery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal. Both pieces of legisla-tion are based on the “extended pro-ducer responsibility” principle used in earlier EU rules such as those covering packaging. This aims to make produc-ers fi nancially responsible for the en-vironmental impact of their products when they become waste.

The EU Directives are sending strong signals for higher standards both with-in the community and worldwide, but setting up national systems to com-ply with the rules has been far from smooth so far. And there are question marks over whether the rules are suf-fi cient to cope with the scale of the problem. The European Commission is currently reviewing the legislation with a view to making revisions.

A particular concern is the grow-ing global trade in WEEE. Increasing amounts of waste are shipped to de-veloping countries where treatment standards can be inadequate, causing damage to the environment and dan-gers to health.

Are WEEE doing enough?Waste electronics creates unprecedented challenges in technology, regulation, administration, trade and waste traffi cking. The topic will be discussed at Green Week this afternoon (session 4.2) with the participation of industry representatives and regulators.

Businesses from around Europe and the globe are showcasing the latest in-novations in environmental technology in the nearby Cinquantenaire Park. The ‘Innovative walk in the Park’ exhib ition

is running throughout Green Week 2007 and also features a number of side events, including a session on biodiver-sity and policy-making and a workshop on carbon capture and storage.

4

What are the environmental impacts of WEEE?

Electrical and electronic equipment contains a variety of materials and components, including some that are environmentally problematic, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, CFCs, PCBs and brominated fl ame re-tardants. Although these substances are only a small proportion of the total weight of electrical and electric waste, the potential environmental and health problems are serious enough to warrant concern.

There is also the issue of resource use: copper, for example, ought to be reused as the energy required to mine virgin copper is six times greater than that used in recycling. Finally, increased recycling of electrical and electronic equipment limits the total quantity of waste going into landfi lls.

How much e-waste do we produce in Europe, and how fast is the stream growing?

ENEA, an Italian agency, estimated that between 5 and 7 million tonnes/year were generated in the EU in 1998 and that there would be an average increase of 3 to 5% annual growth in electrical and electronic waste. This gives a total WEEE potential of around 20kg/inhabitant/year.

How is WEEE collection organised in Europe? What role does the WEEE Forum have?

Under the legislation, producers are fi nancially responsible for collection and management of WEEE, but in most Member States, municipalities remain responsible for the physical collection from households. Some rely on citizens to bring back electric-al and electronic waste to the shop in exchange for new equipment, while others raise awareness about the possibility of bringing it to collection sites. The WEEE Forum plays a unique role in exchanging best practice, and therefore in creating a benchmark for systems.

How eff ectively are the EU’s WEEE and RoHS Directives addressing the prob-lems associated with e-waste?

For the fi rst time, we have a European framework legislation with respect to management of e-scrap. The situ-ation is improving all the time. Pro-ducers have invested billions already in implementing the new rules and in designing eco-friendlier equip-ment. Last year, 1 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste were recycled in Europe.

Do you think the concepts introduced in the WEEE Directive will be replicated in other parts of the world in future?

Defi nitely. They have been or are being replicated in America, China, Korea, and other nations will soon follow suit.

Filip Geerts is President of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum (WEEE Forum), an association of the collective take-back systems of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) handling individual producers’ responsibilities in Europe. He will be taking part in the session which focuses on waste prevention and the responsibility of producers in recycling electronic waste (Session 4.2, today at 16.30-18.00).

“The situation is improving all the time”

“ Last year, 1 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste were recycled in Europe.”

Editorial information

Green Week Daily is published by the Com-munication Unit of the Environment DG.

Notice

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use to which information contained in this publication may be put, or for any

errors which, despite careful prepar ation and checking, may appear.

Luxembourg: Offi ce for Offi cial Publica-tions of the European Communities, 2007

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Belgium

Since the 1950s, awareness of the dangers facing our environment has grown steadily as the scientifi c evidence has increased. The policies and activities that have evolved have drawn in practically every sector of society: governments, scientists, business and individual members of the public.

Each day, Green Week Daily picks out specifi c landmarks in environmental policy over the last 50 years. Today, we focus on international turning points.

1972 – The first United Nations Conference on the Human Envi-ronment, in Stockholm, launches global co- operation by establishing the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

1992 – The UN Conference on En-vironment and Development is now commonly known as the Rio Earth Summit. This groundbreaking event in Brazil lays down the framework that governs many environmental actions to this day, including:

- Agenda 21, the action plan for global sustainable development;

- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);

- The UN Convention on Biological Di-versity (CBD).

2002 – The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johan-nesburg, South Africa, reviews pro gress since Rio and sets a range of new goals, including halving the number of people without adequate sanitation by 2015.

Environmental landmarks: international events

Carmakers show off the latest in green engine technology at the ‘Fête de l’environnement’.

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Fancy a stroll? Then make it a green one

Green Week 2007 issue 1.indd 1-2Green Week 2007 issue 1.indd 1-2 6/11/07 11:16:14 PM6/11/07 11:16:14 PM

1950s-1970s: GROWING AWARENESS and FIRST RESPONSES• Persistent smog in London leads to

new Clean Air Act

• Jacques Cousteau and Prince Rainier III of

Monaco oppose dumping of radioactive

waste in the Mediterranean Sea

• World Wildlife Fund launched • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson gives birth

to the green movement in the West

• Berne Accord to protect the River Rhine

• World Conservation Union (IUCN)

resolution on international trade in

endangered species leads to the CITES

Convention in 1975

• Directive on classifi cation, packaging

and labelling of dangerous substances

is the fi rst European environmental

legislation

• Accidental release of endosulfan

insecticide in the Rhine

• Greenpeace launched • First UN Conference on the Human

Environment, in Stockholm, establishes

the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

• Paris Summit calls for environmental

action, leading to European Commission’s

Environment and Consumer Protection

Service in 1973, and fi rst European

Environment Action Programme

• Helsinki Convention,

• Scientists F. Sherwood Rowland

and Mario Molina suggest that CFCs

damage the ozone layer

• World population reaches 4 billion

• Waste Framework Directive • Accidental release of dioxins in Seveso,

Italy, leads to Seveso Directive I (1982)

and II (1996)

• Bathing Water

Directive – revised

in 2006

• Barcelona Convention • Amoco Cadiz oil tanker spill • Partial meltdown of Three Mile Island

nuclear power plant (US)

• World Meteorological Organisation

sponsors the fi rst World Climate

Conference

• Directive on the conservation of

wild birds

1950s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1967 1969 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

Over the past year, however, things have moved fast.

Last October’s Stern Review of the eco-nomics of climate change underlined the crippling economic and social costs global warming will cause if the world fails to bring it under control.

Al Gore’s fi lm An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change to a global audience of millions.

The warmest winter on record in the northern hemisphere – with its head-lines about ski resorts with no snow and spring fl owers blooming in January – made many more realise that climate change is happening here and now.

But what has perhaps done most to confound the global warming scep-tics has been the landmark Fourth Assessment Report from the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the work of hundreds of the

world’s leading experts in climate sci-ence and related disciplines.

The three parts of the report – looking fi rst at the latest scientifi c evidence of climate change, then its impacts, and fi nally options for mitigation – were published between February and May.

Lead authors involved in all three parts of the report are speaking at Green Week this afternoon (session 2 ‘Climate Change: Learning from the science’). There are several other ses-sions on climate change and related topics during the week.

The Fourth Assessment Report paints a disturbing and detailed picture of a world getting progressively warmer and doomed to suff er increasingly se-vere impacts from climate change un-less global greenhouse gas emissions are cut sharply.

But the report has a positive message

too: that there is a wide range of options available today for making these emis-sion reductions at an aff ordable cost. This is fully in line with the European Union’s position that early and strong action to cut global emissions is not only necessary but entirely feasible.

Since 1850, the average temperature has risen by 0.76°C worldwide and by almost 1°C in Europe. The report pro-jects that without action the global temperature is most likely to rise fur-ther by between 1.8 and 4°C this cen-tury, and under the worst-case scen-ario by as much as 6.4°C. Since 1993, sea levels have risen at twice their previous rate, and extreme weather events, such as storms, fl oods and hur-ricanes, have increased.

There is a wealth of scientifi c evidence that a rise of more than 2°C above the pre-industrial temperature will take the planet to a ‘tipping point’, bring-

ing unpredictable and potentially catastrophic consequences. But it is not too late to prevent this. The EU is pressing hard to ensure the 2°C limit

is at the core of a new global treaty to combat climate change after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol’s fi rst com-mitment period ends.

Climate change: a revolution in global thinkingTwo years ago, in June 2005, Green Week set out to ‘Get to grips with climate change’. It is incredible to think that at that time, many people both in Europe and around the world were relatively unaware of the problem and its consequences.

HBM involves analysing a sample of a person’s blood, tissue, urine or hair to detect the presence of a set of target substances such as toxic chemicals. Thanks to advances in analytical sci-ence, it is now possible to measure very small levels of any substance in the human body.

Today at Green Week, representa-tives from the European Commission, World Health Organisation and sev-eral European research institutes will discuss how human biomonitoring is making headway as a policy-making tool (Session 3 ‘Where are we today? Human health’, 14.30-18.00).

A signifi cant advantage of human bio-monitoring in assessing environmen-tal pollution is the ability to measure directly the total exposure of an indi-vidual to one or more pollutants at a specifi c point in time. Measurements

over time can monitor the accumula-tion of chemicals and highlight pol-lution trends. This is more useful than analysing pollutants in the environ-ment, for example in soil or food, and then estimating human exposure via theoretical models.

Human biomonitoring is a promising tool but a number of obstacles remain to be addressed to realise its full po-tential. A standardised approach to HBM sampling, data acquisition and interpretation is needed so that data from diff erent organisations can be reliably compared. In particular, inter-pretation of the health signifi cance of the presence of a specifi c pollutant substance needs better toxicological and medical information.

Potential for policy-making

The EU’s Environment and Health Ac-tion Plan has made human biomoni-toring one of its main priorities and is coordinating a pan-European ap-proach. HBM off ers the possibility of linking environment and health issues on a sound scientifi c foundation. It

can serve as an early warning of new potential health threats and provide the evidence necessary to draw up appropriate environment and health policies where they are most needed.

WHO in action

The World Health Organisation is also establishing links between health and environment issues through initiatives such as the HELI programme. This sup-ports decision-makers in developing countries by promoting better access to appropriate tools and knowledge.

In Europe, the WHO’s European Envir-onment and Health Committee works on issues in this area. The Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) implements ac-tions and monitors progress on reduc-ing environmental risk factors impact-ing on health across the continent.

For more information on WHO initia-tives on health and environment, see: www.who.int/topics/environmental_health/en/

Should you be scared by biomonitoring?Human biomonitoring (HBM) has hit the headlines with stories of MEPs and Commissioners fi nding numerous industrial and possibly toxic chemicals in their bodies. The results tell us a lot about how pervasive some of these substances are. By using modern analytical techniques, human biomonitoring can provide a useful link between environmental issues and health.

Natura 2000 is the EU’s most power-ful tool for preserving biodiversity. As the cornerstone of EU nature policy, Na tura 2000 aims to ensure the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened animals and habitats. It comprises an ecological network of protected areas which covers about one-fi fth of the land in the Union.

In Europe, 42% of our native mam-mals, 15% of birds, 45% of butterfl ies, 30% of amphibians, 45% of reptiles and 52% of freshwater fi sh are threat-ened. Today’s session on Natura 2000 will look into the current situation of land use and biodiversity in the Euro-pean Union (Session 5, ‘Land use and biodiversity’, 14:30-18:00).

“Nature is a part of our culture, our his-tory, and even our religions,” Environ-ment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has said. “We have a moral obligation to be careful stewards of this planet.”

At present, the network has some 18,000 protected sites around the Union which range from under 1 hect-are to more than 5,000 sq km. The

network was created in 1992 by the Habitats Directive, but the groundwork was laid in 1979 with a European law on the protection of wild birds. In 2001, the Union pledged to halt the decline of biodiversity in the EU by 2010, thus going one step further than the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Natura selection

The selection of Natura 2000 sites is based on scientifi c criteria such as the size and density of target species populations and the ecological qual-ity and area of target habitats. Sites are designated and managed by EU Member States.

While some Member States have made substantial progress in establishing their networks, others face pressure to accelerate the designation of their Natura 2000 sites.

They may not be household names to most of us, but Belgian comic-book artists François Schuiten and Benoit Peeters – the duo behind tonight’s Green Week special event – have a strong pedigree.

Coming from a country that is pas-sionate about bandes dessinées, Schuiten and Peeters have been work-ing together in the medium since their school days.

Tonight’s show features images from their new ‘Les Portes du Possible’ pro-ject – a series of imagined newspaper pages from 2011 to 2046, including how issues such as climate change, waste and air pollution will look in the coming years and decades.

Don’t miss this entertaining glimpse of the future!

Les Portes du Possible, 18.45, Wolubilis

The art of the possible

It is estimated that every person in the EU consumes around 16 tonnes of re-sources every year. The good news is that despite considerable economic growth over the past 20 years this fi g-ure has remained virtually unchanged. However, the environmental impacts of resource use have been increasing. Of the 16 tonnes consumed, 10 tonnes stay in the economy as physical stock (such as roads, houses and durable goods) while the remaining 6 tonnes leave the economy as waste, CO

2 and

emissions of other pollutants. This ac-cumulation of material increases envir-onmental impacts.

The European Commission’s thematic strategy for natural resources was proposed in December 2005 with the objective of reducing environmental impacts associated with resource use in a growing economy.

The strategy focuses on improving knowledge, developing monitor-ing tools and fostering strategic ap-proaches in specifi c economic sec-tors both within Member States and internationally. The aim is to break the linkages between economic growth and resources, moving us closer to sustainable development. It is one of seven ‘thematic’ strategies developed under the Sixth Environment Action Programme (2002-2012) and is closely linked to the waste thematic strategy.

Value, impact, alternatives

The main aims of the strategy are “more value – less impact – better al-ternatives”. This means creating more value while using less resources (in-creasing resource productivity); reduc-ing the overall environmental impact of resources used (increasing eco-effi -ciency); and developing better alterna-tives either through promoting cleaner use or substituting current resource sources with better alternatives.

Life-cycle analysis plays an important part in the strategy. The whole life cycle of resource use needs to be assessed to

ensure that environmental impacts are not shifted from one phase to another or from one country to another.

The strategy is long term with an en-visaged timescale of 25 years for full implementation, but a number of spe-cifi c shorter-term measures have been identifi ed. These include the establish-ment of a European Data Centre on natural resources, the development of specifi c indicators to measure progress towards the strategy’s goals and the development of national measures and programmes to achieve a stable decoupling trend.

Use it or lose itOver the years, a portfolio of European policy initiatives has achieved great success in limiting environmental stress from point sources, selected industrial sectors and waste streams. Today, the Commission’s thematic strategies on natural resources and waste aim to ensure society makes the most of increasingly fi nite natural resources. The strategies will be in the Green Week spotlight on Tuesday afternoon (Session 4).

3


EU environmental policies have lead to big achievements in protection of water, air and also nature. Cars and fuels are dramatically cleaner – im-portant for human health but also for protecting nature.

We are now moving towards the streamlining of legislation and aiming to look at individual pieces of legisla-

tion in the broader perspective. More needs to be done on this as many of the individual pieces of legislation dealing with land use are confl icting.

However, there should be more room for Member States to set stricter laws on the environment than EU standards. For instance, in the United States, Cali-fornia has much more fl exibility to in-troduce stricter controls on cars and air than many EU Member States do.

What are the major challenges ahead?

The two biggest challenges are un-doubtedly climate change and the protection of nature. The two issues are interlinked. We need to take sig-nifi cant steps to protect human life from the impacts of climate change, but climate change also has an eff ect on biodiversity.

Overfi shing and the eff ect of climate change on oceans are also very import-ant topics. Fish stocks are in a crucial state and we need to act with more large protected marine areas.

How serious a problem is the loss of biodiversity?

Very serious. We have to treat bio-diversity as a global asset and protect it. We cannot predict what will hap-pen if we destroy biodiversity and lose too many species. There is a lot of talk about ‘nature services’ and taking into account the value of nature. That means both its intrinsic value and its economic value. The Natura 2000 net-work of protected natural sites is very important to protect nature.

In the future it will be vital to consider the eff ects on biodiversity of growing more biofuels. Higher EU demand for biofuels will also have an eff ect on biodiversity at a global level.

What role will the Parliament’s new committee on climate change play? What can it add to the debate?

EU and national leaders have agreed a very good series of targets on climate change. However, it is very important that we take them seriously. Our role will be to look at the practical policies that need to be developed to actually achieve these targets. Attention must be paid to developing an eff ective sys-tem of sanctions.

View from the ParliamentDorette Corbey is a Dutch MEP from the Party of European Socialists. She has sat on the Parliament’s environment committee since 1999. Here she talks to Green Week Daily about the past and future of EU environmental policies.

“ There should be more room for Member States to set stricter laws on the environment than EU standards.”

Networking for nature

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With the European Union celebrating its 50th birthday, it seems appropriate to take stock of half a decade of pro-gress in environmental policy-making. The way in which environmental issues are tackled has developed con-siderably over the years. The original ‘end-of-pipe’ approach that dealt with problems once they had already oc-curred has evolved to incorporate ‘life-cycle’ thinking that aims to make

processes inherently cleaner and more effi cient. However, societal and economic changes have added to the pressures on the environment, so we must continue to fi nd new solutions.

Refl ecting on what has been achieved so far, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Today, Europe has in place an extremely comprehensive set of policies, underpinned by over 200 pieces of legislation, to protect

virtually all aspects of the environ-ment. There have been signifi cant and continuing improvements in air and water quality and we have eliminated pollutants such as lead in petrol.”

However, the point of the event is not to take a nostalgic look back at past suc-cesses, but more importantly to look at how new policies and approaches can be developed to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Topping the agenda

The themes of the last two Green Weeks – climate change and bio-diversity – remain top of the EU’s agenda and feature again strongly in 2007. However, this year’s historical perspective allows for discussion on a wide range of current environmen-tal issues that also have important economic and social implications.

Subjects covered will include human health and the environment, resource use, waste electronics, transport, bio-fuels, international development and market-based instruments.

The opening day looks at ‘Where are we today?’ It will review past actions and identify successes and failures to see how best to manage future challenges.

Day two will turn to ‘Future scenarios’, providing insight into the direction policies might take to meet the prob-lems of tomorrow.

Further sessions over the week will widen the geographical scope of discussions, under the themes of ‘Global responsibilities’, ‘Achieving international co-operation’ and ‘ Transatlantic dialogue.

‘Responding to the challenges’ will consider how to develop eff ective policies for several of the most urgent environmental issues.

Lively debate

In all, 22 sessions will give participants the chance to hear from leading deci-sion-makers and experts drawn from a broad range of constituencies includ-ing public authorities, international organisations, European institutions, businesses, NGOs and academia.

The discussions feed into the policy-making process. “Green Week is an important forum for generating new ideas and enhancing co-operation,” concluded Commissioner Dimas.

12 June 2007 – Issue 1

Learning from the past

The Brussels ‘Fête de l’environnement’ launched ten days of events on environment challenges.

Dimas: “We need action on many fronts together”

Why has the Commission decided to focus on the theme of ‘Past Lessons, Future Challenges’ for Green Week 2007?

The 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome this year is a natural milestone for the EU to take stock of what we have achieved in the past half century and anticipate the challenges ahead in the next one. In the past two years, Green Week focused on climate change and then on biodiver-sity – the two biggest global environmental challenges we face – so this year we felt it was right to cover the whole range of current and

future environmental issues. These in-clude making our production and con-sumption patterns more sustainable, protecting our soil resources, assessing the risks and benefi ts of nanotechnol-ogy and making global environmental governance more eff ective.

Looking back over recent decades, what has been achieved in EU envi-ronmental policy?

A huge amount, both in policy terms and on the ground. Today, Europe has in place an extremely c o m p r e h e n s i v e

set of policies, underpinned by over 200 pieces of legislation, to protect

virtually all aspects of the environ-ment. There have been signifi cant and continuing improvements in air and water quality and we have eliminated pollutants such as lead in petrol. We are leading global policy in terms of nature protection, chemicals regula-tion and climate change.


The biggest change has been the in-creasing role played by economic in-struments. We have seen that in some circumstances harnessing the power of the market to help protect the en-vironment can be more eff ective than traditional regulation. The obvious example is the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. By giving carbon a price, we have created a permanent incentive for big polluters to reduce emissions.

What are the major challenges ahead? And what will be necessary to meet them?

Climate change and the loss of biodi-versity are without a doubt the two biggest global challenges, but we must not allow them to eclipse the other issues Green Week will also ad-dress. We need action on many fronts together. The input we get from Green Week participants will help to shape future policy.

The focus of Green Week 2007 is on taking stock of what has been achieved so far in EU environment policy and assessing what is required for the future. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas talks to Green Week Daily about the challenges ahead.

Editorial

Common responsibilitiesWhen considering the relevance of history, George Bernard Shaw said: “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

The Irish playwright’s words seem especially relevant to the theme of Green Week 2007 – ‘Past lessons, Future challenges’. When we look at some of the environmental chal-lenges we currently face – climate change, loss of biodiversity, shrinking natural resources, to name but three – a huge responsibility lies with all sectors of society. A responsibility for the well-being of future generations. A responsibility to address the wider impacts of our lifestyles.

Citizens across the EU enjoy high living standards, but these are only made possible through production and con-sumption patterns that are less than sustainable. What is more, the environ-mental eff ects often occur elsewhere.

Reversing trends such as these is a huge task, and it is clear that there is no ‘silver bullet’. Solutions will require actions on many fronts. Our political leaders must take bold decisions. Businesses must develop innovative processes and bring new technol-ogies to the market. And there needs to be widespread public participation and changes to the way we live.

However, looking back into the past, we can see how far we have come and must ensure that the history of decisive action in environmental policy con-tinues into the future. The Treaty of Rome did not mention the environment specifi cally. It was only in the 1960s and 70s that realisation dawned of the in-creasing damage human actions were infl icting on natural systems.

Today, as the EU celebrates its 50th anniversary, environmental policy is without doubt one of its greatest suc-cess stories. Action at Community level has led to a comprehensive system for environmental protection – from waste and chemicals to car exhausts and greenhouse gases; from cleaner water to protected nature reserves.

Green Week 2007 is a chance to assess what has been achieved so far and to consider how past lessons can be applied in future. It is a forum where representatives of diff erent sectors can learn from each other. In this way, com-mon solutions can emerge and we can meet our responsibilities together.

Some 4,000 participants are expected at the European Commission’s Green Week 2007, which starts today in Brussels. This year the theme of the annual event is ‘Past Lessons, Future challenges’. Debates, workshops and other events will review actions in environmental policy to date, and assess how the lessons of the past can be applied to current and emerging environmental problems, such as climate change, rapid loss of biodiversity and growing pressure on resources.

ContentsAssessing climate change: time to react 2

Is it possible? See for yourself 2

Monitoring health and the environment 3

Are WEEE doing enough? 4

Innovation in the driving seat 4 “ We are leading global policy

in terms of nature protection, chemicals regulation and climate change.”

Constant innovation in electronic and communication technologies means that ever increasing amounts of obso-lete equipment are ending up on the scrap heap. Ensuring that such ‘e-waste’ is treated in an environmentally friend-ly way is a growing global problem.

Computers, mobile phones and other devices have transformed the way we live and work and, in a short period of time, have become essential tools for modern life. However, this has also meant that in less than a decade waste electric and electronic equip-ment (known as WEEE) has developed from a priority waste stream into a sig-nifi cant global problem.

WEEE is problematic and expensive to deal with as it contains a complex mix-

ture of materials, and a cocktail of often hazardous materials. The EU took early action to protect the environment with its WEEE and related RoHS (the Restric-tion of Hazardous Substances) Direc-tives, which became EU law in 2003.

It’s the principle

The broad aims of the legislation are to encourage its separate collection, subsequent treatment, reuse, recov-ery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal. Both pieces of legisla-tion are based on the “extended pro-ducer responsibility” principle used in earlier EU rules such as those covering packaging. This aims to make produc-ers fi nancially responsible for the en-vironmental impact of their products when they become waste.

The EU Directives are sending strong signals for higher standards both with-in the community and worldwide, but setting up national systems to com-ply with the rules has been far from smooth so far. And there are question marks over whether the rules are suf-fi cient to cope with the scale of the problem. The European Commission is currently reviewing the legislation with a view to making revisions.

A particular concern is the grow-ing global trade in WEEE. Increasing amounts of waste are shipped to de-veloping countries where treatment standards can be inadequate, causing damage to the environment and dan-gers to health.

Are WEEE doing enough?Waste electronics creates unprecedented challenges in technology, regulation, administration, trade and waste traffi cking. The topic will be discussed at Green Week this afternoon (session 4.2) with the participation of industry representatives and regulators.

Businesses from around Europe and the globe are showcasing the latest in-novations in environmental technology in the nearby Cinquantenaire Park. The ‘Innovative walk in the Park’ exhib ition

is running throughout Green Week 2007 and also features a number of side events, including a session on biodiver-sity and policy-making and a workshop on carbon capture and storage.

4

What are the environmental impacts of WEEE?

Electrical and electronic equipment contains a variety of materials and components, including some that are environmentally problematic, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, CFCs, PCBs and brominated fl ame re-tardants. Although these substances are only a small proportion of the total weight of electrical and electric waste, the potential environmental and health problems are serious enough to warrant concern.

There is also the issue of resource use: copper, for example, ought to be reused as the energy required to mine virgin copper is six times greater than that used in recycling. Finally, increased recycling of electrical and electronic equipment limits the total quantity of waste going into landfi lls.

How much e-waste do we produce in Europe, and how fast is the stream growing?

ENEA, an Italian agency, estimated that between 5 and 7 million tonnes/year were generated in the EU in 1998 and that there would be an average increase of 3 to 5% annual growth in electrical and electronic waste. This gives a total WEEE potential of around 20kg/inhabitant/year.

How is WEEE collection organised in Europe? What role does the WEEE Forum have?

Under the legislation, producers are fi nancially responsible for collection and management of WEEE, but in most Member States, municipalities remain responsible for the physical collection from households. Some rely on citizens to bring back electric-al and electronic waste to the shop in exchange for new equipment, while others raise awareness about the possibility of bringing it to collection sites. The WEEE Forum plays a unique role in exchanging best practice, and therefore in creating a benchmark for systems.

How eff ectively are the EU’s WEEE and RoHS Directives addressing the prob-lems associated with e-waste?

For the fi rst time, we have a European framework legislation with respect to management of e-scrap. The situ-ation is improving all the time. Pro-ducers have invested billions already in implementing the new rules and in designing eco-friendlier equip-ment. Last year, 1 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste were recycled in Europe.

Do you think the concepts introduced in the WEEE Directive will be replicated in other parts of the world in future?

Defi nitely. They have been or are being replicated in America, China, Korea, and other nations will soon follow suit.

Filip Geerts is President of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum (WEEE Forum), an association of the collective take-back systems of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) handling individual producers’ responsibilities in Europe. He will be taking part in the session which focuses on waste prevention and the responsibility of producers in recycling electronic waste (Session 4.2, today at 16.30-18.00).

“The situation is improving all the time”

“ Last year, 1 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste were recycled in Europe.”

Editorial information

Green Week Daily is published by the Com-munication Unit of the Environment DG.

Notice

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use to which information contained in this publication may be put, or for any

errors which, despite careful prepar ation and checking, may appear.

Luxembourg: Offi ce for Offi cial Publica-tions of the European Communities, 2007

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Belgium

Since the 1950s, awareness of the dangers facing our environment has grown steadily as the scientifi c evidence has increased. The policies and activities that have evolved have drawn in practically every sector of society: governments, scientists, business and individual members of the public.

Each day, Green Week Daily picks out specifi c landmarks in environmental policy over the last 50 years. Today, we focus on international turning points.

1972 – The first United Nations Conference on the Human Envi-ronment, in Stockholm, launches global co- operation by establishing the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

1992 – The UN Conference on En-vironment and Development is now commonly known as the Rio Earth Summit. This groundbreaking event in Brazil lays down the framework that governs many environmental actions to this day, including:

- Agenda 21, the action plan for global sustainable development;

- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);

- The UN Convention on Biological Di-versity (CBD).

2002 – The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johan-nesburg, South Africa, reviews pro gress since Rio and sets a range of new goals, including halving the number of people without adequate sanitation by 2015.

Environmental landmarks: international events

Carmakers show off the latest in green engine technology at the ‘Fête de l’environnement’.

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