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Andrea Vettori Directorate General Environment European Commission

European sustainability policy: key elements and drivers EBC Annual Congress Edinbourgh, 20 October 2006. Andrea Vettori Directorate General Environment European Commission. ENVIRONMENT AND THE SINGLE MARKET.

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Andrea Vettori Directorate General Environment European Commission

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  1. European sustainability policy: key elements and driversEBC Annual CongressEdinbourgh, 20 October 2006 Andrea Vettori Directorate General Environment European Commission

  2. ENVIRONMENT AND THE SINGLE MARKET Environmental legislation at the European level is a key element in ensuring a level-playing field and fair competition across the Single Market. If we do not have common standards then we run the risk of “Eco-Protection” where national rules act as barriers to trade. That’s why also environmental policy is largely based on internal market principles and on the harmonisation of national standards for the free movements of goods. But the impact of environmental standards agreed in Europe extends much wider, with EU standards often adopted by competitors and becoming the de facto world market standard.

  3. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY COSTS AND EU INDUSTRY In environmental protection the economic benefits are typically generalised – for example an overall improvement in public health – and usually accrue in the medium to long term, whilst the costs are normally focussed – often on a particular industrial sector or a particular geographic region – and are immediately felt. The costs of environmental protection are going down. The amount spent by industry to meet environmental standards has fallen by 25 per cent since 1999. There is no evidence that environmental policy has a significant impact on international competitiveness. Statistics show that the EU, US and Japan all spend around 2% of GDP on environmental protection.

  4. ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS FOSTER INNOVATION AND CLEAN PRODUCTION “the need to improve environmental performance will trigger innovation that can offset the costs of compliance” (M.Porter) reducing pollution usually coincides with more efficient industrial processes and a better use of resources “companies that improved their environmental performance experienced a greater net probability of earning positive profits of between 3 and 34%” (OECD)

  5. THE COST OF NON-ENVIRONMENT Transport: the environmental impacts of transport and congestion are estimated to have a cost equivalent to up to 5% of GDP . Health impacts: The health costs of air pollution in Europe are estimated at between €50 and100bn a year. This includes the social costs of 350.000 premature deaths and the loss of 150 millionworking days a year . In 2004, climate change related disasters caused economic losses of more than €86 billion globally, almost twice as much as in 2003. Climate change: Munich Re has estimated that the cost of damages due to climate change may double over the next few years to reach 150 Billion dollars in 2010. Marine environment: the cost of the Erika sinking in 1999 was more than €800 million, half of which was borne by the tourist industry. The estimated cost of the Prestige disaster to fishing and tourism was estimated to reach €5 billion.

  6. NEW HIGH GROWTH SECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES The EU's eco-industry turnover is around is around 227 billion Euroa year, of which 30% is capital investment. Overall, the eco-industry accounts for 2.2% of European GDP Over 3 million people are directly employed in Europe’s eco-industries - similar to the aerospace or pharmaceuticals industries. The EU eco-industry has also about 1/3 of its’ global market and had a trade surplus last year of over €600 million. In 2004 exports grew by around 8 %. In January 2004, the European Commission launched an Environmental Technology Action Plan to overcome barriers to the development and use of environmental technologies, with 25 actions to get from research to market and to improve market conditions The Action Plan should be supported by considerable Community funding: in the new Framework Research Programme the Commission has proposed funding for environmental research amounting to over 2 billion euros; direct financial support through the new Competitiveness and Innovation Programme where €430 million has been earmarked for eco-innovation.

  7. THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY The Sixth Environmental Action Programme (6EAP), which was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2002 and runs until 2012, requires the Commission to prepare Thematic Strategies covering seven areas: Air Pollution (adopted 21/09/2005) Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment (adopted 24/10/2005) Prevention and Recycling of Waste (adopted 21/12/2005) Sustainable Use of Resources (adopted 21/12/2005) Urban Environment (adopted 11/01/2006) Soil (adopted 22/09/2006) Sustainable Use of Pesticides (adopted 12/07/2006)

  8. THE THEMATIC STRATEGIES The Thematic Strategies represent the next generation of environment policy, taking a medium-term perspective to around 2020. They work with themes, rather than with specific pollutants or economic activities as has been the case in the past. The strategies set clear environmental objectives, for instance in terms of air quality, and, on this basis, seek to identify the most appropriate instruments to achieve these objectives. Each strategy is founded on thorough research and science, and follows an in-depth review of existing policy and wide-ranging stakeholder consultation. Each Thematic Strategy will thus help achieve the long-term goal of environmental sustainability while contributing to the Lisbon goals of enhancing growth and employment and promoting eco-innovation. The strategies are also an exercise in Better Regulation, simplifying and clarifying legislation where it already exists and proposing light framework legislation where new laws are deemed necessary.

  9. A COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR SME Informal meeting of EU Environment Ministers in Amsterdam in April 1997: “Environmental requirements should be related to the nature and magnitude of environmental pollution and not to the size of the enterprise.” 6th Environment Action Programme: “Compliance Assistance Programme for SMEs” Article 174 of the Treaty: the “polluter pays” principle Shared responsibility: EU, Member States, regional and local authorities, business organisations and business support networks

  10. SMEs & THE ENVIRONMENT There are some 23 million SMEs in the EU-25 which represent 99% of all enterprises (57% of value added) SMEs are responsible for 60-70% of all industrial pollution in the EU 93 % of UK SMEs interviewed think that they don’t undertake activities that could cause harm to the environment (UK Environment Agency) 75 % of UK SMEs don’t have any environmental policy and only 6% have an EMS in place (UK Environment Agency)

  11. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR SMEs • Problems to address: • lack of awareness and knowledge of environmental problems and risks • lack of awareness of potential benefits of environmental management • lack of financial and human resources • lack of access to information, tools and training • general lack of long-term planning at the company level

  12. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR SMEs • Objectives: • Increase compliance with environmental legislation • Reduce environmentalimpact/improve environmental performance • Increase eco-efficiency (energy, resources) • Increase cost-effectiveness of env. policy, focus on implementation • Increase eco-innovation and competitiveness in SMEs

  13. MAIN INITIATIVES Communication/information for awareness raising A single portal for DG ENV website on SME & environment, in at least 7 languages The Network of Euro Info Centres will be the principal partner in the implementation of the Programme in 2007 and will ensure in every region environmental expertise. Local environmental experts for SMEs Train-the-trainer seminars in all MS to start building a network of environmental experts in business support organisations

  14. MAIN INITIATIVES (2) Dissemination of best practices Selection & assessment of transferability of best practices for MS Yearly MS expert forum meeting Improve use of existing EU policies and voluntary instruments Support through LIFE+ the development of specific tools to assist SMEs in implementing environmental policies Promotion and support of innovative public-private partnerships to promote EMAS in SMEs (e.g. clusters or supply chains approaches)

  15. FUNDING 2007-2013 Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) LIFE+ Structural Funds 7th Framework Programme for Research

  16. FOR MORE INFORMATION SMEs & environmental policy: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/sme The EU Eco-label: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel EMAS (EU Environmental Management and Audit Scheme): http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas Green Public Procurement: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/ Mainstreaming CSR among SMEs: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/csr/ms_sme_index.htm Environmental Technologies Action Plan(ETAP): http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap Competitiveness and Innovation framework Programme (2007-2013): http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/cip/index_en.htm Thank you for your attention!

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