EC Details Reviews of its Environmental Protection Programmes

May 4, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

Mid-term review of Sixth Environment Action Programme
The 6EAP establishes the European Community framework for environment policy for the period from July 2002 to July 2012. ^[1] It represents the environmental dimension of the sustainable development strategy for the European Union (EU) and sets out environmental priorities with a particular focus on four priority areas:

1. Climate change.
2. Nature and biodiversity.
3. Health and the quality of life.
4. Natural resources and waste.

For each of these priority areas, the 6EAP sets out specific objectives and priority actions.

The mid-term review of the 6EAP evaluates the progress made in its implementation and assesses, in light of the most recent scientific evidence, whether there is a need to revise the European Community's environmental priorities for the period up to July 2012. It concludes that the community is broadly on track with implementing the 6EAP. As climate change, biodiversity, health and resource use remain the most pressing environmental challenges, the 6EAP is still the correct framework for future action at the community level.

1. Climate change
The 6EAP recognises climate change as "an outstanding challenge for the next 10 years and beyond" and aims to contribute to the long-term objective of "stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system."

Tackling climate change - a global threat requiring a global solution - remains an urgent political priority. It is at the heart of the EC's activities on energy security and energy efficiency, which reflect the EU commitment to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases by 8% by 2012. But meeting the Kyoto targets is only a first step. The EU has committed itself to reduce its emissions to 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 in the context of an international agreement that comprises other industrialised countries. Even before negotiations on a global agreement start, EU leaders have given a firm, independent commitment to reduce our emissions by at least 20%.

In the coming years, the EC will focus on global leadership in tackling climate change and set the agenda for a new international agreement that would take effect after the Kyoto Protocol targets expire in 2012. Apart from further developing climate change policies to reduce emissions both in the EU and globally, the EC will focus on developing adaptation policies to climate change.

More specifically, in 2007, the EC will:

• Present a proposal to improve the functioning of the Emissions Trading Scheme directive for the third commitment period starting in 2013.
• Propose a regulatory framework to promote carbon capture and geological storage technologies.
• Launch a broad consultation with a green paper on adaptation to climate change.
• Present a decision on a global energy efficiency and a renewable energy fund to benefit developing countries and territories and economies in transition.
• Issue a communication on water scarcity and droughts to examine the need for action at EU level.

2. Nature and biodiversity
The 6EAP review confirms the EU's objective of halting the loss of Europe's biodiversity by 2010. At the global level, the EU shares the objective of significantly reducing the loss of global biodiversity by the same date. Nature and natural resources underpin our economies and our way of life. Biodiversity is one of the foundations not only of a sustainable environment, but also of a sustainable economy.

In 2006 the EC published a strategy and an action plan to meet these objectives. The main conclusion of the strategy is that, inside the EU, the policy framework is already largely in place - most importantly with the Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

In the coming years, the EC will focus on implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan. Further initiatives will include work to highlight the socio-economic value of "ecosystem services" - such as attaching economic value to stopping global deforestation

More specifically, in 2007, the EC will:

• Finalise the marine guidelines for the implementation of Natura 2000 in the marine environment.
• Under the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, continue negotiations on international rules on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.
• Use the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to consider the listing of new species for trade controls.
• Present additional options under the EU's forest law enforcement, governance and trade initiative to combat illegal logging, keep illegally harvested timber off the EU market and start negotiating bilateral voluntary partnership agreements with more countries.
• Present a proposal for a common position on commercial whaling and do more work on the feasibility of further legislation on trade in seal products.

3. Health and the quality of life
The 6EAP aims at "providing an environment where the level of pollution does not give rise to harmful effects on human health and the environment."

Four pieces of legislation form the main foundation of the EU's current approach to limiting environmental threats to human health: the water framework directive^[2] (adopted in 2000), the 2006 regulation on the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH),^[3] the current proposal for a directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe,^[4] and the proposal for a framework directive on pesticides.^[5]

In the coming years, the EC will focus on implementation of the water framework directive, the REACH chemicals regulation and the pesticides framework directive. It will also complement the air quality thematic strategy with a series of supporting measures, such as legislation on vehicle emissions (Euro 5/6 standards for cars and vans and Euro VI standards for trucks) and industrial emissions (revision of the integrated pollution prevention and control directive and others linked with industrial emissions).

More specifically, in 2007, the EC will:

• Help with REACH implementation and preparing the start of the EU Chemicals Agency.
• Present a mid-term review of the environment and health action plan.
• Present a new proposal to revise the national emission ceilings directive and review existing legislation on industrial emissions. A European Community implementation plan on persistent organic pollutants will also be presented.
• Present a proposal to revise the directive on the protection of laboratory animals to update animal protection and establish a level playing-field for industry and researchers.
• Pursue a binding international agreement within the UNEP framework on further international action to restrict mercury.

4. Natural resources and waste
Decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation is one of the overarching objectives of the 6EAP, which aims at "better resource efficiency and improved resource and waste management, to help bring about more sustainable patterns of production and consumption."

In Europe, current production and consumption patterns are unsustainable: studies show that the total global use of natural resources is higher than the planet's capacity to regenerate them. There is thus an urgent need to reverse our unsustainable consumption and production trends. This will help not only the environment but also business, through lower costs and new markets, and consumers, through cheaper and cleaner products and less waste for disposal.

In the coming years, the EC will give priority to further implementation of the thematic strategies on natural resources and to waste prevention/recycling. It will also propose a sustainable consumption and production action plan, aiming to reverse unsustainable patterns of consumption and production in the sectors most concerned, taking account of the impacts of products over their entire life cycle.

More specifically, in 2007, the EC will:

• Draw up a green paper towards an action plan on sustainable consumption and production, building on instruments such as integrated product policy and including eco-design, eco-label, environmental management schemes, resource and waste policies, and innovation.
• Draw up an action plan on greening industrial policy.
• Propose EU-wide targets for "green public procurement" (public procurement that takes account of environmental factors) and give further guidance to member states on their national action plans.
• Report on implementation of the environmental technologies action plan, covering first results of cooperation with member states.
• Support the take-up of environmental technologies and eco-innovation through the EU Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, and demonstration activities.
• Launch initiatives to strengthen implementation of the waste shipments regulation and the directive on port reception facilities, including legislative proposals, where needed.
• Present a green paper on ship dismantling.

Annual Environment Policy Review
The Environment Policy Review for 2006 highlights the most important policies launched in 2006 and documents new evidence of increasing environmental pressures, particularly in the fields of climate change and biodiversity loss. The review reports some key trends and statistics.

• By 2004, EU's first 15 member states (EU-15) had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 0.9% compared with the 1990 level: a further reduction of 7.1% is needed to meet the Kyoto target of an 8% reduction by 2012.
• The adverse impacts of droughts at the EU level have increased significantly in the last 30 years. Annual average economic impact arising from problems caused by droughts doubled between 1976-1990 and 1991-2006, reaching €5.3 billion/year in 2001-2006.
• Transport is the largest consumer of energy, accounting for 30.7% of total consumption in 2004. The road transport sector consumes most, followed by air transport.
• In 2004, 13.7% of electricity was produced from renewable energy sources in the EU-25, against the EU target of 21% to be reached by 2010. Most of this was from hydropower (almost 70%), followed by biomass (about 15%) and wind (about 13%).
• Many European ecosystems and species continue to decline, but some species targeted by conservation action are recovering. The index of common farmland birds, used as a biodiversity indicator, shows a negative trend over the period 1980-2005, indicating that populations of common farmland birds generally became more threatened during this period.
• The production of toxic chemicals in EU-15 increased by 23.5% between 1995 and 2005. In particular the most dangerous group (carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic chemicals) increased by 25%, which is a worrying trend.
• Recycling is one important response to help reduce waste of natural resources. In 2004, more than 50% of packaging waste in EU-25 was recycled, with significant differences between the member states. Packaging waste represents roughly 5% of total waste generated.
• Food and drink, private transport and housing together account for 70-80% of the environmental impact of consumption, when impacts over their full life cycle are taken into account
• The criminal dumping of hazardous waste in the Ivory Coast in 2006 showed that several member states are failing to enforce EU waste shipment rules adequately, especially in seaports. During 2005, inspections showed rates of illegal waste shipments as high as 48%.
• At the end of 2006, 420 infringements cases concerning EU environment legislation were pending against member states. More than 25% concerned nature protection legislation. Some member states (Italy, Spain and Ireland) had more than 35 open infringements cases each.
• A new feature of the 2006 Environment Policy Review is the inclusion of an overview of member states' environment policy developments and the initiatives undertaken in 2006. From this overview, it is clear that member states recognise that the environmental challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, adverse health impacts from pollution and increased resource efficiency are pressing issues that need to be addressed. Some countries are also actively exploiting the growth and export opportunities that can arise from promoting eco-innovations and increasing the development and uptake of environmental technologies.

More information can be found on the web site for the The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community 2002-2012 and the web site for the Annual Environment Policy Review.

^[1] Decision 1600/2002/EC, O.J. L 242/1 of 19.9.2002

^[2] Directive 2000/60/EC, OJ L 327/1 of 22.12.2000

^[3] Regulation 1907/2006 of 18 December 2006, O.J. L 396/1 of 30.12.2006

^[4] COM(2005) 447 final of 21.9.2005

^[5] COM(2006) 373 final of 12.7.2006

Source: European Commission.