Commission outlines 6th Environmental Action Plan
The European Commission adopted a proposal on 24 January for a new environmental strategy outlining the priorities for action on the environment for the next five to ten years and promising to work on the basis of sound science. 'Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice' focuses on four major areas for action: climate change, health and the environment, nature and bio-diversity and natural resource management. The programme also stresses the importance of involving citizens and business in innovative ways. 'Environment policy is one of the EU's success stories - thanks to EU legislation we have seen big improvements in cleaning up the air and our rivers, to take an example. But we still face major problems and in some cases the environment is actually getting worse. Citizens are concerned about their environment. Therefore we have to act urgently and this is what we are proposing in the new programme,' said EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström, presenting the strategy. Working on the basis of sound scientific and economic assessments will be a feature of new policy proposals on the environment, according to the Commission. Monitoring on the basis of indicators will be further developed, and the Commission will work closely with the European Environment Agency. The new programme, the 6th Environmental Action Programme, builds on a Global Assessment of the 5th Action Programme, which criticised the lack of implementation of environmental directives by the Member States. This problem is tackled in the new programme, which stresses the need for better implementation. The programme also highlights the need to continue to integrate environmental considerations into other policies, such as transport, energy and agriculture, as well as the importance of spatial planning and action at the local and regional level to promote sustainable development. Climate change: Further research into climate change is called for. The achievement of the Community's eight per cent emission reduction target for 2008 to 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol is the focus of the proposed new programme. However, the Commission also call for more far-reaching global emission cuts of between 20 and 40 per cent by 2020. Scientific estimates that, in the longer term, a 70 per cent global greenhouse gas emission reduction compared to 1990 is necessary, is used to support this objective. Nature and bio-diversity: The new programme will address threats to the survival of many endangered species and habitats. New initiatives for the prevention of industrial and mining accidents are also announced. Environment and health: The interlinkages between different environment-related health risks will be tackled, risks from pesticides is highlighted as an important example. Sustainable use of natural resources and waste: This section calls for a decoupling of waste generation from economic growth, and calls for the promotion of recycling.