Commission seeks feedback on sustainable development strategy
The European Commission has issued a consultation paper setting out its initial views on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development. The document contains ten questions, which stakeholders are invited to respond to before 30 April 2001. The six trends which endanger sustainable development, defined as: 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,' are highlighted by the Commission as being: climate change, potential threats to public health, increasing pressure on some vital natural resources, poverty and social exclusion, an ageing population and congestion and pollution from current patterns of mobility. The paper highlights that many of today's unsustainable trends are rooted in past choices regarding production, technology, infrastructure and land use, and argues that a clear understanding of the state of knowledge and its limits is now necessary. This will bring renewed confidence in science, allowing it a greater input into policy-making, it says. 'Science and technology policy should also support independent scientific evaluations of the advantages and potential dangers of new products and techniques, and fund research that is too risky or costly for the private sector,' states the paper. In 2002, representatives from the European Union will meet with other signatories of the Rio declaration, which saw international commitments towards sustainable development, in South Africa. 'To achieve real progress at this summit, Europe needs to demonstrate that it is putting its own house in order and provide international leadership,' the paper asserts. The Commission's questions for consultation cover the policy of focussing on a limited number of problems, obstacles to sustainable development at a global level, challenges for the accession countries, causes of current problems, policy implementation, the role of the private sector, the costs of sustainable development, the EU's role, priorities and the EU's strategy for the Gothenburg summit.