Cooperate to find solutions, urges Potocnik
Every challenge that we face is interconnected, Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik has said. Speaking at a conference on sustainability, the Commissioner made the link between Europe's need to remain globally competitive in the long term, and to ensure this goal does not come at the expense of the environment. 'Not only do we have to reform for tomorrow's Europe, but we also have to ensure that we still have a Europe tomorrow. While the EU's goals are more jobs and growth, we should remember that these should be achieved with environmental protection, not instead of it,' emphasised Mr Potocnik. As sustainability issues and challenges are interconnected, the Commissioner argued that the response to these should be tackled by taking an interconnected approach. 'The challenges which face us are not science fiction. And we cannot tackle them with science factions. We need real cooperation for real problems. Only in that way can we ensure sustainability,' Mr Potocnik said. The Commissioner highlighted research and international cooperation as the solutions to the planet's most pressing concerns. He pointed to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and its Cooperation programme specifically, as a joined-up approach to sustainability which takes an international, cooperative and public/private approach to ensuring Europe make the most of its abilities. Mr Potocnik then highlighted the new Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), the public-private partnerships that will seek to develop strategic agendas to improve performance in areas such as renewable energies. JTIs are yet another example of new ways of looking at solutions for both sustainability and competitiveness. As was the recently launched European Research Council. 'I am confident that frontier research looking at the challenges of sustainability will be funded under the ERC,' Mr Potocnik said. The Commissioner concluded by quoting a song from the Oscar-winning film 'Pulp Fiction', which showed the world as a series of interrelated stories. 'Let's stay together'.