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Green Plans in Action: European Union: Management Strategies
Overarching Environmental Plan of Thematic Strategies
The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community 2002-2012 provides a broad-based environmental strategic framework with economic and social aspects, and with four priority areas: Climate Change, Nature and Biodiversity, Environment/Health/Quality of Life, and Natural Resources and Waste). These priorities include seven Thematic Strategies. (More...#1) The Programme calls for a comprehensive, integrative action setting baseline for all EU countries through implementation and enforcement of legislation, approaching problems at their source, blending different approaches and instruments for efficiency and effectiveness, and promoting participation by all stakeholders. A mid-term review of the Programme with on-line stakeholder consultation ran until mid-2006, providing an opportunity to set the framework for a final evaluation of effectiveness. (More...#2)
Polluter Pays Principle
Since its adoption by the European Commission in 2002, the polluter pays principle is a cornerstone of EU policy. The Directive covers pollution of water, damage to biodiversity and land contamination causing serious harm to human health. Operators responsible for the cause of environmental damage are responsible for restoring the damage caused, or made to pay for the restoration, thus providing a strong incentive to prevent such damage from occurring. In May 2006, the European Parliament's Environment Committee voted unanimously in favor of a draft resolution to reduce the global warming impact of aviation by applying the polluter pays principle to the airline industry.
Tradeable Permits
Since January 2005, 12,000 large industrial plants in the EU have had the benefit of buying and selling permits to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). This strategy allows companies exceeding their CO2 emission targets to buy allowances from 'greener' companies. Investments in cleaner technologies can be turned into profit, and help the EU meet their Kyoto Protocol commitments.
Life Cycle Analysis
LCA is a scientific approach to assess the environmental impact of products during their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the final disposal of waste from those products. The EU's Integrated Product Policy (IPP) states that environmental impacts of products should be looked at from a life cycle perspective, and addressed at the point of the biggest impacts in the life cycle. The IPP asserts that care should be taken not to shift impacts from one part to another part of the life cycle. LCA is also the basis for the thematic strategies on Natural Resources, Waste Prevention and Recycling. In a vote on February 13, 2007, Parliament introduced targets for reuse and recycling. By 2020, 50% of municipal solid waste and 70% of waste from construction, demolition, industry and manufacturing must be re-used or recycled. In June, the Environment Council unanimously decided to revise the Waste Framework Directive to particularly address the challenge of establishing a system of efficient and environmentally friendly incineration of waste, characterized by energy recovery and cross-border trade in waste between EU member states. The European Commission has concluded that LCAs provide the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products currently available. Their project, The European Platform on LCA, is planned to provide quality assured life cycle-based information on core products and services, and consensus methodologies. The Project, which runs through 2008, includes debates through a series of studies and workshops. A handbook on best practice will be published for the public. (More...)
Extensive Collaboration
Producing legislative changes, management decisions, and implementing regulations requires extensive collaboration among EU member countries, between their agencies, and across disciplines to an unprecedented degree. In addition, the EU's enlargement in May 2004 has exacerbated economic and social disparities across the EU. The Cohesion Policy was created as a regional policy to strengthen the economic, social, and territorial cohesion of the EU by providing development programmes through Structural Funds and managed jointly by Commission services, Member States, and regional authorities. The Cohesion Funds seek to help the least prosperous Member States whose gross national product per capita is below 90% of the EU-average, and finances up to 85% of eligible expenditure of major products involving the environment and transport infrastructure. A new Cohesion Policy in Support of Growth and Jobs for 2007-2013 is being developed to provide a framework for sustainable development, and to improve the lives of Europe's citizens.
Transparency Creating greater transparency is an important element of European governance that applies to all spheres of EU activity. In 2005, The European Commission adopted the European Transparency Initiative, which is intended to make EU institutions more accountable to the public by increasing openness and accessibility, and raise awareness over the use of the EU budget. A Green Paper, published in May 2006, launched a debate with all stakeholders. The Commission is committed to delivering effective policies to reconnect Europe through its citizens and make it easier for people to understand the benefits for them of a European Union.
Public Rights and Participation
In 1998 The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the Aarhus Convention as part of the "Environment for Europe" process. The Aarhus Convention establishes a number of rights for the public, individuals, and their associations regarding the environment. Authorities at national, regional, and local levels contribute to make these rights effective. In 2005 the EU implemented the first two directives of the Aarhus Convention. The first of three "pillars" provides everyone with the right to receive environmental information that is held by public authorities. (More...#1) The second pillar provides for the right of the public to participate in environmental decision-making. (More...#2) These two directives also contain provisions on "access to justice," the third pillar in the Aarhus Convention, which provides for the right to review procedures to challenge public decisions that have been made without respect to the first two directives on environmental law.
Ecosystem Management
Development and implementation of the ecosystem approach to managing human impacts on the marine environment has been adopted as a common vision in the EU. (More...) A local and regional approach to carrying out the vision includes broad stakeholder participation, reflects sustainable development bottom lines for future generations, and includes geographic management of both marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone. Planning and management must be integrated, strategic, have clear objectives, and take a long-term perspective. Adaptive management, part of the ecosystem approach, is a flexible management practice of learning in action, requiring less stringent scientific assumptions. Adaptive management requires accurate, precise monitoring and assessment techniques using ecological indicators to provide feedback, re-evaluation, and revisions to management techniques and goals as knowledge increases.
Clean-Sky Joint Technology Initiative
In February 2008, the European Research Commission launched a seven-year, €1.6B Public-Private Partnership to assist the aviation industry in developing environmentally friendly technology. The Clean-Sky Initiative is one of six planned joint-technology initiatives created by the Commission to avoid fragmentation of research efforts, and boost large-scale, longŠterm investment in strategic research fields. The aviation industry hopes to develop technology allowing aircraft noise to be cut 50% and slash CO2 and NOx emissions by 50% and 80% respectively by 2020. So far, the Clean-Sky Initiative incorporates 54 industries, 15 research centers and 17 universities across 16 countries. It will be financed equally by the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme and industry funds. Aviation accounts for 4% of annual greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warning.
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