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Project News, CSCP News, October 1, 2007
Successful conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 27-28 September
The forthcoming EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production should include clear sustainability targets, concrete steps to internalise environmental costs into prices and a Directive on green public procurement. These were three top-priority recommendations identified during the discussions last week at the conference “Time for Action – Towards Sustainable Consumption and Production in Europe” which brought together 100 experts from governments in Europe, researchers, NGOs and businesses.
Timo Mäkelä, Director from the Commission, DG Environment said: "This conference has reconfirmed the need for urgent and concrete measures to change production and consumption patterns. It was a very timely and highly useful event, which rounded up the wide stakeholder consultation on this topic. We are very grateful to Slovenia having hosted this important conference".
Discussions focused on the three consumption areas which have been identified by separate studies of the Wuppertal Institute, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission to have the highest environmental impacts over their lifecycle: housing, food and drink, and mobility.
It was recommended that at the national level, priority action should be taken to internalise environmental costs through an environmental fiscal reform, to identify “beacons” of sustainable living and to develop a long-term vision of sustainable consumption and production.
Finally, participants recommended that the United Nations’ process to develop a 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production - the so-called Marrakech process - should encourage national governments to integrate sustainable consumption and production objectives into ministries beyond environment. Further the Marrakech process should develop communications strategies and campaigns with national organisations to reach out to consumers for actions and involve financial institutions in its process.
For further information, please contact nadine.pratt@scp-centre.org
Key links: - Download Final Summary Report (pdf; 5,3 MB) - Download Conference Paper (pdf; 5,5 MB) - Download Summary Report (pdf; 2,1 MB) - Conference Website including conference documents for download - Further Reaction to the Action Plan (pdf; 0,3 MB) <- Back to: HOME |
