EU launches industry roadmap for a resource-efficient economy
Commissioner Janez Potonik calls for more green taxes and says businesses must be encouraged to invest in greener goods
The European Commission has urged member states to replace labour taxation with green taxes as part of a new roadmap designed to create a resource-efficient economy by 2050.
Environment commissioner Janez Potočnik launched the new roadmap today, outlining key challenges and actions that hope to achieve environmentally sustainable economic growth.
Speaking ahead of the launch at the World Resources Forum Davos yesterday, Potočnik said he hoped the roadmap would pave the way for decision makers at the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012 to agree on the next steps that would be required to “start a global transition to a green, resource-efficient economy”.
“Moving towards becoming a resource-efficient society is no longer a choice; it is inevitable and only a question of time,” he said. “Our choice is whether to take the lead, define and shape this transition, or wait until we are forced to do it, when our critical resources will have been exhausted and adaptation will be difficult and expensive.”
He highlighted four main challenges that are tackled in the roadmap, including the need to set the right prices for encouraging sustainable investment, removing subsidies that “lock the economy into an unsustainable path”, and encouraging companies to to develop greener products.
“I believe that getting the prices right will already encourage such innovation. Just as companies found ingenious ways to improve labour productivity when labour costs were increasing and resources were cheap, so they will be creative and effective in increasing resource productivity as resource costs rise,” he added.
The new roadmap also urges member states to shift taxation away from labour and towards pollution and resources, as well as provide fresh incentives to push consumers towards resource-efficient products.
The roadmap conceded that it will not represent “the ultimate response to all challenges”, but is a first step towards designing a coherent action framework that cuts across government and industries.
It is intended to draw together recent initiatives under the Europe 2020 Flagship initiative on resource efficiency, such as the Roadmap for a Low-carbon Economy that the White Paper on transport adopted in spring 2011, as well as the Energy Roadmap expected later this year.
The Commission said it will now prepare policies and legislative proposals to implement the actions set out in the roadmap and urged member states to take up proposals to bring new efficiency measures to business and consumers.
The European Commission has urged member states to replace labour taxation with green taxes as part of a new roadmap designed to create a resource-efficient economy by 2050.
Environment commissioner Janez Potočnik launched the new roadmap today, outlining key challenges and actions that hope to achieve environmentally sustainable economic growth.
Speaking ahead of the launch at the World Resources Forum Davos yesterday, Potočnik said he hoped the roadmap would pave the way for decision makers at the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012 to agree on the next steps that would be required to “start a global transition to a green, resource-efficient economy”.
“Moving towards becoming a resource-efficient society is no longer a choice; it is inevitable and only a question of time,” he said. “Our choice is whether to take the lead, define and shape this transition, or wait until we are forced to do it, when our critical resources will have been exhausted and adaptation will be difficult and expensive.”
He highlighted four main challenges that are tackled in the roadmap, including the need to set the right prices for encouraging sustainable investment, removing subsidies that “lock the economy into an unsustainable path”, and encouraging companies to to develop greener products.
“I believe that getting the prices right will already encourage such innovation. Just as companies found ingenious ways to improve labour productivity when labour costs were increasing and resources were cheap, so they will be creative and effective in increasing resource productivity as resource costs rise,” he added.
The new roadmap also urges member states to shift taxation away from labour and towards pollution and resources, as well as provide fresh incentives to push consumers towards resource-efficient products.
The roadmap conceded that it will not represent “the ultimate response to all challenges”, but is a first step towards designing a coherent action framework that cuts across government and industries.
It is intended to draw together recent initiatives under the Europe 2020 Flagship initiative on resource efficiency, such as the Roadmap for a Low-carbon Economy that the White Paper on transport adopted in spring 2011, as well as the Energy Roadmap expected later this year.
The Commission said it will now prepare policies and legislative proposals to implement the actions set out in the roadmap and urged member states to take up proposals to bring new efficiency measures to business and consumers.
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