Janez Potočnik – European Commissioner for Environment
Public discussion at the Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye, UK)
Hay-on-Wye, 28-5-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — I am hearing far too often these days that in these times of economic crisis we cannot afford to have a high level of environmental protection. Worse, I am hearing that many of our economic problems are caused by environmental laws and that if only the so-called ‘Green Tape’ was removed our economies could recover and create the jobs and growth we all desire.
Frankly, this is nonsense, and I will explain why.
To begin with, let’s just look at this ‘Growth’ issue:
Economic growth in Europe has been falling continuously for decades. According to OECD data, growth was 5.4 % in the sixties, 3.8 % in the seventies, 3.1 % in the eighties, 2.3 % in the nineties and 1.4% in the first decade of this century. Does anyone seriously imagine that this is down to excessive environmental rules? The trend is clear: European growth will be low in the coming years. In fact, if there is to be growth, it will have to be Green Growth. I would go as far as to say that unless we transform our economies into resource-efficient, low carbon economies in the coming years then we will find ourselves in much deeper economic trouble than we are in now.
The reasons for this lie in global mega trends:
- Our planet’s population is expected to rise to more than 9 billion by the middle of this century. We will share our planet with an additional 3 billion middle class consumers by 2030. In just 30 years – one generation – 2 billion people more will share the planet, which is more than the total amount of the population on the planet at the beginning of the 20th Century.
- Of course, this is great for those 3 billion whose living standards will rise, and for the businesses that will thrive in providing for those demands, but this will put immense strain on many resources. We will need three times more resources -140 billion tons annually- by 2050. The demand for food, feed and fiber is projected to increase by 70%.
- Already today 60 % of the world’s major ecosystems on which these resources depend are degraded or are used unsustainably. (fish, water … biodiversity, climate change). Without important efficiency gains, by 2030 we will need 40% more water than we can access. We would need around three times more resources by 2050.
Looking to the future, the “business as usual” scenario simply will not work. Transition from our current resource intensive economic growth model to a resource efficient growth model, to a circular economy, is not only absolutely necessary, it is actually inevitable for all our economies. For the first time, we humans, are affecting the balance of our planet.
For the past two centuries we have relied on an economic growth model based on cheap and abundant resources. This ‘great acceleration’ has been a fantastic achievement of the generations of humans that have mastered so many obstacles to bring such unimagined health and prosperity. But we cannot go on growing in the resource-intensive way we did in the past; certainly not on a global scale. Today the richest 20% of the world consumes about 60 times more than the poorest 20%. Just imagine the stress on the world’s resources if the rest of the world were to live the same way as we do.
It may sound hypocritical for rich countries to say “grow as we say, not as we did”, and of course those 3 billion new middle class consumers have just as much right to a decent quality of life as we do. But it is simply a fact that the resource intensive growth model of the previous century cannot be extended to today’s global population. Industrialized nations must change their production and consumption patterns of the last century, and developing countries must not seek to imitate those patterns, but rather take a different route to higher living standards. The stakes are high and our responsibility for managing our own future has increased enormously.
Our future, taking into account human population growth and growing per-capita consumption rate will be very much shaped by how well we manage existing limited resources. Water, land, energy, oceans, raw materials, biodiversity, ecosystems and the complexity of their interactions will be decisive for our future. In the past we were never so seriously forced, at least globally, to deal with these questions.
Europe
For us in Europe, in addition to this looming global resource crisis we are currently embroiled in the most serious financial, economic and even political crisis for many decades. We are struggling to find the way out, to stabilise and reform our economies and to find effective ways to inject new growth and create new jobs. There is no silver bullet – if there were, it would have already been fired.
Our eventual exit from the crisis is inextricably linked to the environment. Why?
Firstly: we use a lot of resources. The European economy is built on decades of resource intensive growth. We use 16 tons of raw materials per person per year. Worse, we throw away 6 tons of that, and half of that waste is buried in the ground as landfill: 3 tons per person every year;
Secondly: resources and energy (World Energy Outlook: International Energy Agency) are getting more expensive. After a century of declining resource prices in real terms, pressures on resource supplies have led to a steady increase of prices since 2000. On average, real prices for resources increased by more than 300 % between 1998 and 2011. At the same time, resource price volatility also increased. In Europe, 87 % of EU companies expect resource prices to continue rising in the next 5 years.
Thirdly: already today resources are the dominating factor in the cost structure. For example in German industry 43% of the total costs can be attributed to the use of resources and only 18% to the cost of labour. We are still very much focussed on labour and capital productivity because they are the traditional drivers of growth. But actually more than half of growth comes from innovation and technological change.
And fourthly: we import most of our material resources. More than half of the materials that we use are imported. We import six times more than we export. We have the world’s highest net imports of resources per person. And our dependency on imports is increasing. We get 48 % of our copper ore from abroad, 64 % of zinc and bauxite and 78 % of nickel. We import all of our cobalt, platinum, titanium and vanadium, as well as rare earth metals.
So far, I realise I must sound like one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse bringing tidings of Doom. Can we actually do anything about all this? Well, to paraphrase a politician who is more famous than me ‘Yes we can’. But first, many people will have to stop claiming that the economy is more important than the environment and wake up to the reality that the two must go hand in hand.
What can be done? What must be done?
To paraphrase that politician again – we need change. We need to rethink the way we produce and consume. The process of economic recovery cannot only be about stimulating growth, it has to be about building the basis for a different quality of growth.
We have to turn that human creativity and innovation that so successfully exploited resources to provide us with health and prosperity, to rolling out those benefits to billions more people, in ways that exploit resources less. We need to move from a linear economic model, where we extract, produce, use and throw away, to a circular economy model.
The transformation of our economy will require further action in a wide range of policy domains: from energy, transport, construction and greening agriculture to combating climate change, preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services, eliminating environmentally harmful subsidies, shifting taxes from labour to pollution and resource use, and encouraging industry to take a longer-term view and to invest in technologies that will reduce the impacts on resources.
And we have taken some small steps along the road already:
The European eco-industry alone has created 1.2 million new jobs since 2000, employing today around 3.4 million people. And this is only one small part of the story. It is the greening of the wider economy that will produce the most new jobs. It is already doing so. Evidence points to an increasing number of green jobs as we move towards a resource-efficient economy. The most recent estimate is of around 20 million jobs or 5 per cent of the workforce.
In addition, with the global market for clean technologies forecast to double by 2020, we can build on our current strengths. The EU is amongst the world’s leaders in sectors such as energy efficiency and water and waste management. Today we provide one-third of the global market for clean technologies and, if we can keep that share in a rapidly-growing sector, it will inevitably mean new jobs, new markets and new benefits from launching innovative technologies or business models.
It is for public authorities to show leadership and give the right signals. As the situation is today, market forces are too slow and imperfect; the financial, business and economic world takes a too short-term view; and politicians tend to work too tightly only around electoral cycles.
We live in market economies and the role of the market will also in the future remain central. It is the best means we have, but a free market alone is not enough to bring the necessary transition about. The market cannot ensure efficiency in the allocation and use of resources if prices do not reflect the true costs of resources, if rewards to capital are disproportionate to other inputs, if managers on annual contracts are induced to make short term investment decisions, if directors’ business decisions are overly influenced by bonuses based on short term share price.
We need industry and investors on board. Rather than fighting the power of capital, or trying to legislate away its environmental downsides, we need to harness market forces to turn economies onto a track that is sustainable economically, financially, socially and environmentally. We need green economics. But industry and investors also need to take environmental concerns on board. Rather than trying to convince everybody how damaging environmental regulation is for their competitiveness, they should rather use that money and energy for innovating necessary solutions.
Yes, we must address market failures, but we must also address governance failures.
It is imperative that we address the prevailing short term logic which is built into all our systems, be it political or economic. Do you know any politician that has been re-elected because she or he was defending longer term interests over the short term ones? Or a manager who was rewarded because the profits of his or her company were lower that year, but more sustainable in the longer term? We cannot manage the world of the 21st Century without taking into account the longer term picture and consequences.
Planning the transition to a sustainable economy is the only sustainable way forward. And it is not about tomorrow – it is actually about today. It is the only way to avoid going from a financial to an “environmental credit crunch”. This is not just a ‘green growth’ agenda, it is a growth agenda that happens to be green. If Europe wants to retain an industrial base, it must start to innovate, invest and specialise in the activities where it will have a comparative advantage in the global context of competition for resources.
To put it simply: It is actually not about “green growth”, it is just about growth. Full stop.
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding by its subsidiary in Romania
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that the Company’s Portuguese subsidiary finalised the transaction with LORCA JVCO Limited
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that the Portuguese Competition Authority has granted clearance for the share purchase agreement concluded by the Company’s subsidiary in Portugal
- OMRON Healthcare introduceert nieuwe bloeddrukmeters met AI-aangedreven AFib-detectietechnologie; lancering in Europa september 2024
- OMRON Healthcare dévoile de nouveaux tensiomètres dotés d’une technologie de détection de la fibrillation auriculaire alimentée par l’IA, lancés en Europe en septembre 2024
- OMRON Healthcare presenta i nuovi misuratori della pressione sanguigna con tecnologia di rilevamento della fibrillazione atriale (AFib) basata sull’IA, in arrivo in Europa a settembre 2024
- OMRON Healthcare presenta los nuevos tensiómetros con tecnología de detección de fibrilación auricular (FA) e inteligencia artificial (IA), que se lanzarán en Europa en septiembre de 2024
- Alegerile din Moldova din 2024: O Bătălie pentru Democrație Împotriva Dezinformării
- Northcrest Developments launches design competition to reimagine 2-km former airport Runway into a vibrant pedestrianized corridor, shaping a new era of placemaking on an international scale
- The Road to Sustainable Electric Motors for EVs: IDTechEx Analyzes Key Factors
- Infrared Technology Breakthroughs Paving the Way for a US$500 Million Market, Says IDTechEx Report
- MegaFair Revolutionizes the iGaming Industry with Skill-Based Games
- European Commission Evaluates Poland’s Media Adherence to the Right to be Forgotten
- Global Race for Autonomous Trucks: Europe a Critical Region Transport Transformation
- Digi Communications N.V. confirms the full redemption of €450,000,000 Senior Secured Notes
- AT&T Obtiene Sentencia Contra Grupo Salinas Telecom, Propiedad de Ricardo Salinas, Sus Abogados se Retiran Mientras Él Mueve Activos Fuera de EE.UU. para Evitar Pagar la Sentencia
- Global Outlook for the Challenging Autonomous Bus and Roboshuttle Markets
- Evolving Brain-Computer Interface Market More Than Just Elon Musk’s Neuralink, Reports IDTechEx
- Latin Trails Wraps Up a Successful 3rd Quarter with Prestigious LATA Sustainability Award and Expands Conservation Initiatives ↗️
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd leitet Untersuchung für potenzielle Sammelklage gegen Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego von Grupo ELEKTRA wegen Marktmanipulation und Wertpapierbetrug ein
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that the Company’s Romanian subsidiary exercised its right to redeem the Senior Secured Notes due in 2025 in principal amount of €450,000,000
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd Inicia Investigación de Demanda Colectiva Contra Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego de Grupo ELEKTRA por Manipulación de Acciones y Fraude en Valores
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd Initiating Class Action Lawsuit Inquiry Against Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego of Grupo ELEKTRA for Stock Manipulation & Securities Fraud
- Digi Communications N.V. announced that its Spanish subsidiary, Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., has completed the first stage of selling a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in 12 Spanish provinces
- Natural Cotton Color lancia la collezione "Calunga" a Milano
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd: Salinas Pliego Incumple Préstamo de $110 Millones USD y Viola Regulaciones Mexicanas
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd: Salinas Pliego Verstößt gegen Darlehensvertrag über 110 Mio. USD und Mexikanische Wertpapiergesetze
- ChargeEuropa zamyka rundę finansowania, której przewodził fundusz Shift4Good tym samym dokonując historycznej francuskiej inwestycji w polski sektor elektromobilności
- Strengthening EU Protections: Robert Szustkowski calls for safeguarding EU citizens’ rights to dignity
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of H1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that conditional stock options were granted to a director of the Company’s Romanian Subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces Investors Call for the presentation of the H1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a share purchase agreement by its subsidiary in Portugal
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces Rating Assigned by Fitch Ratings to Digi Communications N.V.
- Digi Communications N.V. announces significant agreements concluded by the Company’s subsidiaries in Spain
- SGW Global Appoints Telcomdis as the Official European Distributor for Motorola Nursery and Motorola Sound Products
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the instruction regarding the payment of share dividend for the 2023 financial year
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the exercise of conditional share options by the executive directors of the Company, for the year 2023, as approved by the Company’s Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meetings from 18th May 2021 and 28th December 2022
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the granting of conditional stock options to Executive Directors of the Company based on the general shareholders’ meeting approval from 25 June 2024
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the OGMS resolutions and the availability of the approved 2023 Annual Report
- Czech Composer Tatiana Mikova Presents Her String Quartet ‘In Modo Lidico’ at Carnegie Hall
- SWIFTT: A Copernicus-based forest management tool to map, mitigate, and prevent the main threats to EU forests
- WickedBet Unveils Exciting Euro 2024 Promotion with Boosted Odds
- Museum of Unrest: a new space for activism, art and design
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a Senior Facility Agreement by companies within Digi Group
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the agreements concluded by Digi Romania (formerly named RCS & RDS S.A.), the Romanian subsidiary of the Company
- Green Light for Henri Hotel, Restaurants and Shops in the “Alter Fischereihafen” (Old Fishing Port) in Cuxhaven, opening Summer 2026
- Digi Communications N.V. reports consolidated revenues and other income of EUR 447 million, adjusted EBITDA (excluding IFRS 16) of EUR 140 million for Q1 2024
- Digi Communications announces the conclusion of Facilities Agreements by companies from Digi Group
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces the convocation of the Company’s general shareholders meeting for 25 June 2024 for the approval of, among others, the 2023 Annual Report
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the presentation of the Q1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications intends to propose to shareholders the distribution of dividends for the fiscal year 2023 at the upcoming General Meeting of Shareholders, which shall take place in June 2024
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the Romanian version of the 2023 Annual Report
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2023 Annual Report
- International Airlines Group adopts Airline Economics by Skailark ↗️
- BevZero Spain Enhances Sustainability Efforts with Installation of Solar Panels at Production Facility
- Digi Communications N.V. announces share transaction made by an Executive Director of the Company with class B shares
- BevZero South Africa Achieves FSSC 22000 Food Safety Certification
- Digi Communications N.V.: Digi Spain Enters Agreement to Sell FTTH Network to International Investors for Up to EUR 750 Million
- Patients as Partners® Europe Announces the Launch of 8th Annual Meeting with 2024 Keynotes and Topics
- driveMybox continues its international expansion: Hungary as a new strategic location
- Monesave introduces Socialised budgeting: Meet the app quietly revolutionising how users budget
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of the 2023 Preliminary Financial Results
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the presentation of the 2023 Preliminary Financial Results
- Lensa, един от най-ценените търговци на оптика в Румъния, пристига в България. Първият шоурум е открит в София
- Criando o futuro: desenvolvimento da AENO no mercado de consumo em Portugal
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces the release of the Financial Calendar for 2024
- Customer Data Platform Industry Attracts New Participants: CDP Institute Report
- eCarsTrade annonce Dirk Van Roost au poste de Directeur Administratif et Financier: une décision stratégique pour la croissance à venir
- BevZero Announces Strategic Partnership with TOMSA Desil to Distribute equipment for sustainability in the wine industry, as well as the development of Next-Gen Dealcoholization technology
- Digi Communications N.V. announces share transaction made by a Non-Executive Director of the Company with class B shares
- Digi Spain Telecom, the subsidiary of Digi Communications NV in Spain, has concluded a spectrum transfer agreement for the purchase of spectrum licenses
- Эксперт по торговле акциями Сергей Левин запускает онлайн-мастер-класс по торговле сырьевыми товарами и хеджированию
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion by Company’s Portuguese subsidiary of a framework agreement for spectrum usage rights
- North Texas Couple Completes Dream Purchase of Ouray’s Iconic Beaumont Hotel
- Предприниматель и филантроп Михаил Пелег подчеркнул важность саммита ООН по Целям устойчивого развития 2023 года в Нью-Йорке
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of the Q3 2023 Financial Results
- IQ Biozoom Innovates Non-Invasive Self-Testing, Empowering People to Self-Monitor with Laboratory Precision at Home
- BevZero Introduces Energy Saving Tank Insulation System to Europe under name “BevClad”
- Motorvision Group reduces localization costs using AI dubbing thanks to partnering with Dubformer
- Digi Communications NV Announces Investors Call for the Q3 2023 Financial Results
- Jifiti Granted Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License in Europe
- Предприниматель Михаил Пелег выступил в защиту образования и грамотности на мероприятии ЮНЕСКО, посвящённом Международному дню грамотности
- VRG Components Welcomes New Austrian Independent Agent
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., its subsidiary in Spain, and abrdn plc have completed the first investment within the transaction having as subject matter the financing of the roll out of a Fibre-to-the-Home (“FTTH”) network in Andalusia, Spain
- Продюсер Михаил Пелег, как сообщается, работает над новым сериалом с участием крупной голливудской актрисы
- Double digit growth in global hospitality industry for Q4 2023
- ITC Deploys Traffic Management Solution in Peachtree Corners, Launches into United States Market
- Cyviz onthult nieuwe TEMPEST dynamische controlekamer in Benelux, Nederland
- EU-Funded CommuniCity Launches its Second Open Call
- Astrologia pode dar pistas sobre a separação de Sophie Turner e Joe Jonas
- La astrología puede señalar las razones de la separación de Sophie Turner y Joe Jonas
- Empowering Europe against infectious diseases: innovative framework to tackle climate-driven health risks
- Montachem International Enters Compostable Materials Market with Seaweed Resins Company Loliware
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that its Belgian affiliated companies are moving ahead with their operations
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the exercise of conditional share options by an executive director of the Company, for the year 2022, as approved by the Company’s Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting from 18 May 2021
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the instruction regarding the payment of share dividend for the 2022 financial year
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2022 Annual Report
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the general shareholders’ meeting resolutions from 18 August 2023 approving amongst others, the 2022 Annual Accounts
- Русские эмигранты усиливают призывы «Я хочу, чтобы вы жили» через искусство
- BevZero Introduces State-of-the-Art Mobile Flash Pasteurization Unit to Enhance Non-Alcoholic Beverage Stability at South Africa Facility
- Russian Emigrés Amplify Pleas of “I Want You to Live” through Art
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of H1 2023 Financial Results
- Digi Communications NV Announces Investors Call for the H1 2023 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the convocation of the Company’s general shareholders meeting for 18 August 2023 for the approval of, among others, the 2022 Annual Report
- “Art Is Our Weapon”: Artists in Exile Deploy Their Talents in Support of Peace, Justice for Ukraine
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2022 Annual Financial Report
- “AmsEindShuttle” nuevo servicio de transporte que conecta el aeropuerto de Eindhoven y Ámsterdam
- Un nuovo servizio navetta “AmsEindShuttle” collega l’aeroporto di Eindhoven ad Amsterdam
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of an amendment agreement to the Facility Agreement dated 26 July 2021, by the Company’s Spanish subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces an amendment of the Company’s 2023 financial calendar
- iGulu F1: Brewing Evolution Unleashed
- Почему интерактивная «Карта мира» собрала ключевые антивоенные сообщества россиян по всему миру и становится для них важнейшим инструментом
- Hajj Minister meets EU ambassadors to Saudi Arabia
- Online Organizing Platform “Map of Peace” Emerges as Key Tool for Diaspora Activists
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that conditional stock options were granted to executive directors of the Company based on the general shareholders’ meeting approval from 18 May 2021
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the release of the Q1 2023 financial results
- AMBROSIA – A MULTIPLEXED PLASMO-PHOTONIC BIOSENSING PLATFORM FOR RAPID AND INTELLIGENT SEPSIS DIAGNOSIS AT THE POINT-OF-CARE
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the Q1 2023 Financial Results presentation
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the amendment of the Company’s 2023 financial calendar
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of two Facilities Agreements by the Company’s Romanian subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a Senior Facility Agreement by the Company’s Romanian subsidiary
- Patients as Partners Europe Returns to London and Announces Agenda Highlights
- GRETE PROJECT RESULTS PRESENTED TO TEXTILE INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS AT INTERNATIONAL CELLULOSE FIBRES CONFERENCE
- Digi Communications N.V. announces Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., its subsidiary in Spain, entered into an investment agreement with abrdn to finance the roll out of a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in Andalusia, Spain
- XSpline SPA / University of Linz (Austria): the first patient has been enrolled in the international multicenter clinical study for the Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy DeliveRy guided by non-Invasive electrical and VEnous anatomy assessment (CRT-DRIVE)
- Franklin Junction Expands Host Kitchen® Network To Europe with Digital Food Hall Pioneer Casper
- Unihertz a dévoilé un nouveau smartphone distinctif, Luna, au MWC 2023 de Barcelone
- Unihertz Brachte ein Neues, Markantes Smartphone, Luna, auf dem MWC 2023 in Barcelona
- Editor's pick archive....