Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-27-Speech-3-169"
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"en.20050427.15.3-169"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, world public opinion has slowly been waking up to the new problems that we face. Environmental quality is not a luxury item; as a prerequisite for sustainable development, it should be a political priority. Governments are, to a greater or lesser extent, coming to realise that the world has changed and that policy must change with it. They are all coming to the realisation that attacks on the environment jeopardise the future of this generation and generations to come and do irreversible damage to people’s quality of life. Environmental problems and health concerns must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The ignorance of the past and the negligence of the present have come at a high price – environmental costs, financial costs and costs in terms of human lives. Remedying the current situation is necessary, but taking preventative action is an even more pressing priority.
The chemical industry currently produces more than 1 000 compounds, some of which are very persistent, that is, highly resistant to environmental degradation. Some of them are biocumulative, which means that they accumulate in the tissue of living organisms; they are also toxic. The most prevalent of these toxic compounds are the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which have been linked to various health problems such as cancer, endometriosis, cognitive disorders and learning difficulties. POPs are also responsible for reproductive disorders and hormonal dysfunctions. Being resistant, POPs are passed down from generation to generation and contaminate the food that we eat, the air that we breathe and the water that we drink. Being biocumulative, POPs accumulate in the environment and in the organisms of living beings. With these characteristics, POPs can travel long distances and can be found in places as far apart as the Antarctic, in penguins, and in the Arctic, in polar bears. There is therefore no point in Brazil stopping mirex production if Argentina does not follow suit; similarly, there is no reason for the EU to ban DDT if China continues to produce it and use it. Accordingly – and I wish to stress this point – efforts must be coordinated worldwide. It is also important to note that many of these substances did not exist 50 years ago.
In 1995, negotiations began to control the use, production and release of POPs. 12 pollutants were identified. The Stockholm Convention, held in 2001, set out a range of targets and measures aimed not only at better management of POPs, but also at eliminating them and at promoting clean technologies. Against the background of the decisions taken by the Stockholm Convention, which, as I said, took place in 2001, and of the aims and agenda of the first Conference of the Parties to that Convention taking place in Uruguay on 2 to 6 May, we should like to ask the Commission what its objectives are for that conference. I should also like to ask what it hopes to accomplish and how much progress it feels can be made. Furthermore, given that everything has its cost, I should also like to know, Commissioner, what financial resources will be available to help those countries that most need to ban POPs.
I shall not be going to Punta del Este to take part in the conference, but I should like to say that I share the concerns expressed by Mrs Doyle and that I agree with everything she said as regards Parliament’s delegation, which should be there on the basis of observer status. It does not make sense if elected Members of the European Parliament are not able to take part in all initiatives, all conferences and all meetings."@en1
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