Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-20-Speech-5-087-000"
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"Mr President, I would like to thank Mr Leinen for his work on this report, which comes at the right time. As you know, the Commission is busy preparing the 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP) for adoption before the end of this year. I can say that many of the ideas which you mentioned in the introduction are ideas which we are considering for inclusion in the 7th Environment Action Programme.
EU environment policy has been consolidated under the 6th Environment Action Programme. We now have legislation covering all areas except soil. In the meantime, we have developed a number of new initiatives – including on climate, biodiversity and resource efficiency – which set objectives for 2020 and contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy.
The 7th EAP should pull all these together in an overarching, coherent framework. It should also look beyond 2020 and put in place the conditions necessary to secure a resource-efficient, low-carbon future in which natural capital is protected, valued and substantially restored. Ensuring all this will require more coherent policy making and enhanced integration of the environment into other policies.
I was pleased to see implementation as the first priority highlighted in your report. As you know, I made this one of my top priorities in my nomination hearing before this House and from the beginning of my mandate. Implementation failures are a major stumbling block to delivering the benefits we seek from environmental legislation. They cost us around EUR 50 billion per year, lead to distortions in the single market and make it more costly to tackle environmental challenges down the road. After all, these challenges do not simply resolve themselves.
Last month, the Commission presented ideas on how to improve the situation which will be further developed in the 7th EAP. I also agree that the 7th EAP should focus on the contribution of environment policy to better health and well-being. More needs to be done to tackle challenges arising from pollution that are not yet being adequately addressed. There are still some concerns that our current policy framework may not adequately cater for new and emerging threats. This will obviously need to be further explored.
Ongoing reviews of our water and air legislation will help inform the future direction of both policies. I also fully agree with you that the urban environment is an important dimension of our policy. The 7th EAP should promote and support efforts by urban communities to play a leadership role. The international dimension of environment policy also needs to feature prominently in the 7th EAP, which will also need to reflect the outcome of Rio+20 and provide for the timely implementation of EU international commitments under the UNFCCC. We need global climate action consistent with the objective of keeping the global average temperature increase below 2 °C compared to pre-industrial levels. I also agree that the 7th EAP should provide a framework for the transition to a low-carbon economy beyond our 2020 targets. This work has already started with the 2020 Low Carbon Road map, which sets out a pathway with milestones for a cost-effective, gradual transition and identifies essential enabling technologies and instruments.
As always, the commitment of all stakeholders concerned is fundamental to the success of many programmes. We need to mobilise actors at all levels and in all relevant sectors to do their part. I count on your support for this. I will be following today’s debate with keen interest and I would like to thank you again for your report."@en1
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