Environmental policy has improved quality of growth in the EU, report shows
23/09/2004 - www.euractiv.com - A report for the Dutch Environment Ministry says that EU environment policy has achieved high economic growth while reducing emissions of pollutants, compensating investment costs by benefits for society.
A report by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) says that EU environmental policy has benefited both the ecosystem and the economy, leading to more sustainable growth.
Presented on 20 September to MEPs by Dutch State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment Pieter van Geel, who commissioned the study, the report says EU countries have succeeded in simultaneously achieving high growth and labour productivity while decreasing greenhouse gas intensity. This, the report argues, "suggests that a variety of socio-economic and environmental objectives can go hand in hand".
Entitled "Outstanding environmental issues — a review of the EU’s environmental agenda", the study cites OECD statistics showing that investments in green technologies needed to achieve these results would amount to between 1.5% and 2% of GDP in Western Europe. These investments, the report argues, are "more than compensated by benefits to human health and improvements in ecosystems due to investments in technology and employment".
However, the report points to important unresolved environmental issues, in particular climate change, loss of biodiversity and air pollution in urban areas. To achieve future objectives more efficiently, it advocates making greater use of market-based instruments and target-setting rather than legislation.
This type of regulation, it argues, calls for eco-efficient innovations that improve environmental performance and could "alleviate current concerns about economic growth and competitiveness
