15/6/2007
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission: Opening Speech at Green Week. Green Week Event, Brussels, 12 June 2007

Chairman,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour and also a great pleasure to be the opening speaker at Green Week 2007.

As we take stock of Europe's achievements in this 50th anniversary year of the Treaty of Rome, there can be no doubt that environmental protection is one of our greatest success stories.

Action by the European Union and Member States has been responsible for major improvements in the field of environment protection - air and water quality, pollutants, protection of nature areas, and chemicals to name a few. And we have adopted the world's most ambitious strategy for combating climate change.

In short, we are delivering a Europe of results, in a policy area that the peoples of Europe care deeply about. In fact, no fewer than 72% of respondents in a recent Eurobarometer survey favoured more decision-making on the environment at European level. The message is clear: when it comes to protecting Europe's environment, Europeans want 'more Europe.'

It is easy to see why. Our citizens recognise that the environment and pollution know no borders. They understand that progress depends on international action. The European Union provides a unique, legally binding framework for this. The strength and effectiveness of cooperation between the EU and its Member States have made us global leaders in protecting the environment.

This is why swift agreement on a new treaty settlement is vital. It represents a historic opportunity to consolidate this unique framework, and reinforce our capacity to act effectively in this increasingly important area.

As Europe has grown, and grown together, we have learned an important lesson: that protecting our environment and our natural resources is not a luxury, but a crucial investment in our sustainable economic future.

We know, for instance, that air and water pollution weaken our economies by making people sick.

We know that overfishing today leaves fishing communities without work tomorrow.

And we know that destroying ecosystems and species robs us of economically vital services.

We cannot rest on our laurels, however. And Europe, let alone the rest of the world, still has a way to go. Protecting the environment for future generations continually raises new challenges.

Your discussions, here at Green Week 2007, will address these challenges, from climate change to soil protection and from the loss of biological diversity to unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Your input will be invaluable in helping us to make existing policies more effective and to shape new ones.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Without doubt the greatest challenge we face today is climate change. It has the potential to redraw the face of our planet, causing crippling economic damage and untold human suffering that will threaten global security.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued the clearest possible warning that the global temperature is likely to rise further by up to 4°C this century, and possibly by as much as 6.4°C, unless the world takes action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

We have to act. A considerable part of the scientific community tells us that we have to keep global warming to no more than 2°C above the pre-industrial level. Higher than that, we risk irreversible and possibly catastrophic global changes.

The Commission's integrated climate and energy package, approved by European leaders in March, sets out a clear and ambitious strategy for action. It is nothing less than a commitment to restructure Europe's economy towards a low-carbon future.

Now we must move rapidly to implement the package. That means convincing our international partners to follow our lead and start negotiations on a bold new global climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

Last week's G8 meeting was an important step forward in that respect, which deserves recognition. There was:

• Agreement that this is a global problem which requires urgent, global solutions;

• Commitment to substantial global emissions reductions;

• Commitment to deliver a global agreement, with targets, under the UN;

• Recognition that, in fixing those targets, account should be taken of EU, Japanese and Canadian targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050;

• Consensus that a global agreement is needed by 2009.

G8 leaders have crossed the Rubicon. It is no longer if we should act, but when and how. And the when and how are increasingly clear: in 2009, under a UN process, and with substantial cuts.

The Commission is now working hard to put flesh on the bones of our January package. Implementing it will require active partnerships with both Member States and the European Parliament.

And although climate change is the biggest threat, we must not let it eclipse the other serious environmental challenges we face.

In particular we must not lose sight of the grave threat posed by the loss of biological diversity, both within Europe and globally. As you know, this is being exacerbated by climate change itself.

Biodiversity underpins our economies through the goods and services that ecosystems provide. These goods and services constitute nothing less than the life-support system on which human well-being depends.

Unfortunately, we forget this all too easily. The UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has found that two-thirds of ecosystem services are in decline, resulting in major economic losses.

We cannot afford to deplete our natural capital in this way. That is why the EU has committed itself to halting the loss of biodiversity within its territory by 2010. Our goal is ambitious, but essential, if our future development is to be sustainable.

The Commission's Biodiversity Action Plan spells out how to achieve this, but it is clear that much more progress is needed.

It is important to bear in mind that these challenges are also opportunities - and not least economic opportunities.

Environment policy has been a driving force in the development of Europe's fast-growing eco-technologies sector. This sector is making a considerable contribution to the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs.

Today it employs around 3.4 million people in the EU and its annual turnover represents more than 2% of EU GDP. Some of these eco-technologies can be seen at the Green Week Expo in the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Innovation, stimulated by policy initiatives, has made Europe a world leader in a number of environmental technologies, such as wind power. Implementation of our climate and energy package will unleash a new wave of eco-innovation, as the most dynamic firms compete to be first on the market with the low-carbon technologies of the future. European industries must seize this opportunity with both hands.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The range and effectiveness of our environment policy is one of the EU's major achievements, as well as one of its most popular.

There has been substantial progress to improve human health as well as the environment itself. It has helped European industry to become a world leader in a number of high growth sectors, and it has created millions of jobs.

However, we still face major challenges, starting with climate change, the loss of biodiversity and our unsustainable way of life. Despite our efforts, we cannot yet say that we are firmly on the path to sustainable development. As we look ahead to the European Union's next 50 years, getting on that path must be at the top of our agenda.

Thank you.