Mr Potocnik, who will be replaced in his Commission role next month, was speaking at a meeting of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday (September 3), where he outlined his proposals for sustainable growth and resource efficiency beyond 2020.
In July the Commission adopted a series of proposals for the future of waste and recycling targets within Europe, which include an increased recycling target for Member States to recycle 70% municipal waste by 2030 as well as landfill bans for some materials (see letsrecycle.com story).
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Potocnik urged MEPs to support the proposals, arguing that countries within the EU are not doing enough to promote resource sustainability.
He said: “We are locked into the linear economic model that developed over centuries of abundant resources. We extract resources, only to discard them as waste, without realising their full potential value and use.
“What we need is a growth model that enables the rich economies to move their economies to sustainable levels whilst continuing to maintain or indeed improve living standards, and one that enables emerging economies to move across to the right without moving up too much.
“Our responsibility, individual and collective is increasing and cannot be compared to the responsibility humankind was facing a century ago. Change in the way we produce, consume, in the way we live, is unavoidable.”
Direction
Explaining the rationale behind the package put forward in July, Mr Potocnik said that the measures were intended to contribute to a ‘shift in the direction of improving resource productivity’. He added that the package would seek to improve the supply of secondary raw materials and reduce the need to import raw materials for manufacturing new products.
Finally, Mr Potocnik called on the Environment Committee to support the establishment of a non-binding resource productivity target – measured by monitoring Gross Domestic Product and raw material consumption – which he described as the ‘cornerstone’ of the resource efficiency package.
He added: “Our proposals on the circular economy identify resource productivity as a candidate for setting a headline target under the Europe 2020 strategy. The decision will have to be taken in the context of the mid-term review, taking into account the results of the on-going public consultation, together with the recommendations of the European Resource Efficiency Platform.
“I encourage you to actively support a Resource Productivity target in the review. It is a way of ensuring that the links between environment and growth and jobs are better exploited in the Europe 2020 strategy and its governance process – the European Semester.”
Related Links
Register for free to comment