EU Announces Sustainable Development Road Map

European Commission President Romano Prodi of Italy received a generally warm reception on May 16 when he EuropeanCommission President Romano Prodi of Italypresented a long awaited sustainable development road map for the EU. It will be discussed by heads of state at next month’s Gothenburg summit. The strategy consists of broad objectives that address the six greatest threats to EU sustainability. The six areas are: climate change, public health, resource management, transport congestion and pollution, poverty and an aging population. Since recent EU summits have already adopted measures to deal with poverty and an aging population, Prodi’s announcement focused on the other four objectives: * EU greenhouse gas emissions cut by 20 percent by 2020; * An EU energy tax that includes “full internalization of external costs” adopted by 2004;* Incentives to increase the use of biofuel in transportation to 20 percent by 2020; * A system of “resource productivity measurement” developed by 2003; * Reduce transport congestion by introducing charges that “reflect transportation costs to society” by 2005. EU leaders will review progress annually using “headline indicators.” John Hontelez, a spokesperson for the European Environmental Bureau said the strategy is “a real attempt to describe a long term vision […]

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