Embracing Resource Efficiency in a Green Economy

1. Resource Efficiency within A Green Economy Stefan Speck Water Resource Efficiency Workshop European Environment Agency June 16 and 17, 2011 Copenhagen

2. What is understood under green economy? In 2009, UNEP called for a Global Green New Deal in response to the financial and economic crisis  fiscal stimulus packages implemented around the world “Green economy is an economy that results in improved human well-being and reduced inequalities over the long term, while not exposing future generations to significant environmental risks and ecological scarcities” (UNEP, 2011) Not a new concept and used before; for example Blueprint for a Green Economy (Pearce et al, 1989) - economic underpinnings of sustainable development!

3. What is understood under green economy? OECD: Concepts of green growth stress the importance of integrating economic and environmental policies in a way that highlights the opportunities for new sources of economic growth while avoiding unsustainable pressure on the quality and quantity of natural assets “The concept of a “green economy” does not replace sustainable development, but there is now a growing recognition that achieving sustainability rests almost entirely on getting the economy right” (UNEP, 2011)

4. EU 2020 strategy ‘Europe 2020 is the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade. In a changing world, we want the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy’ • Smart growth: improving the EU's performance (education, research/innovation, digital society) • Sustainable growth - for a resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy • Inclusive growth – a high-employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion

5. EU 2020 - sustainable growth • Flagship – resource efficient Europe To support the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy, our economic growth must be decoupled from resource and energy. Findings of a ‘Survey of resource efficiency policies’ (EEA, 2011) • Neither a clear definition nor a common understanding of the terms “resources” and “resource efficiency” seem to be in place • Only a few countries formally define the term ‘resources’ in their policies (eg.Hungary, Spain) • Some others use a more narrow term ‘raw materials’ when looking at resource efficiency.

6. How resource efficiency is addressed in policies today Very few countries reported having a dedicated strategic document for resource efficiency (Austria, Germany) Two ‘sectors’ are by far most common: • Energy supply, renewable energy and energy efficiency • Waste management and recycling Additionally, frequently mentioned: • the public sector • building and construction • water management • transport

7. Delivering a green economy: the twin challenge • The objectives of a green economy are to meet our needs — for food, transport, energy and so on — in a sustainable and equitable way • First, we need to focus on the economy, finding ways to increase our prosperity without increasing resource use and environmental impacts. Put simply, we need to become more resource efficient. • But resource efficiency won't guarantee steady or declining resource use. For that reason, to achieve sustainability we also need to focus on ecosystem resilience — the status, trends and limits of natural systems.

8. Green Economy allows us to consider resource efficiency in the context of ecological resilience and social equity

9. More information can be found at http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/synthesis http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/economy/about-green-economy http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/economy/resource-efficiency