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THE 7th ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME TO 2020 – ‘LIVING WELL, WITHIN THE LIMITS OF OUR PLANET’ 1. The following 2050 vision is intended to help guide action up to and beyond 2020: In 2050, we live well, within the planet’s ecological limits. Our prosperity and healthy environment stem from an innovative, circular economy where nothing is wasted and where natural resources are managed sustainably, and biodiversity is protected, valued and restored in ways that enhance our society’s resilience. Our low-carbon growth has long been decoupled from resource use, setting the pace for a safe and sustainable global society. A PROGRAMME FOR ACTION TO 2020 2. Over the past 40 years, a broad range of environment legislation has been put in place, amounting to the most comprehensive modern standards in the world. This has helped to address some of the most serious environmental concerns of citizens and businesses in the Union.

3. Emissions of pollutants to air, water and soil have been reduced significantly over the past decades, as have GHG emissions in recent years. Union chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury has been restricted in products found in most households. Union citizens enjoy a level of water quality that is among the best in the world, and over 18 % of the Union’s territory and 4 % of its seas have been designated as protected areas for nature.

4. The Union’s environment policy has stimulated innovation and investment in environmental goods and services, generating jobs and export opportunities . Successive enlargements have extended high standards of environmental protection across a large part of the European continent, and the Union’s efforts have contributed to increasing international commitment to combatting climate change and biodiversity loss, and to successful global efforts to eliminate ozone-depleting substances and leaded fuels.

5. Considerable headway has also been made in integrating environmental objectives into other Union policies and activities. The reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has, since 2003, linked direct payments to requirements that farmers maintain land in good agricultural and environmental condition and comply with relevant environment legislation. Fighting climate change has become an integral part of energy policy and progress is being made on integrating resource efficiency, climate change and energy efficiency concerns into other key sectors, such as transport and buildings.

6. However, many environmental trends in the Union continue to be a cause for concern, not least due to insufficient implementation of existing Union environment legislation. Only 17 % of species and habitats assessed under the Habitats Directive have favourable conservation status, and the degradation and loss of natural capital is jeopardising efforts to attain the Union’s biodiversity and climate change objectives. Such status of species and habitats as well as the degradation and loss of natural capital have high associated costs which have not yet been properly valued in our economic or social system

30 % of the Union’s territory is highly fragmented, affecting the connectivity and health of ecosystems and their ability to provide services as well as viable habitats for species. While progress has been made in the Union to decouple growth from GHG emissions, resource use and environmental impacts, resource use is still largely unsustainable and inefficient, and waste is not yet properly managed. As a result, businesses in the Union are foregoing the significant opportunities that resource efficiency offers in terms of competitiveness, cost reductions, improved productivity and security of supply. Water quality and air pollution levels are still problematic in many parts of Europe, and Union citizens continue to be exposed to hazardous substances, potentially compromising their health and well-being. Unsustainable land use is consuming fertile soils, and soil degradation continues, resulting in impacts on global food security and the achievement of biodiversity targets.

7. Environmental and climate change in the Union is increasingly caused by developments taking place at global level, including in relation to demographics, patterns of production and trade, and rapid technological progress. Such developments may offer significant opportunities for economic growth and societal well-being, but pose challenges and uncertainties for the Union’s economy and society and are causing environmental degradation worldwide .

8. Together with current wasteful production and consumption systems in the world economy, rising global demand for goods and services and the depletion of resources are increasing the cost of essential raw materials, minerals and energy, generating more pollution and waste, increasing global GHG emissions and exacerbating land degradation, deforestation and biodiversity loss. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s ecosystems are in decline and there is evidence that planetary boundaries for biodiversity, climate change and the nitrogen cycle have already been transgressed . There is likely to be a global shortfall of 40 % in water by 2030 unless there is significant progress made in improving resource efficiency. There is also the risk that climate change will further exacerbate such problems, and will result in high costs . In 2011, disasters partly due to climate change resulted in global economic losses of over EUR 300 billion. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that the continued degradation and erosion of natural capital risks bringing about irreversible changes that could endanger two centuries of rising living standards and entail significant costs .

9. Addressing some of those complex issues requires tapping into the full potential of existing environmental technology and ensuring the continuous development and uptake by industry of the best available techniques and emerging innovations, as well as increased use of market-based instruments. Rapid advances in promising fields of science and technology are also needed. This should be made possible by boosting research and creating conditions conducive to private research-related investments. At the same time, there is a need to better understand the potential risks to the environment and human health associated with new technologies, and to assess and manage such technologies better. This is a precondition for public acceptance of new technologies, as well as for the Union’s capacity to identify and respond to potential risks associated with technological developments in an effective and timely manner. Major technological innovations should be accompanied by public dialogues and participatory processes.

10. To live well in the future, urgent, concerted action should be taken now to improve ecological resilience and maximise the benefits environment policy can deliver for the economy and society, while respecting the planet’s ecological limits. The 7th EAP reflects the Union’s commitment to transforming itself into an inclusive green economy that secures growth and development, safeguards human health and well-being, provides decent jobs, reduces inequalities and invests in, and preserves biodiversity, including the ecosystem services it provides (natural capital), for its intrinsic value and for its essential contribution to human well-being and economic prosperity.

11. The transformation into an inclusive green economy requires the integration of environment issues into other policies, such as energy, transport, agriculture, fisheries, trade, economy and industry, research and innovation, employment, development, foreign affairs, security, education and training, as well as social and tourism policy, so as to create a coherent, joined-up approach. Action within the Union should also be complemented by enhanced global action and cooperation with neighbouring countries to tackle common challenges.

12. The Union has set this transformation in motion with long-term, integrated strategies to halt biodiversity loss , improve resource efficiency and expedite the transition towards a safe and sustainable low-carbon economy . The Commission has further integrated environmental concerns and objectives in recent initiatives taken in other key policy areas, including energy and transport , and sought to enhance the delivery of environmental benefits through reforms of Union policies for agriculture and rural development, fisheries and cohesion, building on achievements to date. In this regard, cross-compliance is particularly important in contributing to the sustainability of agriculture, by promoting the protection of vulnerable ecosystems, such as water bodies, soil and habitats for species.