European Legal Approach to Sustainable Development

Massimiliano Montini (University of Siena - Italy)

May 2005

The Evolution of EU Env. Law

The Evolution of EU Env. Law: 5 phases

• I Phase (1958-1972): absence of Env. Policy

• II Phase(1972-1987): beginning of Env. Policy

• III Phase (1987-1993): consolidation of Env. Policy (‘Legal Basis in EC Treaty’)

• IV Phase (1993-1999): development of Env. Policy (‘Sustainable Development’)

• V Phase (1999-today): integration of Env. Policy (‘Principle of Integration’)

The EC Treaty provisions

• Art. 2 & 3: tasks, purposes, policies of the EC

• Art. 6: principles of integration and sustainable development

• Art. 174: legal basis of EC env. policy and law, objectives, principles , conditions for action

• Art. 175: decision-making procedure

• Art. 176: derogation-clause for Member States

The Environmental Principles• EU environmental policy is based on two general

principles and four environmental principles:

• General principles: – principle of integration (art. 6);– principle of sustainable development (art. 6).

• Environmental principles: – precautionary principle (art. 174);– prevention principle (art. 174);– rectification of damage at source (art. 174);– polluter-pays principle (art. 174).

The Principle of Sustainable Development

• A general objective of EU env. policy.

• It does not inspire specific pieces of legislation.

• Absence of definition in the EC Treaty.

• It is the basis for the V and VI Environmental Action Programmes (1993 & 2002) and for the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development.

• A strong link exists in art. 6 between ‘sustainable development and ‘integration’.

What is Sustainable Development? (I)

• The Classic Definition from the Brundtland Report (1987):– “Sustainable development is development that

meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

– The definition is based on the two concepts of “needs” and “limits”.

What is Sustainable Development? (II)

• The Principle of Sustainable Development at the Rio Conference (UNCED) (1992):– the Rio Conference inserts the principle of

sustainable development in the Rio Declaration on environment and development, as well as the Agenda 21 Action Programme.

– the principle aims at reconciling economic development with the protection of the environment;

– the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) is created to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on the implementation of the environmental agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels.

What is Sustainable Development? (III)

• The Principle of Sustainable Development at the Johannesburg Summit (2002):– The Johannesburg Summit sought to assess the

progress made since Rio and to promote action at all levels that would help eradicate poverty, change unsustainable consumption and production patterns and to ensure sustainable management and protection of natural resources.

– the Johannesburg plan of implementation is based on 3 interdependent pillars: economic development, social development, protection of the environment.

Features of the Principle of Sustainable Development

• The Principle of Sustainable Development has 4 main basic features:– principle of sustainable, prudent, rational, wise use

of natural resources;– principle of inter-generational equity (trust);– principle of intra-generational equity;– principle of integration among developmental,

social and environmental policies.

Sustainable Development: the EU Evolution (2001) (I)• The European Council at Göteborg adopts

the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development (2001):– The European Union Strategy, in order to achieve

sustainable development, requires changes in the way policy is drafted and implemented, both at EU level and in the Member States.

– This means that all policies should be assessed with regard to their contribution to sustainable development.

Sustainable Development: the EU Evolution (2001) (II)THE PRIORITIES OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY:• The Strategy identifies some priorities to be tackled

in order to achieve sustainable development:– Climate Change (i.e. increase in GHG emissions);

– Public Health Issues (i.e. antibiotic resistant diseases);

– Social Issues (i.e. poverty and ageing of population);

– Loss of Biodiversity;

– Transport Congestion.

Sustainable Development: the EU Evolution (2001) (III)THE ACTIONS PROPOSED IN THE STRATEGY:• Getting market prices right to give signals to individuals and

businesses.• Invest in science and technology for the future.• Improve communication and mobilise citizens and business.• Take enlargement and the global dimension into account.• Combating poverty and social exclusion.• Dealing with the economic and social implications of an ageing

society.• Limit climate change and increase the use of clean energy.• Improve the transport system and land-use management.• Regularly monitor and report on the progress made, on the

basis of specific indicators.

Sustainable Development: the Evolution (2004)

• In 2004, the European Commission launched a Public Consultation with the aim to review the European Strategy on Sustainable Development:– Firstly, the European Economic and Social Committee

gave an exploratory opinion (April 2004).

– Secondly, the public consultation for the review of the European Sustainable Development Strategy was held (July- October 2004). 1100 organisation and individuals from across the European Union and from third countries answered the questionnaire.

Sustainable Development: the Evolution (2005) (I)• The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development

Strategy is based on the premise that a number of significant changes have occurred since 2001:

the enlargement of the European Union to 25 Member States;

terrorism and violence have increased the instability of regions and life danger for citizens all over the world;

the EU has shown an increased commitment to a number of global initiatives and targets;

further globalisation and changes in EU and world economy have occurred;

there is an evidence of persistent and increasingly apparent signs of environmental degradation in the EU and globally.

Sustainable Development: the Evolution (2005) (II)• The Commission’s Communication on the Review of

the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, which was discussed in the European Spring Council in March 2005:– confirms the three-dimensional nature of SD;

– takes into account the EU’s contribution to global SD;

– reinforces the new approach to policy making: this means that sustainable and cost-effective policy- making will continue to be promoted through “Better Regulation”, including a more effective implementation of a balanced Impact Assessment mechanism.

Sustainable Development: the Evolution (2005) (III)

• The next step was a stakeholder conference organised by the European Economic and Social Committee on 14-15 April 2005 in Brussels, which mainly focused on the following issues:

- how to define an energy policy to ensure the EU power supply at short, medium and long term;

- how to use the “Impact Assessment” as a tool to achieve sustainable development.

Sustainable Development: the Evolution (2005) (IV)• The next two steps:

– Step 1 will be the adoption of a declaration on guiding principles for sustainable development by the European Council at its next meeting in June 2005. The Commission will prepare a proposal in this sense.

– Step 2 will be the adoption of the revised European Strategy, later this year.

Governance and sustainable development

• Sustainable Development is closely linked to Governance, Better Regulation and Impact Assessment (See 2001 EU “White Paper” on Governance).

• Indicators to measure progress towards sustainability have been developed by the European Commission.

Indicators for sustainable development (I)

• The purpose of the Indicators is to monitor progress towards sustainable development. Indicators are needed in order to assist decision-makers and policy-makers at all levels and to increase focus on sustainable development.

• Based on the voluntary national testing and expert group consultation, a core set of 58 Indicators and methodology sheets were developed at EU level.

• The core set is based on a working list of 138 Indicators and related methodology sheets which were developed at international level by the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).

Indicators for sustainable development (II)• THE SET OF THEMES:1. Economic development2. Poverty and social exclusion3. Ageing society4. Public health5. Climate change and energy6. Production and consumption patterns7. Management of natural resources8. Transport9. Good governance10. Global partnership

Indicators for sustainable development (III)

• The set of Indicators is built as a three level pyramid:- 1° Level: consists of a set of 12 high-level indicators. They

are aimed at high-level policy-making and at the general public and can therefore be seen as a set of headline indicators.

- 2° Level: corresponds to the sub-themes of the framework and, together with Level 1 Indicators, monitors progress in achieving the headline policy objectives. These 45 Indicators aim at the evaluation of the core policy areas and the communication with the general public.

- 3° Level: corresponds to the areas to be addressed. These 98 Indicators aim at further policy analysis and better understanding of the trends and complexity of the issues associated with the specific theme or the inter-linkages with other themes in the framework.

Indicators for sustainable development (IV)• The dimensions and perspectives of sustainable

development are systematically integrated in the scope of the indicators, enabling fairly comprehensive assessment of long-term sustainable development at EU level.

• In the current set, a majority of the level 1 and 2 indicators (86%) address more than one dimension and 34% can be considered three dimensional, thus addressing simultaneously economic, social and environmental aspects of the issue.

Indicators for sustainable development (V)- Indicators of levels 1 and 2 for integration of

economic, social and environmental dimensions

Sustainable Development and Impact Assessment

• In 2002, the European Commission introduced a new method to improve the way to design its policy, namely the “impact assessment”:- it is a process aimed at structuring and supporting the

development of policies; - it identifies and assesses the problems at stake and the

objectives pursued;- it identifies the main options for achieving the objectives

and determines their likely impacts in the economic, environmental and social fields.

- it outlines advantages and disadvantages of each option as well as synergies and trade-offs.

What is the EU vision for sustainable development?

• EU positive long-term vision: building a society that is more prosperous and more just, which promises a cleaner, safer, healthier environment, which delivers a better quality of life for us, our children and our grandchildren.

• Decoupling environmental degradation and resource consumption from economic and social development: major reorientation of public and private investment towards new environmentally-friendly technologies needed.

European Legal approach to Sustainable Development

Massimiliano Montini (University of Siena - Italy)

E-mail: montini@unisi.it

May 2005