Europa op weg naar een duurzame economie (en)

An eco-efficient economy was the theme for the second day of the informal ministerial meeting on competitiveness in Umeå. Sweden’s Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson chaired the discussions between her European colleagues and the industry representatives present.

“Today the world is experiencing both a climate crisis and a financial crisis. This can give Europe great opportunities to develop its economy. Today’s discussions are a starting point for this process, to create new jobs and increase Europe’s growth through the ‘Lisbon Strategy’. The Spanish Presidency will carry on the work on the strategy during the spring, but I think that today’s discussions can give input to that work,” said Maud Olofsson at a concluding press briefing.

Maud Olofsson and her colleagues today stressed how important it is that Europe should become an ‘eco-efficient economy’ as soon as possible. This entails a sustainable and environmentally friendly business sector and a labour market that not only grows but also takes the environment into account. It means increasing growth, but in a way that is kind to the climate. During the meeting, several examples were given of work to develop eco-efficiency in different Member States.

Public-private partnerships are key

In order to reach the goal of an eco-efficient future for Europe, it will be necessary to collaborate with the business sector in public-private partnerships. The ministers were agreed on this, and it was also clear at the meeting, where a number of company representatives participated in the discussions. Two of the companies were Volvo and DHL, who talked about their efforts to become more energy efficient. Maud Olofsson stressed that there is a consensus between politics and industry on the need to work together if Europe is to continue to take steps towards an eco-efficient future.

With seven weeks left until the major UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, she said that Europe is pushing to get a climate agreement in place. But the business sector is doing the same, and, according to Ms Olofsson, wants global rules for a global market.

“We can see that there is a lot to gain from developing the economy in that direction. Politics writes the rules, but then it is the companies who make the investments and move the economy forward,” said Maud Olofsson.

The future must be green

European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen also attended the meeting. He pointed out that Europe’s economy must be both knowledge-based and climate friendly.

“The future for European industry, or rather the European economy, is green. Otherwise there is no future,” he said.

“This meeting has shown that we have a good foundation in Europe to go over the become an eco-efficient economy, but a lot of work is required to make it a reality,” said Maud Olofsson.