prop · GE0390 · 1990-12-31 00:00:00 — The consideration ofpennit applications and supervisory activities is an important aspect of futurework on restricting discharges from industry and other point sources to suchlevels that the environment is not härmed. In the opinion of the Goverament,there is good potential for carrying out the planned review of priorityactivities. TheGoverament considers that work on improving the external environment should becarried out in conjunction with efforts to improve work environments. TheGoverament will therefore be giving , the and the ChemicalsInspectorate the task of studying the conditions for doser coordination ofsupervisory activities. 3.6.3The national environmental authorities Ifincreased sectoral responsibility and decentralization are to lead tosuccessful environmental protection the national environmental authorities mustserve as coordinators, making facts and statistics available to be used as thebasis for decisions, and drawing up general guidelines and regulations forvarious operations. is the central authority in the fieldof the environment. The core of the Swedish environmental protectionorganization includes, in addition to the Swedish Environmental ProtectionAgency, the Chemicals Inspectorate, and forEnvironment Protection, together with the County Administrative Boards and themunicipalities. Another group of authorities with important functions in termsof environmental protection includes , Buildingand Planning, the , , the Swedish Customs Department, the National Rescue ServicesBoard, and . Many other authoritiesalso perform important tasks in conjunction with health care and environmentalprotection. , and Planning has specialresponsibility to promote good, long-term management of natural resources. Inthe 1988 Supplementary Budget , the Government reported the guidelines for a transition to more long-term control of national oper ations. The intention underlying the new budget process is to achieve more result-oriented control and greater national dialogue on the budget. methods for doing thisinclude subjecting authorities and operations to Prop. 1990/91:90 detailedreview of permit applications every third year. , the Chemicals Inspectorate, and theNational presented in-depth budgetallocation requests on . Therole played by in environmentalprotection work has changed över the years. As the national environmentalauthority, the must have an extensivecontact network with the other main environmental protection organizations.The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is also the coordinating body, bothnationally and intemationally, in Swedish work for an environmentally-adaptedsociety. One ofthe main tasks of the isto aid County Administrative Boards and municipalities in their work onenvironmental issues. Inthe on Environmental Policy for the 1990s, the Government emphasized thekey role ofthe in environmental work.Its central tasks were described as developing strategies, action plans andadvice and guidelines in the field of the environment. Theshifting distribution of responsibility and changes in the focus ofenvironmental work have led to a number of organizational reviews ofthe work ofthe . The present organization willapply, pursuant to a Government decision, until 30 1991. On1 , the Government decided to appoint a special Commissioner tostudy the future work and organization of the Swedish Environmental ProtectionAgency. The point of departure for this study is to strengthen the key roleofthe in the overall work on theenvironment, and to make the organization of the Agency result-oriented,adapted to greater decentralization and integration of environmental work invarious sectors of society. TheChemicals Inspectorate is the central administrative organization for casesrelating to health and environmental risks with chemical substances andproducts. Inspectorate has the overall responsibility formonitoring chemical products. The objectives and focusofthe work ofthe Chemicals Inspectorate are based on three fundamental presuppositions. One is that companies and importers bear the main responsibility for the chemical products they supply which means, for instance, that they are responsible for investigat- ing the properties ofthe chemicals and distributing information about the associated risks of damage, and the necessary preventive measures from the point of view of health and the environment. A second presupposition is the necessity of international cooperation, and its strategic importance in terms of monitoring the use of chemical products, and the third presup position is that the users of chemical products, be they companies, public authorities or individual consumers, acknowlcdge and shoulder their re sponsibility for monitoring the use of chemical products. Inspectorateis to ensure that anyone manufacturing, Prop. 1990/91:90 importing or supplyinga chemical product takes his responsibility, and knows the effects oftheproduct on health and the environment. Measures being taken to improve theavailability of information on chemical products include the introduction of asystem of prior notification of new chemical substances, and expansion of theproduct register. Inspectorate, in cooperation with the , has initiated work on a systematic survey ofchemicals which may have deleterious effects on the environment, with a view tobringing about the phasing out of such substances. TheGoverament is now proposing that the Chemicals Inspectorate be allocatedadditional funds of SEK8.6 miUion to expand their work, particularly in termsof the system of prior notification of new chemical substances and thecontinued build-up of the product register, as well as a systematic inventoryof environmentally hazardous chemicals, and to extend internationalcooperation. Thework ofthe is determinedentirely by the tasks designated to it pursuant to the EnvironmentalProtection Act. The on-going survey of environmental legislation may lead tolong-range changes in the responsibilities of the Board, but its operations areanticipated to be unchanged during the coming three-year period. 3.6.4Regional and Local Environmental Work organization which takes force as of 1 July1991 will mean that expertise and resources at the regional level will becoordinated by the County Administrative Boards. This improves theprerequisites for well-integrated environmental work. The County AdministrativeBoards are now responsible for ensuring that regional development takes formswhich are compatible with a good environment and long-term management ofnatural resources. TheCounty Administrative Boards both implement measures and coordinateenvironmental work at the county level. The activities and organization of theCounty Administrative Boards are currently being reviewed in order to bettercoordinate the county administrations. Theresults of the review of the work and organization of the begun pursuant to a decision of the Goverament on 1 November1990 will, of course, also affect the County Administrative Boards. One of theunderlying objectives of this study is the decentralization of environmentalwork. This places special demands on the regional authorities in their workwith the environment and management of natural resources. If decentralizationis to be successful, County Administrative Boards and municipalities mustshoulder increased responsibility for these issues. Theimportance of regional assessments in environmental work was one ofthe factors emphasized in the 1988 Goverament on Environmental Policy. Examples of such regional assessments include regional environ- 69 mentalanalyses and the appointment of regional environmental delega- Prop.1990/91:90 tions for some areas. Thesedelegations have been assigned the task of initiating measures to make theirregions substantially cleaner in ten years. Delegations have been appointed forthe areas of: , , western and . All thedelegations have presented their final reports, with the exception of theDalälven delegation. Their proposals affect all levels of society. TheGovernment considers this delegation work to have been very positive. Thedelegations have shown that intensive concentration on a specific area for ashort time can generate trans-sectoral proposals, win widespread acceptancewith the general public, industry, research insti-tutes and local and regionalorganizations, and make it possible to initiate measures. Some ofthe proposalsin this are based on the results ofthe delegations' work, and many of thedelegations' proposals will result in decisions at regional and local levels. Asof 1 1989, responsibility for monitoring all activities for which permitsare not required pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act has beendelegated to the municipal heafth and environmental protection committees, thusgiving the municipalities a more role in environmental protection work.The municipalities will now be a valuable resource in environmental protectionwork. The environmental expertise and responsibilities ofthe municipalitieshave also made them better able to plan their environmental work. In manymunicipalities, monitoring work is still at the organizational stage. Inconjunction with the 1990 Goverament on the Budget, the Riksdag allocatedincreased municipal responsibility for waste management. Most municipalitieshave raised their levels of ambition for environmental work, including trafficplanning and preventive measures for municipal operations. If these operationsare to be built up quickly, there must be competent personnel available. 3.7Environmental awareness and education Educationis one of the most important measures for enabling environmental awareness topermeate all types of activities. Environmentalissues are to be integrated into basic education at all levels, and to be addedto the curricula used in compulsory and upper secondary schools. The Governmentis appointing a curriculum committee to review the stracture of environmentaleducation. Environmentalissues are also to be given increasing emphasis in all basic higher education.Funds are being earmarked for further education for teachers and for developingteaching materials. is beingauthorized to appoint a special reference group to initiate and follow thiswork. The relationship between the work environment and the extemal environmentshould be discussed in courses for occupational health and safety officers andothers. The Government isnow proposing that the number of students accepted into the program offered atthe leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science inEnvironmental Heafth and Safety be expanded from 62 to 90 as ofthe 1991/92budget year. The Government is also proposing that the one-year supplementaryprogram for natural scientists and technologists be offered for three moreyears, beginning in the 1991/92 budget year, with a total of 90 studentsaccepted per year. Itis a great chaUenge to succeed in attaining a fundamentally environmentally-adaptedand long-term sustainable development. Trends will have to be broken, andhabits changed. This will place great demands on each of US, personally. As asociety and as individuals, we must take responsibility even for the negativeenvironmental effects of development. Educationand training are among the prime prerequisites for bringing about lastingchanges in attitude and behaviour. A basic knowledge and understanding ofcycles, cause-and-effect relationships and environmental impact must beavailable to all. Toa large extent, environmental problems have both moved doser to the individual,and become more difficult to solve. As the picture ofthe problem alters, somust the possible solutions. If we are to be able to weigh our options and movedevelopments in the right direction, we must have access to correct informationon environmental effects. Eco-labelling, now being introduced on a Nordicbasis, listing the ingredients on products from an environmental point of view,and labelling of products hazardous to health and the environment will serve asbasic tools for making the facts available. Manufacturersand importers are responsible for making facts about the environmental propertiesof their various products available. 1990/91:90 and productdevelopers must begin to assume that they must assess the hazardous nature ofvarious components from the design phase onwards. Aswas proposed by the environmental delegation for the westera part of the regionof , funds have been allocated to carry out a special project in 1991,focussingon raising the public awareness of environmental issues. Researchincreases the availability ofinformation on how various activities affect theenvironment. The 1990 Government on Research Policy strengthened theposition of both basic and sectoral research on the envi-' ronment. The aim ofboth these types of research is to facilitate the process of restracturing forbetter environmental adaptation of agriculture and forestry, a society thatminimizes waste production, and environmentally-sound solutions totransportation and energy problems. This also stated that environmentalissues should play a key role in all research, and that environmental impact isto be analyzed and reported on. Allcitizens shall be offered basic facts on environmental issues. The schoolsystem must mediate a basic awareness of the relationship between man and theenvironment. This implies that a general education on the environment must beintegrated into pre-school and compulsory school education. Special trainingwill also have to be given to various vocational groups which play importantroles in production process and product development. Such education must bemade available at upper secondary schools and in higher education. Economists,lawyers, engineers, natural scientists and environmental and health and safetyofficers wiU play key roles in environmental work, but the environment must beinduded as an aspect of other programmes as well. Extensivereform ofthe educational system is in progress. In addition to changing theregulations for the use of resources, the curricula will also be amended. Thepoints of departure for the objectives to be expressed in the curricula may befound in chapter. 1 section 2 of the Education Act: "Activities in schoolshall be formulated in agreement with basic democ-ratic values. All those whowork in the schools are to promote respect for the unique value of each individualand respect for our common environment." Thismeans that schools must no longer see environmental issues as separate fromother activities, but integrate them in all school work. Environmental issueswill be prominent in the new upper secondary school curriculum and in adulteducation. This change in the role of the school will place great demands bothon teacher training and on further education for trained teachers. Environmental issues willalso be given greater weight in basic higher education. Special courses and further education courses should, in the opinion ofthe Government, be offered for teachers at institutes of higher education. A working group will be appointed by the Government to actively monitor work in this field. Special courses will alsohave to be offered on the subject of waste. 1990/91:90 ofwaste and recycling are an aspect of overall environmental problems. It isparticularly important that issues of waste and recycling be induded inundergraduate courses in technology in the fields of both design andproduction. Increasingdemand in recent years for specialists on the environment particularly inindustry has led to a shortage, particularly of municipal environmental andhealth and safety officers. The number of students accepted into the programfor environmental and health and safety officers offered at the University ofUmeå is therefore being expanded from 62 to 90, beginning in the 1991/92 budgetyear. TheGovernment is proposing that the one-year supplementary programme for naturalscientists which has begun in , and should continue,and be expanded into a course for natural scientists and technologists. Thisone-year supplementary programme will be offered for three more years,beginning in the 1991/92 budget year, with a total of 90 students acceptedannually. Free,voluntary populär education, is an extremely good platform for reachingwidespread parts ofthe population with factual information. All eleven oftheSwedish adult education study organizations and some thirty of the folk highschools in offer short and/or longer courses in aspects of environmentalstudies. 3.7.3Environmental issues in working life Promotinghealth and safety in the work environment is a central aspect of the policy fora living environment. Efforts in this area have been highly successful inSweden, owing to the participation of both individual employees and the tradeunions. Inthe opinion of the Goverament, there is good reason to increase cooperation efforts for improvementof the work environment and the externalenvironment, not least in light of our common objective of protecting humanhealth and enhancing human well-being. In 1990, the adopted aresolution calling on the Govemments ofthe member nations, in cooperation withthe parties on the labour märket, to draw up and implement integrated policiesfor clean air and a healthy environment. Inthe opinion of the Government, it is essential that employees and their tradeunions be given the opportunity to contribute actively to efforts to cut downindustrial process inputs and phase out hazardous chemicals, for example, whichwould also better enable simultaneous solution of problems in the workenvironment and the external environment. Extensivetraining programs are available today for industrial safety officers, foremen,technical planners and others who help to shape the work environment. subsidizes these courses, with grants to the partieson the labour märket, branch federations and other corporate associations. Thedetails of each course are worked out by the organization offering it, 73 and thus courses can beadapted to specific, relevant aspects ofthe work Prop. 1990/91:90 environment.Trade union courses emphasize prevention in the work environment, concentratingfor example on measures which can be implemented in local planning anddecision-making at a given workplace. In recent years, issues ofthe changingwork environment in conjunction with computerization and the new technologieshave become a natural aspect of trade union courses for industrial safetyofficers. Special courses organized by trade unions and branch federations havealso facilitated the transition to the use of paints and varnishes containingno solvents. This transition is justified from the point of view of both theenvironment and human health. Inthe opinion ofthe Goverament, it is valuable to discuss the relationshipbetween the work environment and the exteraal environment in courses forindustrial safety officers and in other training courses on the workenvironment. organizes further education coursesfor personnel in occupational health services, including company physicians,nurses, and occupational safety engineers. The occupational heafth servicesare important supportive organizations for employ-ers and employees, forinstance when it comes to operational planning and changes, and choice ofproducts. Personnel in occupational health services also often possessconsiderable expertise on the effects of products and substances on humanhealth. Issuesabout the exteraal environment are induded in all further training courses forpersonnel in occupational health services offered at the Institute. TheInstitute also offers special courses in, for example, chemical productmonitoring and pesticide management. Inthe opinion of the Goverament, the compétence available among personnel inoccupational health services should be considered an asset and utilized assuch. 4 Measures in specific areas 4.1 The environment and economic development Welfare,social security, and a fair distribution of wealth are coraerstones in thestmcture of Swedish society. It has been possible to extend the social securitysystems and increase material welfare in step with economic growth. Rapidgrowth is a central objective of any economic policy aimed at greater welfareand social security and a good environment. Today'senvironmental situation calls for fundamental changes in our attitude towardlife. In the longer perspective, both material growth and our general welfareare being threatened by the on-going environmental degradation. Consumption atthe expense of investment gives rise to long-term problems of both an economicand an environmental nature. Economicgrowth must be weighed against other political objectives. Growth implies an increased capacity to manufacture goods and provide 74 services.Increased production of goods and services at the expense of Prop.1990/91:90 deteriorating health or a degenerating environment is not adesirable development in a welfare society. Ashort-term view of growth, which does not take environmental effects intoaccount, has an undermining long-term effect on growth potential, since itleads to the consumption of resources and increases the expense of rectifyingenvironmental damage at a later stage. Toensure long-term growth potential, we must preserve the resources of society,including the natural resources. Applying this view, sustainable development isdefined as development which secures a national wealth for future generations,at least as great as that we have today. Attimes it has seemed doubtful that it would be possible to reconcile theambition of economic growth with the objective of a good living environment.Today, however, experience indicates that substantial environmentalimprovements have been achieved thanks to the resources economic growth hasmade available. Increaseddemands for environmental protection have been successfully met to date byimplementing new production or treatment technology, and industrial productionhas increased at the same time as emissions have dedined. Economic growth andenvironmental requirements trigger investments in environmentally-soundproduction, energy and transport technologies, etc. which are essential if weare to move towards a more environment-friendly society. Wemust, furthermore, not see environmental regulations in too narrow aperspective. Environmental protection is more than just purificationtechnologies in production processes. Now that we have better treatmenttechnologies, we must focus on environmental and resource management at allstages, from raw materials to final waste. As we have prcviously stated, futureenvironment problems will be increasingly related to the contents and design ofproducts, and to consumption. Economicgrowth is an important aspect of our ability to solve environmental problems.Thus it is important that we safeguard the potential for economic growth bytaking measures to encourage development and renewal, particularly in tradeand industry. In its BiU on Industrial Policy for Growth, the Goveramentpresents a policy to encourage further growth. Long-term planning,predictability and time for adjustment will be central in this context, sincethe effects of higher levels of ambition in environmental policy andindustrial policy are reciprocal. Inorder to keep restracturing costs at a reasonable level, industry and otheractors need sufficient time to carry out the necessary investments and todevelop new, environmentally-sound technology, processes or products. Longeradjustment times also make it possible to impose more stringent environmentalrequirements. Other important factors, discussed in chapter 3.1 above, are thatthe ambitions expressed in our environmental policy do not to create obstadesin relation to trade policy, and that they are compatible with working towardintemational harmonization of environmental requirements. Onelong-term goal is for all production to be clean from the outset.