Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 1 February 1993 on a Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development

(93/C 138/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

Having regard to the draft from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Whereas the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, as amended by the Single European Act, explicitly provides for the development and implementation of a Community policy on the environment; whereas the Treaty on European Union signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992 has as a principal objective the promotion of sustainable growth respecting the environment, and specifies the objectives and guiding principles of that policy and the factors which must be taken into account in its preparation;

Whereas the Declaration of the Heads of State and Government, meeting in Council on 26 June 1990, calls inter alia for a further action programme for the environment to be elaborated on the basis of the principles of sustainable development, preventive and precautionary action and shared responsibility;

Whereas the Community and its Member States have acquired considerable experience in the development and implementation of environmental policy and legislation and have thereby enhanced protection of the environment;

Whereas the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) meeting in Rio de Janeiro, 3 to 14 June 1992, adopted the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 which are aimed at achieving sustainable patterns of development worldwide as well as a declaration of forest principles; whereas important Conventions on climate change and biodiversity were opened for signature and were signed by the Community and its Member States; whereas the Community and its Member States also subscribed to Agenda 21 and the said Declarations;

Whereas at the European Council meeting in Lisbon on 27 June 1992 the Community and its Member States committed themselves to the rapid implementation of the principal measures agreed at UNCED;

Whereas the European Council meetings in Lisbon on 27 June 1992 and in Birmingham on 16 October 1992 invited the Commission and the Council to undertake work relating to the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity and the European Council meeting in Edinburgh on 11 and 12 December 1992 approved principles, guidelines and procedures for its practical application; whereas in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, some aspects of the policy and specific actions embodied in the programme 'Towards sustainability' (3), hereafter referred to as the 'programme' fall to be carried out at levels other than those involving the competencies of the European Communities;

Whereas the strategy advanced in the programme relies on the satisfactory integration of environment and other relevant policies,

ACKNOWLEDGE that the programme presented by the Commission has been designed to reflect the objectives and principles of sustainable development, preventive and precautionary action and shared responsibility set out in the declaration of the Heads of State and the Government of the Community meeting in Council on 26 June 1990 and in the Treaty on European Union signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992;

CONSIDER that in so far as it provides a comprehensive framework as well as a strategic approach to sustainable development the programme constitutes an appropriate point of departure for the implementation of Agenda 21 by the Community and the Member States;

NOTE that many current forms of activity and development are not environmentally sustainable and ENDORSE, accordingly, the general objective of progressively orientating human activity and development towards sustainable forms;

AGREE that the achievement of sustainable development calls for significant changes in current patterns of development, production, consumption and behaviour;

DECLARE that such changes imply a sharing of responsibility at global, Community, regional, national, local and even personal levels;

ACKNOWLEDGE that the programme when implemented will take into account the diversity of the various regions of the Community, and will be consistent with the objectives of strengthening economic and social cohesion, and will aim at a high level of protection of the environment;

NOTE that the conclusions of the European Councils at Birmingham on 16 October 1992 and Edinburgh on 11 and 12 December 1992 will guide the Community's work in relation to the principle of subsidiarity;

CALL on the Commission to ensure that all proposals it makes relating to the environment fully reflect that principle, and UNDERTAKE to consider those proposals on a case-by-case basis to ensure consistency with the principle;

ACKNOWLEDGE that, pursuant to the principle of subsidiarity and the concept of shared responsibility, some aspects of the policy and specific actions indicated in the programme fall to be implemented at levels other than that of the Community;

NOTE that the application of the principle of subsidiarity will not lead to a step backwards in Community policy or hinder its effective development in the future; NOTE however that the policy will be made more effective if actions are taken at the appropriate level;

In so far as environment and development within the European Communities are concerned:

NOTE the report on the state of the environment which the Commission has published in conjunction with the programme; NOTE the generally positive impact that previous action programmes have made on certain environmental problems; NOTE that the end of the time-frame of the current action programme on the environment coincides with the completion of the Internal Market; NOTE that, during the fifth programme, the environmental dimension of the Internal Market should be reinforced;

CONSIDER, however, that the current measures do not appear to be sufficient to meet the increased pressures on the environment likely to arise in consequence of current and anticipated trends in economic and social activity within the Community and developments in neighbouring regions, especially central and eastern Europe and at a wider international level;

AGREE that more progressive, coherent and better coordinated policies and strategies for the environment and development involving all levels of society are called for;

ADVOCATE in order, inter alia, to reduce wasteful consumption of natural resources and to prevent pollution, the elaboration of the concept of life-cycle management of products and processes, particularly in relation to waste management, the use of clean or cleaner technology and the substitution of certain hazardous processes and substances with less hazardous processes and substances in the most cost-effective way;

ENDORSE the strategy of giving increased and appropriate attention to certain key sectors in a coordinated and comprehensive manner including through a strengthening of dialogue with the main actors in the sectors identified in the programme;

ACKNOWLEDGE the need for consideration of a comprehensive Community strategy and action plan for nature conservation and protection, especially in relation to biodiversity and forests;

REAFFIRM the crucial importance of ensuring that environmental concerns are taken fully into account from the outset in the development of other policies and in the implementation of those policies, and the need for appropriate mechanisms within the Member States, the Council and the Commission to help achieve this integration, upon which the strategy advanced in the programme relies;

INVITE the Commission to consider developing initiatives to this end, including examination of the possibilities for the following areas, and to report on its conclusions in due course:

- new mechanisms within the Commission to increase cooperation between policy areas in the development of proposed legislation including organizational aspects,

- the incorporation, in regular progress reports on the implementation of the programme and of Agenda 21, of specific assessments, sector by sector, of the contribution of other policy areas to the achievement of environmental objectives,

- the inclusion in new legislative proposals of a section dealing with the likely implications for the environment,

- the environmental dimension in the granting of community funds;

UNDERTAKE to consider at the national level, and at the level of the Council in its various formations, the introduction of comparable measures to achieve the same aims;

RECOGNIZE that the involvement of all levels of society in a spirit of shared responsibility requires a deepening and broadening of the range of instruments to complement normative legislation including, where appropriate,

- market-based and other economic instruments,

- research and development, information, education and training,

- financial support mechanisms,

- voluntary schemes;

NOTE the objectives, targets, actions and time-frames indicated in the programme, and consider that these constitute a useful start in moving towards sustainable development;

ACKNOWLEDGE the programme's contribution to efforts to fulfil the objective specified in the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community that the Community's environmental policy should take account of the potential benefits and costs of action or lack of action; INVITE the Commission to develop appropriate proposals in the light of such further study as may be necessary;

NOTE that sustainability of activity and development will not be attained within the life-span of this programme and, consequently, that further, still more progressive, measures will probably be necessary beyond the year 2000 in order to hand on the environment to the next generation in a fit state to maintain public health and social and economic welfare at a high level;

NOTE, also, that while many of the measures and actions are set within a time-frame which extends to 2000, and even beyond, it is intended to undertake a review of the programme before the end of 1995; in the meantime INVITE the Environmental Policy Review Group proposed in the programme, once it be established, to keep the implementation of the programme under review on the basis of regular reports from the Commission summarizing progress under the programme; as part of the review process consideration should be given to the relationship between trade and the environment;

CALL on the Commission in its reviews of the programme to give special attention to any necessary revision of objectives and priorities, after adequate consultation, especially with the Member States;

CONSIDER that in order to ensure that community measures on the environment are more effectively implemented, cooperation procedures between the Commission and the Member States should be further improved;

EMPHASIZE the importance of effective implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in all Member States; STRESS that due regard should be given both at the stage when legislation is proposed and when it is adopted to the quality of the drafting of the legislation, in particular in terms of the practicability of implementing and enforcing it; UNDERTAKE to discuss in Council the Commission's annual report on the state of implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the Member States;

NOTE that, while Member States are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of measures agreed by the Council, the Commission will continue to be the appropriate body for the monitoring of that implementation and enforcement; CALL on the Commission to consider bringing forward proposals for helping to improve the functioning of enforcement agencies within the Member States and encouraging the spread of best practice;

STRESS the urgency of the European Environment Agency beginning work as soon as possible;

NOTE the proposal in the programme for the establishment of a consultative forum and an Environmental Policy Review Group and a network of enforcement agencies from the Member States; WELCOME the principle of wider and more systematic consultation with interested bodies;

In so far as environment and development at the wider international level are concerned,

ASSERT that the Community and the Member States will contribute positively to the implementation of effective strategies to deal with such problems as climate change, deforestation, desertification, depletion of the ozone layer and loss of biodiversity and to fulfil as early as possible the commitments to which they have agreed upon ratification of relevant international Conventions;

UNDERTAKE to play a positive role in the formulation of programmes of sustainable development including in the developing countries and in the countries of central and eastern Europe within the framework of the Community's cooperation and association agreements;

NOTE that many of the internal Community measures in the programme are designed to reduce wasteful consumption of resources and, thereby, will contribute to greater efficiency in resource management at the wider international level;

REAFFIRM their commitment to implement the eight point plan for follow-up to UNCED agreed at the Lisbon European Council. Tasks for the Community and its Member States which need to be addressed include:

- to establish the basis for ratification of the climate change and biodiversity Conventions with the aim of ratification by the end of 1993, and to prepare the relevant national strategies by the same time,

- to integrate the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and Statement of Forest Principles into appropriate policies of the Community and its Member States as soon as possible,

- to work to review, under the aegis of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the implementation of the forest principles, and to work towards the preparation of a possible forest convention,

- to participate positively in negotiations on a future desertification convention,

- to fulfil the commitments to strengthen assistance to developing countries in the field of sustainable development and to increase funding for Agenda 21 by identifying financial support to be given to developing countries including significant new and additional resources;

in this regard, to put into concrete form the ECU 3 billion commitment which the European Community and its Member States made in Rio as an initial contribution to the prompt and effective implementation of Agenda 21 with priority being given to technology transfer, institutional capacity building, and poverty reduction;

- to work for the restructuring and replenishment of the global environment facility so that it can become the permanent financial mechanism for relevant new global environmental Conventions, in particular the climate change and biodiversity Conventions,

- to continue to give consideration to an earth increment to the International Development Association (IDA) for environment purposes;

NOTE that the implementation of the programme will make a major contribution to the follow-up to Agenda 21 by the European Community and its Member States;

STRESS the need to promote the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other major groups in the follow-up to UNCED at the national and CSD levels;

STRESS the importance of establishing the CSD and the need for full participation of the Community in the work of the CSD in line with the conclusions agreed by the Council on 23 November 1992 and NOTE that the Community and the Member States will submit regular progress reports on the implementation of Agenda 21 to the CSD;

and, in the light of the foregoing,

SUBSCRIBE to the necessity for a programme of policy and action in relation to the environment designed to achieve a sustainable development path;

APPROVE the general approach and strategy of the programme 'Towards sustainability' presented by the Commission;

INVITE the Commission to come forward with appropriate proposals to give effect to the programme in so far as it pertains to action at Community level;

UNDERTAKE to decide on proposals submitted by the Commission as expeditiously as possible taking account of the relevant indicative objectives, targets and time-frames set out in the programme which will be discussed in the context of those proposals;

CALL on all Community institutions, Member States, enterprises and citizens to accept their relative responsibilities to protect the environment for this and future generations and to play their full part in implementing this programme.

(1) Opinion delivered on 17 November 1992 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2) OJ No C 287, 4. 11. 1992, p. 27.

(3) See page 5 of this Official Journal.

A European Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development

CONTENTS

Page

Executive Summary

11

Introduction: The Challenge of the 1990s

20

PART I: A policy and strategy for the environment and sustainable development within the European Community

23

1. The state of the environment: progress and prospects

23

2. The Fifth Programme: a new strategy for the environment and sustainable development

24

3. The actors

26

3.1. Public authorities

26

3.2. Public and private enterprise

27

3.3. The general public

27

4. Selected target sectors

28

4.1. Industry

28

4.2. Energy

31

4.3. Transport

33

4.4. Agriculture

35

4.5. Tourism

37

5. The Themes and targets of the Programme

42

5.1. Climate change

42

5.2. Acidification and air quality

44

5.3. Protection of nature and bio-diversity

44

5.4. Management of water resources

50

5.5. The urban environment

52

5.6. Coastal zones

55

5.7. Waste management

56

6. Management of risks and accidents

60

6.1. Industry-related risks

60

6.2. Nuclear safety and radiation protection

63

6.3. Civil protection and environmental emergencies

65

7. Broadening the range of instruments

67

7.1. Improvement of environmental data

68

7.2. Scientific research and technological development

69

7.3. Sectoral and spatial planning

70

7.4. The economic approach: getting the prices right

70

7.5. Public information and education

72

7.6. Professional education and training

73

7.7. Financial support mechanisms

73

Page

8. Subsidiarity and shared responsibility

78

9. Implementation and enforcement of the Programme within the Community

80

PART II: The Communities' rôle in the wider international arena

83

Introduction

83

10. Environmental threats and issues

83

10.1. Global issues

83

10.2. Problems of regional or local concern

84

11. International co-operation

85

11.1. The Community's position on the major issues

85

11.2. Other priority issues of major international importance

86

11.3. Global partnership

86

11.4. Regional co-operation

86

11.5. Institutional issues

87

12. Bilateral co-operation

87

12.1. Developing countries

87

12.2. Central and Eastern Europe

89

13. UNCED: The United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development

93

PART III: Priorities, costs, review

95

14. Selection of priorities

95

15. The question of costs

96

16. Review of the Programme

97

Conclusion

98

Tables

1. Energy consumption projections for 2010 and their implications

32

2. Energy (Measures required up to 2000)

34

3. Transport (Objectives, measures and instruments)

36

4. Agriculture and Forestry (Objectives, measures and instruments)

38

5. Tourism (Objectives, measures and instruments)

40

6. Programme framework for selected target sectors

41

7. Climate change (Objectives, targets and measures up to 2000)

43

8. Acidification (idem)

48

9. Air quality (idem)

49

10. Nature and biodiversity (idem)

51

11. Water quantity and water quality (idem)

53

12. Noise (idem)

56

Page

13. Coastal areas (idem)

57

14. Waste management (idem)

59

15. Risk management (idem)

62

16. Nuclear safety (idem)

66

17. Horizontal measures (idem)

76

18. Examples of Shared Responsibility

79

19. International environmental issues (Objectives, targets measures up to 2000)

91

Figures

1. Sustainable development

25

2a. A Regulatory Process to promote environmentally friendly and competitive industry

30

2b. The potential of Consumer Power to influence manufacturing processes and products

30

3. Acidification in the European Community 1990

45

4. Acidification in the European Community 2010: Conventional Wisdom scenario

45

5. Acidification in the European Community 2010: High Prices scenario

46

6. Nature Conservation (Diagram)

50

7. Urban Environment (Diagram)

55

8. Waste Management (Diagram)

58

9. Existing Chemicals (Diagram)

61

10. Acidification in Europe 1990

90

11. Acidification in Europe 2000

90

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED

Organisations, Associations etc.

ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific countries

ALA Asian and Latin American countries

BAT Best available technology

CAP European Community's Common Agricultural Policy

CEE Central and Eastern European countries

CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

EAGGF European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund

EC (Tables) refers to action at Community level

ECU European Currency Unit

EEA (Tables) European Environment Agency

EFTA European Free Trade Association

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EIB European Investment Bank

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation

GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEF Global Environment Facility

IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria)

IMO International Maritime Organisation

IPC Integrated Pollution Control

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LA (Tables) refers to actions at Local and Regional Authority Level

leq dB(A) Mean Sound level related to man

MS (Tables) refers to actions at Member State level

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PHARE A programme of Assistance for the restructuring of the Economies of Poland and Hungary, initially, and now extended to other Central and Eastern European countries

R & D Research and Development

RIVM (Maps) Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiene (National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, The Netherlands)

SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

toe tons of oil equivalent

UN United Nations Organisation

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992)

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNDRO United Nations Disaster and Relief Organisation

UN-ECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

WHO World Health Organisation

CHEMICAL FORMULAE AND REFERENCES

CO Carbon Monoxide

CO2 Carbon Dioxide

CFC Chlorofluorocarbon

CH4 Methane

GMO Genetically Modified Organism

HC Hydrocarbon

N2O Nitrous Oxide

NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide

NOx Nitrogen Oxides

NH3 Ammonia

O3 Ozone

SO2 Sulphur Dioxide

VOC Volatile Organic Compound

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

1. Over the past two decades four Community action programmes on the environment have given rise to about 200 pieces of legislation covering pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, waste management, safeguards in relation to chemicals and biotechnology, product standards, environmental impact assessments and protection of nature. The Community's 4th Action Programme on the Environment has not been completed - it runs up to the end of 1992 - and its impact will not be known for some years to come. While a great deal has been achieved under these programmes and measures, a combination of factors calls for a more far-reaching policy and more effective strategy at this juncture:

(i) a new Report on the State of the Environment published in conjunction with this Programme (1) indicates a slow but relentless deterioration of the general state of the environment of the Community notwithstanding the measures taken over the past two decades, particularly as respects the issues referred to in para 16 below; the Report also shows up significant deficiencies in the quantity, quality and comparability of data which are crucial for environment-related policies and decisions. In this context it is of the utmost importance that the European Environment Agency become operational;

(ii) the present approach and existing measures are not geared to deal with the expected growth in international competition and the upward trends in Community activity and development which will impose even greater burdens on natural resources, the environment and, ultimately, the quality of life;

(iii) global concerns about the climate change/deforestation/energy crisis, the seriousness and persistence of problems of underdevelopment and the progress of political and economic change in Central and Eastern Europe add to the responsibility of the European Community in the international field.

2. The new Treaty on European Union, signed by all Member States on 7 February 1992 has introducedas a principal objective the promotion of sustainable growth respecting the environment (Article 2). It includes among the activities of the Union a policy in the sphere of the environment (Article 3k), specifies that this policy must aim at a high level of protection and that environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies (Article 130r (2)). The new Treaty also attaches special value to the principle of subsidiarity (Article 3b), and states that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the citizens (Article A). Furthermore, the Community policy on the environment is required to contribute to promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems (Article 130r (1)). In this latter context the Community will endeavour to find solutions in the field of development and environment at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

3. All human activity has an impact on the biophysical world and is, in turn, affected by it. The capacity to control this interrelationship conditions the continuity, over time, of different forms of activity and the potential for economic and social development. Within the Community, the long-term success of the more important initiatives such as the Internal Market and economic and monetary union will be dependent upon the sustainability of the policies pursued in the fields of industry, energy, transport, agriculture and regional development; but each of these policies, whether viewed separately or as it interfaces with others, is dependent on the carrying capacity of the environment.

4. The achievement of the desired balance between human activity and development and protection of the environment requires a sharing of responsibilities which is both equitable and clearly defined by reference to consumption of and behaviour towards the environment and natural resources. This implies integration of environment considerations in the formulation and implementation of economic and sectoral policies, in the decisions of public authorities, in the conduct and development of production processes and in individual behaviour and choice. It also implies effective dialogue and concerted action among partners who may have differing short-term priorities; such dialogue must be supported by objective and reliable information.

5. As used in the Programme, the word 'sustainable' is intended to reflect a policy and strategy for continued economic and social development without detriment to the environment and the natural resources on the quality of which continued human activity and further development depend. The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland) defined sustainable development as 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. It entails preserving the overall balance and value of the natural capital stock, redefinition of short, medium and long-term cost/benefit evaluation criteria and instruments to reflect the real socio-economic effects and values of consumption and conservation, and the equitable distribution and use of resources between nations and regions over the world as a whole. In the latter context, the Brundtland Report pointed out that the developed countries, with only 26 % of the world population, are responsible for about 80 % of world consumption of energy, steel and other metals, and paper and about 40 % of the food.

6. Following are some of the practical requirements for achieving sustainable development:

- since the reservoir of raw materials is finite, the flow of substances through the various stages of processing, consumption and use should be so managed as to facilitate or encourage optimum reuse and recycling, thereby avoiding wastage and preventing depletion of the natural resource stock;

- production and consumption of energy should be rationalized; and

- consumption and behaviour patterns of society itself should be altered.

7. It is clear that sustainable development is not something which will be achieved over a period as short as that covered by this Programme. 'Towards Sustainability' should be seen, accordingly, as an important step only in a longer-term campaign to safeguard the environment and the quality of life of the Community and, ultimately, our planet.

The Community's rôle in the wider international arena

8. In the early stages, Community policy and action on the environment were mainly focussed on the solution of particularly acute problems within the Community. Later there was a clearer recognition that pollution did not stop at its frontiers and that it was necessary, therefore, to intensify co-operation with third countries. In recent years, the evolution has gone a step further and it is now generally accepted that issues of a global nature - climate change, ozone depletion, diminution of biodiversity, etc. - are seriously threatening the ecological balance of our planet as a whole.

9. These issues are to be addressed at the highest level at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Just as the 1972 UN Conference in Stockholm created a new awareness and concern about the environment at broad international level, so too can UNCED bring global political will and commitment to effective action into a new dimension. Apart from the expected adoption of framework conventions on climate change and biodiversity and of principles on conservation and development of forests, UNCED should pave the way forward by adopting:

- an 'Earth Charter' or Declaration of basic rights and obligations with respect to environment and development;

- an agenda for action, 'Agenda 21', which will constitute an agreed work programme of the international community for the period beyond 1992 and into the 21st century.

10. In the declaration on the environment made in Dublin in June 1990 the European Council stressed the special responsibility of the Community and its constituent Member States in the wider international arena when it stated that 'the Community must use more effectively its position of moral, economic and political authority to advance international efforts to solve global problems and to promote sustainable development and respect for the global commons'. In conformity with the said declaration, the Community and the Member States must increase their efforts to promote international action to protect the environment and to meet the specific needs and requirements of its partners in the developing world and in Central and Eastern Europe.

The credibility of the industrialised world, including the Community, from the viewpoint of developing countries will be commensurate with the extent to which it puts its own house in order. In adopting and implementing this Programme, the Community will be in a position to offer the leadership foreseen in the Dublin Declaration.

The new strategy for environment and development

11. The approach adopted in drawing up this new policy programme differs from that which applied in previous environmental action programmes:

- it focuses on the agents and activities which deplete natural resources and otherwise damage the environment, rather than wait for problems to emerge;

- it endeavours to initiate changes in current trends and practices which are detrimental to the environment, so as to provide optimal conditions for socio-economic well-being and growth for the present and future generations;

- it aims to achieve such changes in society's patterns of behaviour through the optimum involvement of all sectors of society in a spirit of shared responsibility, including public administration, public and private enterprise, and the general public (as both individual citizens and consumers);

- responsibility will be shared through a significant broadening of the range of instruments to be applied contemporaneously to the resolution of particular issues or problems.

12. For each of the main issues, long-term objectives are given as an indication of the sense of direction or thrust to be applied in the pursuit of sustainable development, certain performance targets are indicated for the period up to the year 2000 and a representative selection of actions is prescribed with a view to achieving the said targets. These objectives and targets do not constitute legal commitments but, rather, performance levels or achievements to be aimed at now in the interests of attaining a sustainable development path. Neither should all the actions indicated require legislation at Community or national level. (Note: Because of substantial disparities and short-comings in both the quantity and quality of data available, it has not been possible to have homogenous levels of precision in the objectives and targets included in the Programme.)

13. The Programme takes account of the diversity of situations in various regions of the Community and, in particular, of the need for the economic and social development of the less wealthy regions of the Community. It aims to protect and enhance the inherent advantages of these latter regions and to afford protection to their more valuable natural assets as a resource-base for economic development and social improvement and prosperity. In the case of the more developed regions of the Community, the aim is to restore or maintain the quality of their environment and natural resource base for their continued economic activity and quality of life.

14. The success of this approach will rely heavily on the flow and quality of information both in relation to the environment and as between the various actors, including the general public. The rôle of the European Environment Agency is seen as crucial in relation to the evaluation and dissemination of information, distinction between real and perceived risks and provision of a scientific and rational basis for decisions and actions affecting the environment and natural resources.

15. In relation to the motivation of the general public, the main tasks will fall to levels other than the Community level. The Commission, for its part, will commit its information services to a campaign of environmental information and awareness-building.

The importance of education in the development of environmental awareness cannot be overstated and should be an integral element in school curricula from primary level onwards.

Environmental challenges and priorities

16. The Programme addresses a number of environmental issues: climate change, acidification and air pollution, depletion of natural resources and biodiversity, depletion and pollution of water resources, deterioration of the urban environment, deterioration of coastal zones, and waste. This list is not an exhaustive one but, pursuant to the principle of subsidiarity, it comprises matters of particular seriousness which have a Community-wide dimension, either because of Internal Market, cross-boundary, shared resource or cohesion implications and because they have a crucial bearing on environmental quality and conditions in almost all regions of the Community.

17. These issues are addressed not so much as problems, but as symptoms of mismanagement and abuse. The real 'problems', which cause environmental loss and damage, are the current patterns of human consumption and behaviour. With this distinction in mind and with due respect to the principle of subsidiarity, priority will be given to the following fields of action with a view to achieving tangible improvements or changes during the period covered by the Programme:

- Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: soil, water, natural areas and coastal zones

- Integrated Pollution Control and Prevention of Waste

- Reduction in the Consumption of Non-Renewable Energy

- Improved Mobility Management including more efficient and environmentally rational location decisions and transport modes

- Coherent packages of measures to achieve improvements in environmental quality in urban areas

- Improvement of Public Health and Safety, with special emphasis on industrial risk assessment and management, nuclear safety and radiation protection.

Selected target sectors

18. Five target sectors have been selected for special attention under this Programme: Industry, Energy, Transport, Agriculture and Tourism. These are sectors where the Community as such has a unique role to play and where a Community approach is the most efficient level at which to tackle the problems these sectors cause or face. They are also chosen because of the particularly significant impacts that they have or could have on the environment as a whole and because, by their nature, they have crucial roles to play in the attempt to achieve sustainable development. The approach to the target sectors is designed not only for the protection of public health and the environment as such, but for the benefit and sustainability of the sectors themselves.

Industry:

19. Whereas previous environmental measures tended to be proscriptive in character with an emphasis on the 'thou shalt not' approach, the new strategy leans more towards a 'let's work together' approach. This reflects the growing realization in industry and in the business world that not only is industry a significant part of the (environmental) problem but it must also be part of the solution. The new approach implies, in particular, a reinforcement of the dialogue with industry and the encouragement, in appropriate circumstances, of voluntary agreements and other forms of self-regulation.

Nevertheless, Community action is and will continue to be an important element in the avoidance of distortions in conditions of competition and preservation of the integrity of the Internal Market.

20. The three pillars on which the environment/industry relationship will be based will be:

- improved resource management with a view to both rational use of resources and improvement of competitive position;

- use of information for promotion of better consumer choice and for improvement of public confidence in industrial activity and controls and in the quality of products;

- Community standards for production processes and products.

In developing measures to ensure the sustainability of the industrial sector, special consideration will be given to the position of small and medium enterprises and to the matter of international competitiveness.

In mid-1992 the Commission will publish a comprehensive Communication on international competitiveness and protection of the environment.

Energy:

21. Energy policy is a key factor in the achievement of sustainable development. While the Community's energy sector is making steady progress in dealing with local and regional environmental problems such as acidification, global issues are daily growing in importance. The challenge of the future will be to ensure that economic growth, efficient and secure energy supplies and a clean environment are compatible objectives.

22. The achievement of this balance requires a strategic perspective well beyond the period covered by this Programme. The key elements of the strategy up to 2000 will be improvement in energy efficiency and the development of strategic technology programmes moving towards a less carbon-intensive energy structure including, in particular, renewable energy options.

Transport:

23. Transport is vital to the distribution of goods and services, to trade and to regional development. Present trends in the Community's transport sector are all leading towards greater inefficiency, congestion, pollution, wastage of time and value, damage to health, danger to life and general economic loss. Transport demand and traffic are expected to increase even more rapidly with the completion of the Internal Market and the political and economic developments in Central and Eastern Europe.

24. A strategy for sustainable mobility will require a combination of measures which includes:

- improved land-use/economic development planning at local, regional, national and trans-national levels;

- improved planning, management and use of transport infrastructures and facilities; incorporation of the real costs of both infrastructure and environment in investment policies and decisions and also in user costs;

- development of public transport and improvement of its competitive position;

- continued technical improvement of vehicles and fuels; encouraged use of less polluting fuels;

- promotion of a more environmentally rational use of the private car, including changes in driving rules and habits.

In conjunction with this Programme, the Commission has published a more comprehensive Communication dealing with transport and the environment and the need to aim for sustainable mobility.

Agriculture:

25. The farmer is the guardian of the soil and of the countryside. Improvements in farming efficiency, increased mechanisation levels, improved transport and marketing arrangements, increased international trade in food products and feedstuffs have all contributed to the fulfillment of the original Treaty objectives of assuring the availability of food supplies at reasonable prices, the stabilization of markets and a fair standard of living for the agricultural community. At the same time, however, changes in farming practices in many regions of the Community have led to overexploitation and degradation of the natural resources on which agriculture itself ultimately depends: soil, water and air.

26. In addition to environmental degradation, serious problems have emerged in the case of commodity overproduction and storage, rural depopulation, the Community budget and international trade (both as regards agricultural products and wider trade agreements). It is not only environmentally desirable, therefore, but also makes sound agricultural, social and economic sense to seek to strike a more sustainable balance between agricultural activity, other forms of rural development and the natural resources of the environment.

27. The Programme builds on the Commission's proposals for reform of the CAP and for development of the Community's forests so as to work towards a balanced and dynamic development of the rural areas of the Community which will meet the sector's productive, social and environmental functions.

Tourism:

28. Tourism is an important element in the social and economic life of the Community. It reflects the legitimate aspirations of the individual to enjoy new places and absorb different cultures as well as to benefit from activities or relaxation away from the normal home or work setting. It is also an important economic asset to many regions and cities of the Community and has a special contribution to make to the economic and social cohesion of the peripheral regions. Tourism represents a good example of the fundamental link which exists between economic development and environment, with all the attendant benefits, tensions and potential conflicts. If well planned and managed, tourism, regional development and environment protection can go hand in hand. Respect for nature and the environment, particularly in coastal zones and mountain areas, can make tourism both profitable and long-lasting.

29. The World Tourism Organisation predicts a significant increase in tourism activity to and within Europe during this decade. Most of this increase is likely to take place in the Mediterranean Region, and in particular types of locations such as historic towns and cities, mountain areas and coastal zones. UNEP's Blue Plan on the Mediterranean predicts a doubling, at least, of solid wastes and waste waters resulting from tourism by the year 2000, and a potential doubling in the land occupied by tourist lodgings.

30. The European Community supports tourism through its investments in necessary infrastructures; it can also serve as a 'facilitator' in relation to other interests. But, in a practical reflection of the principle of subsidiarity and the spirit of shared responsibility, it is mainly at levels other than that of the Community that the real work of reconciling tourism activity and development and the guardianship of natural and cultural assets must be brought into a sustainable balance, i.e. by Member States, regional and local authorities, the tourism industry itself and individual tourists.

The three main lines of action indicated in the Programme deal with

- diversification of tourism activities, including better management of the phenomenon of mass tourism, and encouragement of different types of tourism;

- quality of tourist services, including information and awareness-building, and visitor management and facilities;

- tourist behaviour, including media campaigns, codes of behaviour and choice of transport.

Broadening the range of instruments

31. Previous action programmes have relied almost exclusively on legislative measures. In order to bring about substantial changes in current trends and practices and to involve all sectors of society in a full sharing of responsibility, a broader mix of instruments is needed. The mix proposed can be categorised under four headings:

(i) Legislative instruments designed to set fundamental levels of protection for public health and the environment, particularly in cases of high risk, to implement wider international commitments and to provide Community-wide rules and standards necessary to preserve the integrity of the Internal Market.

(ii) Market-based instruments, designed to sensitize both producers and consumers towards responsible use of natural resources, avoidance of pollution and waste by internalising of external environmental costs (through the application of economic and fiscal incentives and disincentives, civil liability, etc.) and geared towards 'getting the prices right' so that environmentally-friendly goods and services are not at a market disadvantage vis-à-vis polluting or wasteful competitors.

(iii) Horizontal, supporting instruments including improved base-line and statistical data, scientific research and technological development, (as respects both new less-polluting technologies and technologies and techniques for solving current environmental problems) improved sectoral and spatial planning, public/consumer information and education and professional and vocational education and training.

(iv) Financial support mechanisms: besides the budgetary lines which have direct environmental objectives, such as LIFE, the Structural Funds, notably ENVIREG, contribute significant amounts to the financing of actions for the improvement of the environment. Moreover, the new Cohesion Fund decided upon at the Maastricht Summit aims at cofinancing projects which are intended to improve the environment in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Article 130r (2) of the new Treaty provides that environment policy must aim at a high level of protection based on the precautionary principle and preventive action, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community, and that environment policy must be integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies. In this context, it will be necessary to ensure that all Community funding operations, and in particular, these involving the Structural Funds, will be as sensitive as possible to environmental considerations and in conformity with environmental legislation. By way of qualification it must be recalled here that the new Treaty provides, in Article 130s (4), that without prejudice to certain measures of a Community nature, the Member States are responsible for financing and implementing environment policy.

The principle of subsidiarity

32. The principle of subsidiarity will play an important part in ensuring that the objectives, targets and actions are given full effect by appropriate national, regional and local efforts and initiatives. In practice it should serve to take full account of the traditions and sensitivities of different regions of the Community and the cost-effectiveness of various actions and to improve the choice of actions and appropriate mixes of instruments at Community and/or other levels.

The objectives and targets put forward in the Programme and the ultimate goal of sustainable development can only be achieved by concerted action on the part of all the relevant actors working together in partnership. On the basis of the Treaty on the European Union (Article 3b), the Community will take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only if and insofar as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of proposed action, be better achieved by the Community.

33. The Programme combines the principle of subsidiarity with the wider concept of shared responsibility; this concept involves not so much a choice of action at one level to the exclusion of others but, rather, a mixing of actors and instruments at the appropriate levels, without any calling into question of the division of competences between the Community, the Member States, regional and local authorities.

Table 18 of the document and the 'actors' column of the other tables indicate respectively the manner in which the various actors are intended to combine and the different actors considered most relevant for the implementation of specific measures.

Making the Programme work

34. Up to the present, environmental protection in the Community has mainly been based on a legislative approach ('top-down'). The new strategy advanced in this Programme implies the involvement of all economic and social partners ('bottom-up'). The complementarity and effectiveness of the two approaches together will depend, in great measure, on the level and quality of dialogue which will take place in pursuance of partnership.

35. Inevitably, it will take some considerable time for the current patterns of consumption and behaviour to turn in the direction of sustainability. In practical terms, the effectiveness of the strategy will depend, for the foreseeable future, on the inherent quality of the measures adopted and the practical arrangements for their enforcement. This will require better preparation of measures, more effective co-ordination with and integration into other policies, more systematic follow-up and stricter compliance-checking and enforcement.

36. For these reasons - but without prejudice to the Commission's right of initiative and its responsibility to ensure satisfactory implementation of Community rules - the following ad hoc dialogue groups will be convened by the Commission:

(i) a General Consultative Forum comprising representatives of enterprise, consumers, unions and professional organisations, non-governmental organisations and local and regional authorities;

(ii) an Implementation Network comprising representatives of relevant national authorities and of the Commission in the field of practical implementation with Community measures; it will be aimed primarily at exchange of information and experience and at the development of common approaches at practical level, under the supervision of the Commission.

(iii) an Environmental Policy Review Group, comprising representatives of the Commission and the Member States at Director-General level to develop mutual understanding and exchange of views on environment policy and measures.

37. These three dialogue groups will serve, in a special way, to promote greater sense of responsibility among the principal actors in the partenariat, and to ensure effective and transparent application of measures. They are not intended to duplicate the work of committees established by Community legislation for the purposes of follow-up in respect of specific measures, nor by the Commission in relation to specific fields of interest such as consumer protection, tourism development etc. nor by Member States for implementation and enforcement of policy at national level. Finally, they will not substitute the existing dialogue between industry and the Commission, which it is intended to strengthen in any event.

Review of Programme

38. While the Programme is essentially targeted towards the year 2000, it will be reviewed and 'rolled-over' at the end of 1995 in the light of improvements in relevant data, results of current research, and forthcoming reviews of other Community policies e.g. industry, energy, transport, agriculture, and the structural funds.

Conclusion

39. This Programme itself constitutes a turning point for the Community. Just as the challenge of the 1980s was completion of the Internal Market, the reconciliation of environment and development is one of the principal challenges facing the Community and the world at large in the 1990s. 'Towards Sustainability' is not a programme for the Commission alone, nor one geared towards environmentalists alone. It provides a framework for a new approach to the environment and to economic and social activity and development, and requires positive will at all levels of the political and corporate spectrums, and the involvement of all members of the public active as citizens and consumers in order to make it work.

40. The Programme does not purport to 'get everything right'. It will take a long time to change patterns of behaviour and consumption and to attain a sustainable development path. The Programme, accordingly, is intended primarily to break the current trends. The bottom line is that the present generation must pass the environment on to the next generation in a fit state to maintain public health and social and economic welfare at a high level. As an intermediate goal, the state of the environment, the level and quality of natural resources and the potential for further development at the end of this decade should reflect a marked improvement on the situation which obtains today. The road to sustainability may be long and difficult . . . but the first steps must be taken now!

Structure of the document

41. The document is divided into three parts, the two main parts being related to internal and external actions. This distinction is made so as to reflect what can politically and legally be done within the Community itself in accordance with the powers and procedures incorporated in the Treaties, and what the Community and its constituent Member States can contribute or achieve in partnership with other developed and developing countries in relation to global or regional issues and problems.

42. Part I summarises the state of the environment in the Community and growing threats to its future health (Chapter 1) and sets out a new strategy designed to break the current trends and to set a new course for sustainable development (Chapter 2). The strategy entails active involvement of all the main actors in society (Chapter 3) using a broader range of instruments, including market-related instruments and improved information, education and training (Chapter 7) so as to achieve identifiable or quantifiable improvements in the environment or changes in consumption and behaviour (Chapter 5).

43. A special, concentrated, effort will be made in the case of five target sectors of Community-wide significance (Chapter 4) and in relation to the avoidance and management of risks and accidents (Chapter 6).

44. In an effort to be both concise and as clear as possible, the measures which together constitute the action programme are set out in a series of tables which are predominantly, though not entirely, homogenous.

These tables are structured so as to indicate:

- the long-term objectives in the various fields;

- the qualitative or quantitative targets to be attained by the year 2000;

- the specific actions required to be taken;

- the time-frame proposed for such actions;

- the actors or sectors of activity which will be called upon to play a part.

Pursuant to the principle of subsidiarity, the lead rôle is indicated by the use of an italic type-face e.g. MS.

45. Finally, Part I attempts to indicate how responsibility can in practice be shared (Chapter 8) and the measures proposed to ensure satisfactory implementation and enforcement (Chapter 9).

46. Part II summarises the environmental threats and issues in the wider international sphere (Chapter 10) and what will or can be done by the Community and its constituent Member States in the context of both general international and bilateral co-operation (Chapter 11 and 12, resp.) in relation to global and regional issues and to environment and development issues in developing countries and Central and Eastern Europe. Chapter 13 deals with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which will take place in June 1992. It also refers to the correlation between the internal and external dimensions of the Community's policy on the environment.

47. Part III is quite short and very general, dealing with the selection of priorities (Chapter 14), the question of costs (Chapter 15) and the intention to carry out a mid-term review of the Programme in 1995 (Chapter 16). While in a document which puts forward a policy and strategy aimed at breaking trends there is less a question of selecting priority actions than defining a 'critical path', nevertheless, the Programme does include a listing of horizontal measures and fields of action which require to be accorded priority. On the question of costs the document points to the difficulties of undertaking such exercise (partly because of the traditional practice of treating the environment as an infinite source of free raw materials and waste sinks, and partly because not enough has been done to determine the real costs of 'non-action') and puts forward a 5-point plan to devise appropriate costing mechanisms for the future.

INTRODUCTION

THE CHALLENGE OF THE 1990s

As far back as 1972, when the Communities first became involved in environmental protection, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States declared that:

'Economic expansion is not an end in itself . . . it should result in an improvement in the quality of life as well as the standard of living'

Just as in the 1980s the principal challenge faced by the European Communities was the completion of the Internal Market, so now in the 1990s the challenge is to graduate to a development path which will be sustainable.

Community Heads of State and Government recognised this challenge during their Summit in Dublin in June 1990 where they stated:

'We recognise our special responsibility for the environment both to our own citizens and to the wider world. We undertake to intensify our efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment of the Community itself and the world of which it is part. We intend that action by the Community and its Member States will be developed on a coordinated basis and on the principles of sustainable development and preventive and precautionary action . . . The objective of such action must be to guarantee citizens the right to a clean and healthy environment . . . The full achievement of this objective must be a shared responsibility.'

The Heads of State and Government went on to ask the Commission to take account of this approach in its preparation of the Fifth Action Programme on the Environment. This document is the response to that request and is designed to spell out a strategy and programme for environmental action to the end of the present century and beyond.

Developments within the Community

Within the time-frame of this Programme great changes are envisaged. Development of the Internal Market in Europe and the need to achieve economic and social cohesion have major implications in relation to environment policy as indeed was recognised in the Single European Act: the increased economic growth expected will be unsustainable unless environmental considerations are taken into account, not so much as a potential limiting factor, but rather as an incentive to greater efficiency and competitivity, with particular reference to the wider international market-place.

At the same time, the Community is moving towards closer economic and monetary union and will probably have to face up to the challenges of further enlargement. It will have to take account of political and economic changes which are occurring in Central and Eastern Europe and of the need to develop the European Economic Area. The Community is also committed to reviewing its approach to the Structural Funds, the Common Agricultural Policy, Transport Policy and Energy Policy.

Developments at global level

There is growing worldwide concern at the continuing deterioration of the state of the environment and the serious degradation of global life-support systems. A crucial element of the Community's strategy for the 1990s, developed in more detail in this document, is to promote policies and programmes that will improve the quality of human life worldwide through a more equitable distribution of natural resources.

The drive to raise living standards, alleviate poverty, increase life expectancy and improve food security places a considerable burden on the world's natural resource base. The Community is conscious of the fact that, along with other industrialised countries, its own 340 million inhabitants currently consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources. Per capita consumption of energy in the Community for example, although half that of the USA and Canada, is over 10 times greater than that of many developing countries. A child born in the Community will consume over 20 times as much of natural resources over its lifetime as a child born in the majority of developing countries (although still half that of an American child).

Many of the measures foreseen in this Programme are designed to reduce wasteful consumption of resources and to increase productivity within the Community. It will nevertheless require great ingenuity and creativity to service the additional needs of both the developed and developing world whilst at the same time conserving the often fragile and non-renewable resource base. This will imply in some instances profound changes in consumption patterns and lifestyles.

Towards sustainable development

All human activity, economic and socio-cultural, either prospers or founders on the quality of the relationship between society and the natural world. Development is 'real' only if it improves the quality of life. The 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development - generally referred to as the Brundtland Report - urged that human activity should follow a path which sustains human activity progress for the entire planet into the distant future. In this context sustainable development was defined as 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. It entails preserving the overall balance and value of the natural capital stock, redefinition of short, medium and long-term cost/benefit evaluation criteria and instruments to reflect the real socio-economic effects and values of consumption and conservation, and the equitable distribution and use of resources between nations and regions over the world as a whole. In the latter context, the Brundtland Report pointed out that the developed countries, with only 26 % of the world population, are responsible for about 80 % of world consumption of energy, steel and other metals, and paper and about 40 % of the food.

The following characteristics of sustainable development were identified:

- it maintains the overall quality of life;

- it maintains continuing access to natural resources;

- it avoids lasting environmental damage.

In more prosaic terms it has been defined by the admonition: 'Don't eat the seed corn which is needed to sow next year's crop.' Such a definition is useful in injecting an important dose of realism into the debate on sustainability. In practical terms, therefore, the concept of sustainability is ultimately linked very closely to a society's or region's prospects of continued development and success and, in the case of individual enterprises, even their profit and loss accounts.

Building on solid foundations

It is important to bear in mind that in moving towards sustainable development the Community is not starting from zero. The strategy and programme set out in this document have been built on what has already been achieved both at the Community level and in the Member States. The Community has had an environment policy for almost twenty years, despite the fact that the environment was not mentioned in the original Treaties. In that time, significant advances have been made in terms of both elaboration of an extensive legislative framework in the Member States and actual improvements in environmental protection and quality.

Since 1972 there have been four Community action programmes (2) on the environment which have given rise to about 200 pieces of legislation covering pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, waste management, safeguards in relation to chemicals and biotechnology, product standards, environmental impact assessments and protection of nature. Much has been achieved over this period but the current pace of change and the additional pressures which are being or will be imposed on the environment and the natural resource stocks as a result of completion of the Internal Market and political and economic developments in Central and Eastern Europe and further afield call for even more effective measures.

Institutional developments

At institutional level, the extraordinary growth in public awareness, scientific perception and political importance of environment issues was reflected in the Treaties by the insertion through the Single European Act, of a separate Chapter on the environment and the inclusion of a significant environment element in the key article relating to the completion of the internal market. These modifications provided, for the first time, a statutory mandate, objectives and criteria for Community policy and action in the field of the environment.

The new Treaty on European Union, which was signed by all the Member States on 7 February 1992, contains a number of provisions which will bring care for the environment into a new dimension:

- among the Principles, Article 2 refers to the promotion of 'a harmonious and balanced development of economic activities, sustainable and non-inflationary growth respecting the environment';

- Article 3k provides that the activities of the Community shall include a policy in the sphere of the environment; Article 130r (2) provides, inter alia, that this policy shall aim at a high level of protection and that it shall be based on the precautionary principle;

- Article 130r (2) goes on to stipulate that environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies;

- Article 3b attaches special value to the principle of subsidiarity while Article A states the objective of having decisions taken as closely as possible to the citizens.

Moreover Article 130s (5) addresses the case of measures involving disproportionate costs for the public authorities of a Member State. This article reflects the need to take into account economic and social cohesion in the formulation of environmental policy. This need is also recalled in Article 130r (3) according to which, in preparing its policy on the environment, the Community shall take account of the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions.

In addition, the agreed changes in the Community's decision-making procedures providing for majority voting by the Council of Ministers on most environment issues and the strengthening of the role of the European Parliament in this sector through the co-decision procedure should improve the efficiency and the quality of the legislative process in the future.

What is new about this Programme?

In facing up to the environmental challenges in this final decade of the millenium and in endeavouring to move towards a sustainable development path it is necessary to focus on the agents and activities which damage the environment and deplete the natural resource stock rather than wait, as has been the tendency in the past, for problems to emerge. As previously stated, this will require significant changes in current patterns of human consumption and behaviour. These objectives cannot be met by action at Community level alone, but rather on the basis of a sharing of responsibility at all levels of society including governments, regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations, financial institutions, production, distribution and retail enterprises and individual citizens.

While it is appropriate that the strategy and programme should be prepared at Community level, since it is the sole point at which all the required measures and actions can be brought together, the practical implementation thereof will fall to be carried out at the appropriate levels in a complementary manner and in accordance with the ability to act. The basic strategy therefore is to achieve full integration of environmental and other relevant policies through the active participation of all the main actors in society (administrations, enterprises, general public) through a broadening and deepening of the instruments for control and behavioural change including, in particular, greater use of market forces.

The challenge of the 1990s

The attainment of sustainable development calls for a far-sighted, cohesive and effective approach. It will demand considerable political and practical commitment over an extended time-frame. The Community, as the largest economic/trading partner in a world where it is increasingly seen that growth has to be environmentally sustainable, must exercise its responsibility to both present and future generations. To this end it must put its own house in order and provide an example to developed and developing countries alike in relation to the protection of public health and the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources.

The Dublin Declaration states that 'the environment is dependent on our collective actions; tomorrow's environment depends on how we act today'. There is now a perceptible feeling throughout the Community and further afield that many of the great environmental struggles will be won or lost during this decade; and that by the next century it could be too late.

We cannot afford to wait . . . and be wrong!

PART I

A POLICY AND STRATEGY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

CHAPTER 1

THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT: PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS

A strategy for the future cannot be constructed without analysing what the present situation is and what has occurred in the past. In conjunction with the publication of the 5th Programme, and underpinning its essential strategy, an up-dated Report on the State of the Environment is being published. Among the main conclusions which can be drawn from that Report are the following:

- Atmospheric Pollution: Some progress has been made in reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide and suspended particulates, lead and CFCs, but serious problems continue to exist or are emerging as respects on one hand, a number of 'greenhouse' gases such as, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, ozone and methane, and on the other hand, air quality problems, especially in urban areas.

- Aquatic Pollution: Some progress has been achieved with point sources of inland water pollution, but this is being more than offset by increased pollution from non-point sources, notably agriculture. The quality of waters is under threat and there is growing eutrophication of both fresh waters and marine waters. The Directive on groundwater is not achieving its objectives and these resources are under growing threat from both overexploitation and pollution. In the case of marine waters, there have been reductions in pollution from certain organic wastes, heavy metals and radioactive discharges, but severe pressures persist, particularly in the Mediterranean Region, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

- Soil Degradation: The Directives on waste management, on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture and on use of nitrates on land and certain aspects of the 'Seveso' Directive on major accident hazards of certain industrial activities have made or will make relatively good contributions to the protection of soils. However, over-intensified use of land and excessive application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and ground drainage and clearance activities are causing deterioration of soils, including contamination, acidification, desertification and erosion, in many areas.

- Nature Conservation: Despite the Directive on Wild Birds and the Conventions of Bonn and Berne, the pressures on unique or endangered biota and their habitats are increasing. Intensified agriculture is one of the most important causes of reductions in biological diversity. Economic developments and erosion are causing a steady deterioration of the coastal environment. Forest fires have devastated many parts of the Mediterranean Region, with severe outbreaks now occurring annually. Further pressure from recreational and associated second-home development is giving rise to deterioration in upland and mountain regions.

- The Urban Environment: The difficulties in reconciling the need to meet the demands of modern commerce and transport with the desire to provide a good quality living environment are steadily growing with resulting congestion, pollution, noise, deterioration of streets, public places and architectural heritage and general loss of amenity.

- Waste Management: Despite Directives going back to 1975 on waste in general, on toxic and hazardous wastes and on transfrontier shipment of wastes, management of the Community's enormous waste stream is far from being under control. Recycling and reuse options have not been developed beyond the infancy stage in most areas. Deficiencies in waste handling arrangements pose a threat not only to the environment but could have undesirable implications in the context of completion of the Internal Market.

Some disquieting trends

The Report on the State of the Environment also clearly indicates some trends which, if not satisfactorily contained, could have significant negative consequences for the quality of the environment as a whole. For example,

- Energy: a 25 % increase by 2010 if there is no change in current energy demand growth rates, resulting, in turn, in a 20 % increase in EC carbon emissions (reference year 1987);

- Transport: a 25 % increase in car ownership and a 17 % increase in mileage by 2000 (reference year 1990);

- Agriculture: a 63 % increase in fertilizer use between 1970 and 1988;

- Waste: a 13 % increase in municipal waste over the last 5 years, despite increased recycling of paper, glass, plastics;

- Water: a 35 % increase in the Community's average water withdrawal rate between 1970 and 1985;

- Tourism: a 60 % increase in Mediterranean tourism projected by 2000 (reference year 1990).

Need for a new impetus

The previous four Community action programmes and the measures taken to implement them have had considerable merit in formal or legal terms and have achieved certain environmental improvements in objective terms. Furthermore, many of the actions decided upon to date still have some time to run before they show their full effects on the general state of the environment.

Nevertheless, whether because they have not had sufficient time to show full results or because they are not being fully implemented throughout the Community, many of the existing instruments are not satisfactorily coping with current levels of environmental degradation. Moreover, most of them have not been designed to meet the additional burden expected to emanate from the upsurge of economic activity following on completion of the Internal Market and concomitant energy, transport and other demands, and the changes which are occurring in Central and Eastern Europe.

The time has come for Community environmental policy to move into a new gear!

CHAPTER 2

THE FIFTH PROGRAMME: A NEW STRATEGY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The overall objective of the Community is the improved and continued welfare of all its citizens. Together with political, economic and monetary union the Internal Market is designed to hold constituent Member States and their peoples together and to motivate and provide the framework for their socio-economic growth. The long-term success of the Internal Market will be dependent upon the relative contributions of the industrial, energy, regional development and agricultural policies and the ability of the transport policy literally to deliver the goods. All of these policies are interdependent; the ultimate limiting factor for continued efficiency and growth as they interface with one another is the tolerance level of the natural environment.

Behind the strategy set out in this Programme is the ultimate aim of transforming the patterns of growth in the Community in such a way as to reach a sustainable development path. Among other things this implies that

- it be recognized that continued human activity and further economic and social development depend on the quality of the environment and its natural resources and on their satisfactory guardianship;

- since the reservoir of raw materials is finite, the flow of substances through the various stages of processing, consumption and use should be so managed as to facilitate or encourage optimum reuse and recycling, thereby avoiding wastage and preventing depletion of the natural resource stock;

- the behavioural trends of citizens within the Community should reflect an appreciation that natural resources are finite and that one individual's consumption or use of these resources must not be at the expense of another's; and that neither should one generation's consumption be at the expense of those following.

The implementation of such a strategy of sustainable development will require a considerable change in almost all major policy areas in which the Community is involved. It requires that environmental protection requirements be integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies, not just for the sake of the environment, but also for the sake of the continued efficiency of the other policy areas themselves. The interdependence of the various policy areas, resources and sectors is depicted in Figure 1.

In accordance with the European Council's Declaration 'The Environmental Imperative' the guiding principles for policy decisions under this Programme derive from the precautionary approach and the concept of shared responsibility, including effective implementation of the 'Polluter Pays Principle'.

This Programme continues to address major environmental issues such as climate change, acidification, water pollution, soil degradation and erosion, waste management, etc. However, rather than be directed solely at these issues, the strategy of the Programme is to create a new interplay between the main groups of Actors (government, enterprise, public) and the principal economic sectors (industry, energy, transport, agriculture and tourism) through the use of an extended, and integrated, range of instruments. This can best be done efficiently within the Community framework. Without an overall Community framework within which all these activities can be integrated and coordinated there is a danger that the actions carried out by individual Member States or regions, or by other actors will not have their full impact, or that the integrity of Community achievements or actions in other policy areas, notably the Internal Market, could be called into question.

For each of the main issues, long-term objectives are given as an indication of the sense of direction or thrust to be applied in the pursuit of sustainable development, certain performance targets are indicated for the period up to the year 2000 and a representative selection of actions is prescribed with a view to achieving the said targets. These objectives and targets do not constitute legal commitments but, rather, performance levels or achievements to be aimed at now in the interests of attaining a sustainable development path. Neither should all the actions indicated require legislation at Community or national level.

Sustainable development is a goal which will not be achieved over this Programme alone, but if effectively implemented, the Programme should mark a significant step on the way towards it.

CHAPTER 3

THE ACTORS

Up to now, Community action programmes on the environment have largely been based on legislation and controls involving government and manufacturing industry. The concept of shared responsibility requires a much more broadly-based and active involvement of all economic players including public authorities, public and private enterprise in all its forms, and, above all, the general public, both as citizens and consumers. The ultimate objective in the involvement of and interplay between these economic players (and in the employment of a broader range of instruments which will include, in particular, market-related incentives) is to strike a new balance between the short-term benefit of individual persons, companies and administrations and the longer-term benefits of society as a whole. The principle of subsidiarity and the concept of shared responsibility, which will be applied in the endeavour to strike this new balance, are discussed in Chapter 8 below.

3.1. Public authorities

The rôle of government is a determinant not only in relation to legislation. It is equally important in economic planning and in setting conditions for economic development, land use management, accessibility of information, education and training, market influence through taxation policies on products (e.g. tobacco and fuels), etc. Further, while there are substantial differencies in the system of public administrations in the Community, in most member states the public authorities also act as operators of public enterprises, such as road networks, railways, airports, and the electricity production sector. In the general endeavour to achieve sustainable development, Governments have particularly onerous responsibilities both in respect of state owned and controlled activities and also in creating the necessary framework and conditions, in providing incentives and in removing obstacles so as to enable the individual and private enterprise to play their respective roles.

Local and regional authorities have a particularly important part to play in ensuring the sustainability of development through the exercise of their statutory functions as 'competent authorities' for many of the existing Directives and Regulations and in the context of practical application of the principle of subsidiarity. Some fields where local and regional authorities can play a decisive role are:

- Spatial planning: application of sound planning principles so as to safeguard areas of value, including nature reserves and landscapes, to improve urban fabric and circulation, and to optimise energy and transport efficiency;

- Economic development: most authorities have some function in stimulating economic development in their areas. An appropriate degree of prudence can ensure sustainable use of the resources necessary for that economic development to take place and to prosper;

- Infrastructural development: local and regional authorities are primarily responsible for the planning, provision and management of roads, water supplies, waste water treatment etc. and, accordingly, are particularly well placed to influence the location, type and impact of physical development;

- Control of industrial pollution: through responsible use of planning permissions, emission, discharge and operating licenses, clean technologies, right of access to environmental information etc.;

- Waste management: strict application of the recognised ranking order in waste management - prevention, re-use and recycling, combustion as fuel, disposal by incineration and landfill - would serve both to reduce waste disposal problems and to save energy and raw materials;

- Transport: transport and traffic plans should be fully integrated into the overall planning process;

- Public information, education and training: local and regional authorities, on the basis of existing Community legislation on public access to environmental information, can facilitate greater public involvement in environmental protection and in the improvement of public confidence; those which have direct responsibilities in the field of education have particular opportunities and responsibilities in respect of public awareness and behaviour;

- Internal auditing: administrations need to critically analyse their own operations, e.g. public services, siting of offices, purchasing policies, choice of vehicles and equipment, energy conservation, environmental auditing and communication of information to the public.

Where applicable, Central Government should apply the above principles and measures to their own administrations and decisions (e.g. planning, information, education, training, internal auditing). Finally, it will be imperative to commit the necessary resources at central, regional and local levels to ensure practical implementation.

3.2. Public and private enterprise

Depending on their nature, virtually all enterprises use natural resources for their processes and products, create various types and quantities of waste, and contribute to the pollution of air, water and soil. In limited cases only have the long term costs of these resources and of the pollution so far been internalized in the costs of operating a plant or in the price of the final product or service. It is clear that the perpetuation of this situation is not viable on either economic or environmental grounds. There is a growing awareness that industry's own interest is at stake: increasing demand for clean technologies and products will create new market opportunities, with particular advantages for innovational companies; industry also sees the advantages in terms of savings on resources and energy, where environmental considerations are integrated into management policy. Nevertheless it remains for the Community and the Member States to determine the framework and conditions for sustainable development.

In this Programme five areas of activity are singled out as target sectors. These sectors represent a large share of the overall economic activity; their co-operation and attitude is vital to paving the way towards sustainability. Notwithstanding the choice of certain key sectors, it should be clear that all enterprise will be expected to participate in the effort to move towards sustainability. The instruments to be developed and put in place will be designed to generate the broadest possible response.

A comprehensive policy relating to consumer products will be important if market mechanisms are to help change human behaviour towards the environment. In particular, it is essential that enterprises become more conscious of the extent to which their products and packaging become waste, and that they accept responsibility for such waste. The proposed Community-wide eco-label should encourage industry to design and manufacture products which have reduced environmental impacts. Policies should be developed in a way which will also serve to facilitate consumers in making informed choices on the basis of safety, quality, durability and general environmental implications. In this context the retail sector will have to take up its part of the responsibility.

Financial institutions which assume the risk of companies and plants can exercise considerable influence - in some cases, control - over investment and management decisions which could be brought into play to the benefit of the environment.

3.3. The general public

Each member of the general public has a number of crucial roles to play:

- as an individual who may be concerned about the quality of the general environment, personal health and the quality of life of succeeding generations, and as a responsible citizen having the possibility of influencing policies and decisions;

- as a direct producer of pollution and waste within the home, as an employer or employee, as a commuter and in the pursuit of leisure interests;

- as a consumer of goods and services, since the causes of and solutions to environmental problems are often a function of consumer choice.

Before the individual can play his/her full potential role in practice, a number of conditions have to be met: good knowledge and information is essential to relate an individual's activities to environmental pollution or protection as the case may be; awareness campaigns will be needed to remedy this situation. Good intentions will not produce the desired results unless alternatives exist, for example, separate collections of waste, reliable public transport systems, etc.

With respect to the choice of products and services, certain practical obstacles will have to be overcome: the more ecological friendly product may not be available where one normally does the shopping, or, if available, the price may be higher than the more polluting ones. (It is clear from the example on the differential pricing of unleaded and leaded fuel that, if the price is attractive, the consumer has incentive to make a choice in favour of the environment). And, in order to gain and retain the confidence of consumers, environmental claims must be well founded and be accompanied by neutral information regarding the characteristics of products.

The active involvement and participation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), both environment and consumer oriented, as well as trades unions and professional associations will be crucial to the general process of awareness-building, to the representation of public interest and concern, and to the motivation and engagement of the members of the general public themselves.

CHAPTER 4

SELECTED TARGET SECTORS

As indicated in the Chapter on Actors above (see Public and Private Enterprise) five target sectors are selected for special attention under this Programme. These sectors have been chosen because they are sectors where the Community as such has a unique role to play and where a Community approach is the most efficient way to tackle in an overall way the problems these sectors face. They are also chosen because of the particularly significant impacts that they have or could have on the environment as a whole and because, by their nature, they have crucial rôles to play in the attempt to achieve sustainable development. These factors are more fully dealt with in Chapter 5 and in the material which follows immediately below on the target sectors themselves.

4.1. Manufacturing industry

The industrial sector accounts for approximately 25 % of the Community's wealth and industrialization is a key element of development strategy both within the Community and at wider international level. But in its exploitation of natural resources, consumption of energy, production processes and generation of both pollution and wastes, the industrial sector is among the principal causes of environmental deterioration. Insofar as the environmental consequences of industrial activity may exceed the tolerance level of the natural resource base it can limit or block further industrial development in a locality or region.

One of the primary goals of the Community's industrial policy is to create the framework and conditions for a strong, innovative and competitive industrial sector thereby ensuring the competitivity and sustainability of Europe's industries in the global market-place. It is not in the overall interest of the Community to sacrifice long-term economic and social rewards for the sake of short-term financial gains.

Previous environment measures have tended to be proscriptive in character, with an emphasis on the 'thou shall not' rather than the 'let's work together' approach. As a consequence, there has been a tendency to view industrialization or economic development and environmental concern as being mutually hostile. Against the background of deepening concern for the environment and natural resources, and realisation of the negative economic effects of environmental degradation, it is now clear that environmentally sound industry is no longer a matter of luxury but rather a matter of necessity. It is equally clear that many sectors of industry are themselves becoming more appreciative of their relationship with and responsibility for the environment and the natural resource base. One of the key messages of this Programme is that in the field of environment, industry must not only be part of the problem but also part of the solution.

In order to ensure that optimum conditions exist for continued economic growth within the Community and that Community industry can identify the necessary long-term strategies to remain economically competitive it is essential to view environmental quality and economic growth as mutually dependent. For industry, a soundly based, comprehensive environment policy can contribute to optimisation of resource management, public confidence building and development of market opportunities. Many of the new clean and low-waste technologies not only reduce pollution substantially, but economize on the consumption of raw materials and energy to such extent that cost savings can more than offset initial, higher, investment costs and thereby reduce unit production costs. A case in point is represented in the development and use of new techniques in the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology: these offer considerable potential for useful applications in agriculture, food processing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, environmental clean-up and the development of new material and energy sources. In recognition of the importance of this particular sector, the Commission published a Communication in 1991 promoting a competitive environment for industrial activities based on biotechnology within the Community (3).

The combination of an advanced technological society with a vigorous, creative and adaptive manufacturing base which lies at the core of the European Community's economic well-being and underpins its political stability, can bring about better distribution, better communications, greater personal choices and should ultimately guarantee better health and an improved quality of life.

Under this Programme the dual approach of high environmental standards combined with positive incentives to even better performance should be applied in a coordinated manner to the different points in the research-process-production-marketing-use-disposal chain where industry, and industrial products, may impact upon the Community's environmental resource base. For successful translation of this sequence into a sustainable one, the environment has to be part of education and vocational training for all the actors involved in the chain, with special emphasis on researchers and production engineers.

A new sense of direction and thrust will be given to the environment/industrial policy interface by the institution of a comprehensive, integrated 'package' of measures, including existing provisions, comprising the following elements:

- a strengthening of the dialogue with industry;

- improvement of physical and strategic planning including assessment of environmental implications of plans and programmes;

- improved management and control of production processes including a system of licensing linked to integrated pollution prevention and control, environmental auditing, effective environment valuation and accounting, use of best available technology, and introduction of market-based pricing systems for consumption and use of natural resources. In setting standards and conditions, due account will be taken of the lead-time needed to facilitate investment decisions;

- higher, more reliable product standards designed to ensure that the environmental impact of products during their whole life cycle is minimised using, inter alia, a Community-wide ecological labelling system;

- encouragement of voluntary agreements and other forms of self-regulation;

- effective waste management ideally should commence with the control of production processes; in this respect it is to be expected that the package of measures indicated for the production aspects will have a significant impact on both quantities and types of waste generated; other elements in the strategy will include reclamation of waste products by original producers or importers (which would also improve waste handling), continued research into recycling and reuse technology, with pilot projects in these areas; and norms for industrial waste incinerators and landfill sites to deal with threats posed by final disposal of wastes;

- finally, it is essential that the general public and the social partners are enabled to become more actively involved in the development and practical implementation of policy: this means that individuals be given all the relevant information necessary to enable them to exercise informed choices as consumers; they must also have access to environmentally relevant data (e.g. inventory of emissions, environmental audits, disclosure of environmental issues in the accounts of enterprises) to en