"Environment 2010: our future, our choice" is the sixth environmental program adopted by the European Commission. The priority choice hits the mark: the first two concern, in fact, immediate emergencies, greenhouse effect and survival of animal species and their habitat.The greenhouse effect was emphasized by UN experts' announcements that the global temperatures can increase more than was expected, between 1,4 and 5,8 degrees within a century. Actually the climate models that generate these scenarios are in their infancy, both referred to climate change sciences and for their hypothesis on economical and population growth, therefore the precision of the decimals seems somewhat forced on the horizon of a century, no less. However, the overall evidence is that preventive policies are required.
Therefore the Commission confirm the objective of reducing greenhouse gases by 8% before 2008-2012, as established by the Kyoto agreement. Not only that, it also provides for 20-40% reduction before 2020, and by 70% further ahead.
The EU's program's second objective, nature and biodiversity, provides for the expansion of Nature 2000 park network and a number of sector plans to preserve biodiversity. New initiatives will also concern the defense of marine habitat and prevention of industrial or mining accidents.
The third objective concerns the effects of pollution on health, especially children's, with reference to the risks deriving from the use of chemical products and pesticides. Finally the problem of currently unstoppable solid waste growth. An increase of recycling and a reduction of waste is what is being aimed at, particularly through product integrated policies: a new approach where interventions are not solely on the waste, but the whole product life cycle is analyzed, from manufacturing to disposal, to determine where it is best per to act, for example with changes in manufacturing techniques to ease recycling and recovery.
November.2001
The European Commission
