Butterflies or Business

Europe Can Have Both!

06/12/2010 - How and why Europe’s environment is changing, and what we are doing about it? The European Environment Agency (EEA) report released last week concludes that a fully integrated approach to transforming Europe to a resource-efficient green economy can not only result in a healthy environment, but also boost prosperity and social cohesion.

There are no quick fixes but regulators, businesses and citizens need to work together and find innovative ways to use resources more efficiently. The seeds for future action exist: the task ahead is to help them take root and flourish.

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'We are consuming more natural resources than is ecologically stable. This is true for both Europe and the planet as a whole. Climate change is the most visible sign of instability so far, but a range of global trends suggest greater systemic risks to ecosystems in future. The nature of the current financial crisis should give us pause for thought.' said Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of EEA.


A complete shift to a resource-efficient green economy requires that all environmental resources – biodiversity, land, carbon, rivers, the seas and the air we breathe – are fully considered in production, consumption and global trade decisions. {read rest}