The EU is committed to building improved resource efficiency into its economic strategy, starting with a “roadmap” this year. A new paper from the Institute sets out the challenges, reviews the mixed results of existing EU policy in this and other related areas and suggests a number of key elements needed in the roadmap. Both a broad vision with a clear, concrete political objective, and an array of practical policy initiatives are required.
In the Europe 2020 strategy, improved resource efficiency is embedded as the core environmental challenge alongside climate change. Yet there is a long way to go if European and national policies are to rise to this challenge. The Commission’s roadmap, expected in the autumn, is a critical opportunity to give this new agenda real substance. The Institute’s paper, in our new “DEEP” series, surveys many of the issues needing addressing as well as identifying some of the most promising policy initiatives for the future.