The 29th Annual Conference of the EEAC Network will focus on the digital transformation within a European context, and the issues and opportunities it raises for sustainable development. Two levers and important elements of the transformation, both central to the European Green Deal and the European Digital Strategy will be explored in particular. These are, firstly, the relationship between the green and digital transformation (the twin challenge), and, secondly, the ethical and social implications of this transformation, including the application of Artificial Intelligence Systems (AI) in the European area. Curious to learn more about the conference? Please visit the conference page on the EEAC website.

EEAC member councils are tasked to advise their governments and parliaments on issues related to climate change, the environment and sustainable development. In this part of the EEAC Newsletter you will find the latest publications by EEAC member councils that are translated or published in English.

Ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow in November 2021, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) presented a policy paper entitled ‘Beyond Climate Neutrality’. In the paper, the WBGU recommends making national long-term strategies a key topic at the Glasgow climate conference in order to provide orientation for current climate policy. Up to now, countries have only been obliged to submit short-term ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) to climate-change mitigation. In the WBGU’s view,  countries must also be obliged to formulate and communicate long-term strategies that go beyond climate neutrality and aim for global climate stabilization.

These long-term strategies should contain three separate priorities: they should first stipulate a rapid and complete phase-out of fossil-fuel use, second, aim at the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems, and third, make strategic preparations for the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. The strategies should furthermore aim for multiple benefits with other sustainability dimensions, such as health and poverty reduction, WBGU continued. Finally, it is extremely important to take into account the international impacts of the measures laid down in national long-term strategies, such as the consequences of planned imports of green hydrogen, the WBGU concluded. Read more

 In its report - Transition Towards 2030 – Building Blocks for a Low-Carbon Society – the Danish Council on Climate Change presents its proposal for a strategy that can help Denmark reach its 2030 target, taking into consideration its long-term goal of becoming a low-carbon society by 2050. In the report the Danish Council on Climate Change has chosen to focus on the elements of transition that should form part of Denmark’s transition to a green economy towards 2030, as an important step on the road to becoming a low-carbon society by 2050. Elements of transition here refer to transitions within production or consumption, which can function as building blocks in the effort to create a society that emits markedly less greenhouse gas. This may e.g. include the introduction of electric cars, biogasification of manure or energy renovation of buildings. In this report the Danish Council on Climate Change has furthermore explored the potential of 20 different elements of transition with a view to putting together a package of elements enabling Denmark to meet its 2030 target based on a set of clear criteria. Read More

Covid-19 has had profound impacts on societal and economic well-being. As Ireland begins to recover from the pandemic, progress will need to be understood beyond traditional measures of economic growth. Ireland has committed to developing new measures of well-being and progress, and the latest report by the Irish National Economic and Social Council presents findings from a consultation designed to ensure that the well-being framework is shaped by the priorities of citizens and stakeholders. The report will contribute to the on-going development of a well-being framework for Ireland. NESC recommends that future work on the issue can include an overall vision shaped by three overarching priorities: equity, agency and sustainability and that further consultation will be central to enhancing public ownership and buy-in. It identifies four lines of action to support future work on the well-being framework including further research to better understand how well-being frameworks support transformational change; research to foster a deeper understanding of equity; developing enhanced processes and institutions to support engagement and agency; and further research on improved data and reporting on sustainability. Read More
 

The implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were prominent on the European agenda this summer. Eurostat not only launched its report entitled “Sustainable development in the European Union. Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context”, the Council of the EU also reaffirmed strong EU commitment to implementing the SDGs. Following these developments, the EEAC Working Group on Sustainable Development organised an online policy briefing. The aim was to provide participants with the monitoring report’s findings and to place the Council conclusions in the context of those findings.

Christine Mayer (Eurostat), Rebecca Humphries (WWF EU) and Annika Lindblom (ESDN) shared their insights during the briefing. Following the policy briefing, EEAC Working Group Co-Chairs Arnau Queralt-Bassa and Gábor Bartus sent a letter to European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni to stress the importance of stakeholder inclusion in the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda in the EU. Read More

This summer, the European Commission launched a series of policy initiatives to contribute to the achievement of a net emission reduction of 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. This pathway towards climate neutrality will include a transition that is as necessary as it is complex. Therefore, this transition requires informed decision-making, supported by the best available scientific knowledge.

It is in this context that the EEAC Network and the Institute for European Environment Policies (IEEP) will organize a webinar during which several experts will: 1. reflect on the role of (scientific) advice in policymaking, and 2. discuss how the role of science can be optimally organised and utilised in the context of European climate policymaking, with special attention paid to the role of the future European Climate Change Advisory Board. The webinar – entitled ‘‘Toward net-zero: Sound policies need science’ –  will take place on Monday September 20th, 2021 (09:30-11:15 CET) and is open to the public. Interested to join? Please use this link to register.

The EEAC Network will be organising three consecutive webinars on the concept of planetary health. These series of webinars will take place on 14 October, 21 October and 28 October in the morning. The webinar series, entitled “Towards Planetary Health”, will allow the EEAC Network to contribute to widening the understanding of this concept, which is defined as “the health of human civilisation and the state of the natural systems on which it depends.” Moreover, the webinar will offer policymakers a deeper understanding of the importance of the current threats to Planetary Health and the need to take action at national, subnational and local levels. Due to the importance that the EEAC Network attaches to Planetary Health, the webinar will be open not only to its members, but also to a wider constituency. More information will follow soon.
 

The Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO-CFDD), together with the Central Council for the Economy, has issued a response to the federal action plan on the circular economy of the Belgian government. In their joint response, the councils addressed both substantive and procedural issues regarding the action plan. The councils stated that with regard to certain measures, it remains unclear what exactly is intended and by when. Furthermore, the councils stressed the importance of better governance in the field of circular economy, which they believe is still lacking. On a substantive level, the councils were also critical regarding a number of points. The councils repeated their request for more attention to be paid to the social challenges associated with the introduction of a circular economy. They councils also asked for more focus on the impact of increasing digitalisation on the climate, to the recycling of critical metals, and finally, the councils stressed the importance of removing all known barriers (regulatory, fiscal, financial, etc.) to the circular transition. Read More (in French).

The French government adopted a law on the fight against climate change this August. The National Council for Ecological Transition (CNTE) issued its opinion on this bill in early 2021. In its opinion, the Council focused on measures relating to consumption (advertising and environmental labelling), on production and working methods to support the ecological transition, and on modes of travel in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of land use planning, the CNTE expressed its support for the reduction in the rate of land artificialisation. The members of the Council also unanimously shared the objective of increased legal protection of the environment. In its concluding declaration, the council underlined that “acting together against the climate emergency is an economic, social and ecological imperative that is imposed on each of us and on each of our organisations”. Read More (in French).

The National Council for Sustainable Development of Hungary (NFFT) completed a study about the decarbonisation possibilities of the construction sector in its country. The study was conducted by the former chief architect of Budapest, Éva Beleznay, who is currently the senior sustainability advisor of the Hungary Green Building Council. The study is filling a gap, as there was no study available about this topic. The study is currently available in Hungarian only, but the council aims to publish an English translation soon. Read More (in Hungarian).

The council also started its work on the bi-annual report on sustainable development in Hungary. This reporting exercise is one of the most important tasks that the council is regularly conducting. The council will map and measure Hungary’s sustainability status and performance against several sustainability indicators. The report will be the fourth consecutive publication in the line of monitoring reports by NFFT.

 

 CCAC discussed coastal adaptation and resilience

 Romanian NCSD held its inaugural meeting