European Economic and Social Committee
PRESS RELEASE No 104/2007 25 October 2007
IPCC Nobel Prize winners address special EESC climate change debate
On 24 October the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a special open plenary session on climate change and the Lisbon Strategy. The debate was opened by EESC President Dimitris Dimitriadis, who has made the issue of climate change a major priority of his presidency and at whose initiative the special plenary session was organised. Keynote speakers included Slovenian Secretary of State for the Environment Mr Mitja Bricelj (for the future Slovenian Presidency- in-Office), the President of the Portuguese Environment Agency Prof. Antonio Gonçalves Henriques (who spoke on behalf of the current Portuguese Presidency), and three distinguished members of the scientific community: Prof. Jean Jouzel and Prof. Peter Bosch, members of the Peace Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Prof. Christos Zerefos, President of the Board of Directors of the National Observatory in Athens and an EESC member.
In his opening remarks, President Dimitriadis underlined the need to move towards knowledge- and service-based societies, thus fostering a new 'raw material' – knowledge. He called for the establishment of a longer-term framework on climate change, as opposed to speculative scenarios, that would give 'citizens as well as investors confidence for both their daily actions and their longer-term investments.' He called for all EU institutions to work together on this vital issue.
Mr Bricelj urged the European Commission quickly to produce the legislative proposals necessary to translate the ambitious EU greenhouse gas emission reduction and renewable energy targets established by the spring 2007 European Council into reality.
Mr Gonçalves Henriques, underlining the commitment of the Portuguese Presidency to the EU goal of reducing global warming to 2° C maximum, emphasized the need for global and multi-levelled cooperation to tackle climate change, declaring it to be 'a crucial challenge for sustainable development'.
The three scientific experts discussed the issue from both the technical and the political point of view. For Prof. Jouzel, 'happy that Europe has taken the lead', the urgent debate is not whether global warming is truly occurring and whether it is man-made, but what actions need to be taken to confront it.
Prof. Bosch affirmed that it is actually possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without enormous costs. However, since 'new technologies do not come from the sky', there would need to be much more public and private investment in R&D.
EN European Economic and Social Committee
Prof. Zerefos highlighted the need for public education and awareness-raising. The EESC could play an important role in this process.
In the ensuing debate, the special role of the EESC was also outlined by Mr Derek Osborn, President of the EESC's Sustainable Development Observatory. He outlined 6 axes on which the Committee could act, including serving as a platform for the exchange of knowledge with civil society, broadening the agenda to speak also about adaptation to climate change, closely following the international climate change negotiations, prompting new initiatives and monitoring progress made.
Concluding the debate, President Dimitriadis reasserted the EESC's intention of playing a full part not only in helping the EU to combat climate change but also, just as importantly, in helping civil society to adapt to the changes that are already under way.
For more details, please contact: Karel Govaert at the EESC Press Office, 99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels Tel.: +32 2 546 9396/9586; Mobile: +32 475 75 32 02 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/ Press Releases: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/cp/index_en.asp (English) http://www.eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/cp/index_fr.asp (French)
The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process. The Committee has 344 members, who are appointed by the Council of Ministers.