Åsa Westlund: There is more to the environment than global warming
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Published Monday, May 5, 2008 at 12:22
by
asa.westlund 
(1615 views and 4 comments)
Sometimes I wonder if we only can discuss one environmental topic at the time.
Right now we discuss Climate Change.
It’s great. Combating Climate Change is a matter of survival. We can already see the effects. Heat waves in Europe killing thousands of people. Hurricanes killing thousands people in the US and leaving thousands more homeless. Droughts in Africa and parts of Asia with devastating effects on millions of people and whole regions.
Still, there is more to sustainable development than combating Climate Change. And sometimes the different topics are linked together. And very often they have social dimensions.
Let me take three examples.
Air pollution in major cities kills. Particles and gases in the air get to your lungs and make our lives shorter. Most vulnerable to bad air quality are young, older and individuals already suffering from different illnesses. The EU is responsible for making most of the decisions relating to this cross-border problem. Air pollution also increase the problems created by global warming.
Chemicals make us and the environment sick. I think
ETUC has said that 30 percent of work-related illness is due to dangerous chemicals. Although our life in the modern society is dependent on a lot of chemicals, we should therefore make our best to reduce the exposure of dangerous chemicals. The framework for safer use of chemicals – REACH - is now in place, but there is room for improvement, especially when it comes to chemicals used in every-day products as clothes and food.
Our lives depend on biodiversity. We might not think about it everyday, but this is the case. Every plant and every animal has its own place in making this world go around. The climate change poses a great risk to biodiversity and with less biodiversity we are even more vulnerable to climate change.
As an MEP I can say that the socialist group in the European Parliament has played an important role in strengthening the environmental legislation in these areas, but we could do more and we need to be stronger to improve it even further. Therefore I miss these questions in the discussion papers and the debates preparing the PES manifesto for the European elections in June 2009.
Don’t forget all other environmental issues when combating Climate Change.
Tags: blogger of the week, climate change, environment
Comments
1. Prioritizing.... difficult... by green_beans
on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 16:48
Hi Åsa - great to meet an MEP here! I agree with you that we should not forget about other issues - such as pollutions and chemicals - and only focus on climate change. The only thing is... there's so much! I definetely see your point, but at the same time we need to focus - AND climate change is a major problem. So maybe climate change should have a BIG mention in the manifesto, and the other issues less prominent spots? What do others think?2. A New Social & Ecological European Union by jonas1976
on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 16:59
Thank you Åsa for your excellent blog post!
I am sure that we as Europeans can do more when it comes to ecological initiatives, we can do better and we can do it as we promote economic growth. I want us all to strive towards a New Social and Ecological European Union. REACH is one way, but we also have to stimulate research and promote environmentally friendly technology within in European industries. I want a Pan-European initiative to reduce the air pollution due to transport of goods by road. What economical motivational instruments could help us pursue such a goal? Maybe an EU-sponsored extension plan for a European Union railroad along with tax legislation that cut costs for railroad freight goods in comparison to transport by road or by plane?
I am a firm believer in ceasing agricultural subsidies to EU-farmers and I wish that some of that money could be redistributed to an advanced research and investment program to promote a "Green EU".
Sincerely,
Jonas Ek, Västerås, Sweden
+46 70 232 95 00
3. We should not be one-eyed... by asa.westlund
on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 11:39
Thanks for your comments! Green_beans - your are right in that climate change should be in front of our message. But I think that it would be a huge mistake to leave other environmental issues totally out. We do care about human health and environment, we work very hard for it in the EU and the EU is a great tool to use to improve these things - I think we should tell that to people! And if you think strategic, it might well be so that in the election campaign the disappearance of fish from our waters, or the use of a certain dangerous chemical, or people dying from air pollution is suddenly on top of the media agenda. And therefore I think we should at least mention these important subjects in our manifesto. Jonas- I totally agree with you. I think all EU-support for infrastructure should be in line with the fight for reducing green-gas emission. And we should put more money into research in green technology. And I agree with you when it comes to take money from the agricultural sector to finance our efforts to tackle Climate Change. All the best, Åsa4. There IS more to environment than climate by Julian from Schaerbeek on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 14:32
I agree with Asa - we can't just focus on climate , vital though it is. The sustainable use of natural resources - wood, fish, water etc - in Europe and elsewhere is really important. So too is the preservation of natural habitats - and here the EU has really good legislation that could be implemented much better. Likewise with REACH and pollution. The transformation of the EU's agricultural policy into sustainable rural development to conserve nature and create more green jobs is another potential priority. Green-beans is right that there are there are so many priorities - but it cant just be climate....To be able to post comments you need to be logged in. No account yet? Register here! Lost your password?