ESDR 2020: policy recommendations

www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu

ESDR 2020: policy

recommendations

Céline Charveriat, IEEP Executive Director

15.12.2020


• Long-term pathways

• Financial planning → efficient and low cost pathways

• New policy frameworks

• Subsidiarity analysis

• Mission-oriented research and innovation

• Metrics and monitoring → evidence-based feedback process to policy

SDGs implementation in Europe

requires deep structural transformation


Post-COVID-19 realities

• Risk of jeopardisation of the European Green Deal and SDGs implementation

➢ Industries push for rolling back some regulations

➢ A focus on “going back to normal” might hamper environmental policy-making

• Targets coherence → recovery and resilience plans must be aligned with environmental standards and SDGs.

• Focus on the One Health approach


• More specific commitments and targets

• Strengthen and simplify the EU narrative on SDGs

• Maintain the European Green Deal a priority

• More focus on health, well-being and equity targets

• Consideration of the spillover effects on third countries

• Fill the implementation gap of EU environmental policies

SDG implementation within the EU


• More accountability and democratic ownership

• Coordination on EU strategy and timelines among the DGs

• An SDG expenditure tracking methodology for the EU budget

• Deepening the role of VNR

• Integration of SDG 16 with fit-for-purpose indicators

SDG implementation within the EU

Food and land use: key policy reforms

Land use: SDG2, 6, 14, 15

Policies and strategies to be

reformed or better implemented

⚫ 2050 climate long-term strategy

⚫ Effort sharing regulation 2021-2030

⚫ Birds and Habitats Directives

⚫ Common fisheries policy

⚫ Water Framework Directive

⚫ EU biodiversity strategy

⚫ Invasive species directives

⚫ Marine Strategy Framework

directive

⚫ Bio-economy strategy

New strategies to be adopted post-

2020

⚫ Creation of a soil strategy

⚫ Biomass strategy (for food and

energy – having a holistic approach)

⚫ More binding farm to fork strategy

⚫ Animal product consumption

reduction targets

⚫ Sustainable consumption strategy

Circular economy 2.0: key policy reforms

Policies to be reformed or better

implemented

⚫ Implementing acts of Single Use

Plastics Directive

⚫ Regulation on minimum

requirements for water reuse

⚫ Review of the Proposal for a new

European Maritime and Fisheries

Fund 2021-2027

⚫ Review of MSFD

⚫ Industrial Emission Directive

⚫ Eco-design directive

⚫ Extended producer responsibility and

eco-modulation of fees

New policies or strategies to be

adopted post 2020

⚫ New CEAP: Circular Economy 2.0

with quantitative targets and sectoral

plans, and better enforcement of the

WFD

⚫ Common quality standards for

secondary raw materials

⚫ Harmonisation of trade and circular

economy polices

⚫ Sustainable consumption strategy

Circular economy 2.0: SDG 12, SDG 9


EU diplomacy and development policy

• EU must lead multilateral SDG diplomacy

• Bilateral SDG diplomacy with key partners

• EU-China Partnership for Sustainable Development

• EU regulatory leadership to address negative spillovers

• Aligning development aid to SDG needs


SDG governance

Increased ambition → reach all SDGs by 2030

• Relation between EC’s six priorities and SDGs

• Updating existing quantitative policy targets and definition of new ones

• Sequenced policy reforms

• Principle of over-time ratcheting

Better integration → one EC (and EP) work programme

• SDG action plans for each DG by 2021

• SDG mainstreaming 2.0. through the integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions

• Coherence between key policy timelines, action plans and headline indicators


Increased EU accountability

• EC as a whole

• Aligning targets and indicators frameworks

• Full VNR to be presented by 2021

Increase MS accountability → integrate SDGs into the semester process

• Adding targets and indicators

• Discussion of national strategies

• EC report and country recommendations for the semester to be

agreed by the College of Commissioners

• Civil society shadow reporting

• Coherence of approach to disciplinary and enforcement procedures

• Integration of climate risks, circularity and well-being in the current

growth and stability indicators

SDG Main missing EU quantitative environmental targets

SDG2 Zero hunger - Improvement of nitrogen balance from agricultural land (e.g. 1.5 or 2 % annually)

- Reduction in animal protein consumption (e.g. 2 % annually)

- 25% reduction of use of antibiotics in livestock production by 2030

- 25% reduction of use of synthetic pesticides and a decrease of Harmonised Risk indicator by 2030

- 80% of EU citizens consume 400 grams of fruit and vegetables daily by 2030

- All MS to use the Copernicus Earth observation system for farm management and agricultural policy

management by 2025

SDG6 Clean water - Water use remaining below a certain level of available renewable freshwater resources at sub/basin level (e.g. 20

% annually) and reduction of nitrate and phosphate in rivers (e.g. by 20-30 % by 2030)

SDG7 Clean energy - Target that aims at reducing energy poverty in the EU

SDG12 Resource efficiency - Targets regarding consumption, such as per capita material footprint

- Targets for waste reduction (revised Waste FD only requires EC to consider such targets by 2024)

SDG13 Climate action - Target for adaptation finance

- Quantitative climate finance target for the EU as percentage of GNI (domestic and international, public and

private)

- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transport for 2030

- Annual reduction targets in Fossil Fuel subsidies

- Net zero GHG emissions from agriculture and forestry by 2050

SDG14 Life below water - Strong targets for key marine pollution, such as litter

- Targets for the overall quality of marine ecosystems (not adequately captured by Good Environmental Status

under the MSFD)

SDG15 Land - Annual reduction of land take compatible with a net zero land take by 2050 (for the 2000-2020 period the

annual land take milestone not to be exceeded was 800-km2)

- Target for biodiversity finance (% EU budget mainstreaming)


Wrap-up: main policy recommendations

• Headline targets and indicators must be developed in line with the

SDGs and implemented as part of one coherent set on the six

priorities of the European Commission

• Promote structural reform by introducing a new sustainability

scoreboard within the European Semester and SDG-related targets

within the Recovery and Resilience Plans

• Integrate in the monitoring framework new targets and indicators

regarding cross-border social and environmental spill-over effects

• EU must lead multilateral SDG diplomacy and leverage development

aid and trade agreements to implement the 2030 Agenda


Céline Charveriat, [email protected]

Thanks!

ESDR 2020: policy recommendations

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