Sunday 18 Dec 2011 @ 11:06
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
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WWF - EUREAPA Tool launched to help EU policies go beyond resource efficiency
Recently the One Planet Economy Network EU project (OPEN:EU) launches a unique new tool for mapping ecological carbon and water footprint data across all the 27 EU member states.
Over the past 2 years the 8-partner project has received €1.5million from the EC’s FP7 funding stream and has carried out evidence gathering, software tool design and network dialogue activities to explore how policy makers can achieve a clear understanding of the effects of policies (or the lack of policy) on the environment, so they can make responsible decisions at national and EU government level.
The EUREAPA tool (EU Resource and Energy Analysis Programme Application), a decision making support tool, is now available for free online, aimed at EU and national government policy makers, NGOs and academics. It is based on the integration of the Footprint Family of indicators with an economic model so that the impact of the EU’s trade on the environment can be demonstrated.
The tool can be used to help inform policy making across several of the policy areas identified as key components of the framework for delivering the Flagship Initiative for a Resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 Strategy. For example: agriculture, climate and energy, sustainable consumption and production, transport and water.
Rachel Brown, OPEN:EU Programme Manager at WWF-UK, said: “This is a fantastic tool to help policymakers, NGOs and academics understand the impacts of our consumption patterns on the environment. We hope this will make it easier to evaluate the effect of different policy scenarios in inherently complex areas before bringing them into effect.”
Dr Chris West from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, one of the project partners, said: “The EUREAPA tool represents the culmination of a lot of hard work by the OPEN:EU consortium, including a significant contribution from members of the Stockholm Environment Institute. As a group we are excited to make this data and scenario modeling tool freely available, and look forward to its continued use in exploring a transition to a One Planet Economy.”
The OPEN:EU project has also released a report describing the findings of the development of four One Planet Economy (OPE) future scenarios. These scenarios are designed to support policy makers in thinking about the policy effort needed to transform Europe into a One Planet Economy by 2050. These four narratives provide alternative, albeit not necessarily ideal, visions of the transition toward a One Planet Economy in Europe by 2050. They present both an illustration of life in Europe in 2050 and the policy settings that are necessary to support the transition to this common end point under different assumptions about the future.
Using the EUREAPA tool, the four OPE scenarios were quantified to explore the influence of different policy approaches on the EU’s carbon, ecological and water footprints and identify policy approaches that have the greatest influence.
The results are staggering. Firstly “no scenario was able to achieve sufficient reduction to achieve footprints within… environmental limits” which challenges the idea that our economies can continue to grow while simultaneously reducing our environmental impacts. Secondly, the notion that we can simply decarbonise our economies as the sole way out of this mess raises further questions about current political fixations. Decarbonisation of the electricity supply must be supplemented by production efficiency and resource sufficiency measures. Finally, the quantification report leads us to the plain fact that we are all in this together and that simply working on a domestic approach is not enough. All of these options also need to be replicated outside of the EU.
Notes to editors
1. The EUREAPA tool can be accessed at:
www.eureapa.net
2. The eight partners in the OPEN EU project are:
Ecologic Institute, Global Footprint Network, Institute for European Environmental Policy, Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Twente, University of York and WWF UK.
3. The OPE scenarios report can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/ca4vfjl
4. The quantification of the OPE scenarios can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/cb8slr5
5. The One Planet Economy Network EU project website address is: www.oneplaneteconomynetwork.org
For further information, please contact:
George Smeeton, Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 227065. The contents of this press release are the sole responsibility of the One Planet Economy Network and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
Over the past 2 years the 8-partner project has received €1.5million from the EC’s FP7 funding stream and has carried out evidence gathering, software tool design and network dialogue activities to explore how policy makers can achieve a clear understanding of the effects of policies (or the lack of policy) on the environment, so they can make responsible decisions at national and EU government level.
The EUREAPA tool (EU Resource and Energy Analysis Programme Application), a decision making support tool, is now available for free online, aimed at EU and national government policy makers, NGOs and academics. It is based on the integration of the Footprint Family of indicators with an economic model so that the impact of the EU’s trade on the environment can be demonstrated.
The tool can be used to help inform policy making across several of the policy areas identified as key components of the framework for delivering the Flagship Initiative for a Resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 Strategy. For example: agriculture, climate and energy, sustainable consumption and production, transport and water.
Rachel Brown, OPEN:EU Programme Manager at WWF-UK, said: “This is a fantastic tool to help policymakers, NGOs and academics understand the impacts of our consumption patterns on the environment. We hope this will make it easier to evaluate the effect of different policy scenarios in inherently complex areas before bringing them into effect.”
Dr Chris West from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, one of the project partners, said: “The EUREAPA tool represents the culmination of a lot of hard work by the OPEN:EU consortium, including a significant contribution from members of the Stockholm Environment Institute. As a group we are excited to make this data and scenario modeling tool freely available, and look forward to its continued use in exploring a transition to a One Planet Economy.”
The OPEN:EU project has also released a report describing the findings of the development of four One Planet Economy (OPE) future scenarios. These scenarios are designed to support policy makers in thinking about the policy effort needed to transform Europe into a One Planet Economy by 2050. These four narratives provide alternative, albeit not necessarily ideal, visions of the transition toward a One Planet Economy in Europe by 2050. They present both an illustration of life in Europe in 2050 and the policy settings that are necessary to support the transition to this common end point under different assumptions about the future.
Using the EUREAPA tool, the four OPE scenarios were quantified to explore the influence of different policy approaches on the EU’s carbon, ecological and water footprints and identify policy approaches that have the greatest influence.
The results are staggering. Firstly “no scenario was able to achieve sufficient reduction to achieve footprints within… environmental limits” which challenges the idea that our economies can continue to grow while simultaneously reducing our environmental impacts. Secondly, the notion that we can simply decarbonise our economies as the sole way out of this mess raises further questions about current political fixations. Decarbonisation of the electricity supply must be supplemented by production efficiency and resource sufficiency measures. Finally, the quantification report leads us to the plain fact that we are all in this together and that simply working on a domestic approach is not enough. All of these options also need to be replicated outside of the EU.
Notes to editors
1. The EUREAPA tool can be accessed at:
www.eureapa.net
2. The eight partners in the OPEN EU project are:
Ecologic Institute, Global Footprint Network, Institute for European Environmental Policy, Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Twente, University of York and WWF UK.
3. The OPE scenarios report can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/ca4vfjl
4. The quantification of the OPE scenarios can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/cb8slr5
5. The One Planet Economy Network EU project website address is: www.oneplaneteconomynetwork.org
For further information, please contact:
George Smeeton, Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 227065. The contents of this press release are the sole responsibility of the One Planet Economy Network and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
