Thursday 25/6/2009

This double session will explore how sustainable management of material resources can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The focus will be on policies addressing use of natural resources, product design, consumption, waste and recycling. Specific discussion points will include impacts of waste management, such as approaches to waste disposal, composting, re-use and recycling. Links between our consumption patterns and waste reduction, as well as our overall efficiency in using resources, will also be considered.

This first part looks at policies and actions that are running today or that could be easily implemented today.

Sessions 1.5. and 1.6. will comprise presentations by leading experts followed by a lively open debate with the audience.

Climate change is seriously undermining efforts to achieve sustainable development and reduce poverty, and may become a major threat to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by reversing progress already made. Those most affected include the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, which have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions.

This session will start with an overview of what the European Commission and Member States are doing to step up cooperation with developing countries on climate change. The views of developing countries, civil society and researchers will also be presented. The interventions will be brief to allow ample time for questions from the audience.

National adaptation strategies will play an important role in ensuring that the EU has an effective response to the impact of climate change.

This session will begin with a brief presentation of the European Commission's recent White Paper on Adapting to Climate Change. This will be followed by presentations by representatives from two Member States who will share their country's experiences in the preparation of national strategies. There will also be an opportunity to hear a regional perspective and an adaptation approach gaining importance.

4.5. 2050 Vision: Transport and spatial planning in a decarbonised world

9:30 - 11:00

Speakers:

Moderated by:

This session follows on from session 1.5. and will further explore how sustainable management of material resources can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A variety of policy perspectives will be considered that could be implemented in the near future.

The session will focus on:

• The crystal ball: What are short, medium and long-term predictions?
• Low hanging fruit: Where are the biggest impacts?
• Make change: How should policies be improved to bring about change?

A successful global framework for tackling climate change will need all developed countries to take on ambitious and binding emission targets. However, new tools will also be needed to help mobilise action by developing countries and further engage the private sector. In this context, sectoral approaches are seen as a promising, flexible tool to deliver joint and concerted action.

This session will provide insights into sectoral approaches' potential as one of the tools in a future framework. It will draw on the findings of a major Commission study in this area, helping to understand views, ideas and actions by developing countries and the private sector.

Water scarcity is already a problem in many parts of the world and with climate change it will become more widespread and severe. This session will look at the implications of competing demand for diminishing water resources. Case studies from Cyprus and California and a LIFE project in Greece will be used to highlight the consequences of water scarcity and possible measures to prevent or address it.

4.6. 2050 Vision: Transport and spatial planning

11:30 - 13:00

Transport is the EU's second largest greenhouse gas emitting sector and, unlike most other key sectors, its emissions continue to increase.

This session looks at some existing or planned initiatives in different Member States that can play a role in reducing transport's greenhouse gas emissions. They involve economic instruments, behavioural changes and the introduction of new technology.

The Mediterranean is one of the regions that is projected to be most affected by climate change. This session will focus on whether the EU and its Mediterranean partners are doing enough to respond to the current and future impacts of climate change, such as rising sea level, further coastal erosion, strained ecosystems, deforestation, increasing water scarcity and disruption of fish stocks.

This session will explore how Europe's agriculture can adapt to the irreversible impacts of climate change. The European Commission will set out how it sees the adaptation challenge for agriculture. Representatives from a Member State and from a farmers' organisation will then dicscss how they expect adaptation to work in practice in their farming sectors.

4.7. 2050 Vision: Working with nature

14:30 - 16:00

Speakers:

Moderated by:

This session will look at the main elements of the EU's policy to promote the demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies in Europe and internationally. It will cover the EU regulatory framework for CCS and the support mechanisms to make large-scale CCS demonstration possible by 2015. The international dimension will focus mainly on the EU's ambitious outreach activities to facilitate the demonstration of CCS technologies in emerging and developing countries, with particular emphasis on China.

Climate change is putting new pressures on the unique and vulnerable Arctic environment. Arctic air temperatures have increased by twice the global average over the past 50 years and the negative impacts are already being felt by local communities and biodiversity. It is crucial to put in place the right policies to protect and preserve the Arctic before it is too late.

This session will focus on priorities for international action to meet this challenge as the EU moves towards developing a policy on the Arctic.

Successful adaptation to the climate change that is already inevitable requires technologies that need to be encouraged now. This session will look at three key areas: the water sector, including controversial technologies such as desalination, the construction sector, where better resistance to extreme weather events will be needed, and resource-intensive industries that could be severely hit by climate change. The focus will be on identifying promising solutions and analysing strategies and conditions for success.

4.8. 2050 Vision: Working with nature

16:30 - 18:00

With European governments becoming shareholders in major banks, should these financial institutions become pilot banks for sustainable development which act as accelerators of change and provide a rapid response to climate change and environmental degradation?

This side session will present a new report exploring how private banks can regain public trust by adopting new governance rules, and how they can leverage their economic role to accelerate an investment shift towards mitigating climate change and other environmental problems.

In partnership with European Partners for the Environment

Guided visit in French (max 15 persons), at the Musée du Cinquantenaire. Please register at the Information Desk. Departure from the Charlemagne building. (See Wednesday for guided visit in English).

This session will show funding possibilities through the European Commission's CIP eco-innovation initiative. The initiative aims at supporting mainly SMEs for the first application or market replication of eco-innovative techniques, products, processes or practices, which have already been successfully demonstrated, but which need incentives to achieve significant market penetration. CIP eco-innovation is part of the Commission's Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. Proposals can be submitted until 10 September this year.

Presentation by environmental architect, and prize winner, Vincent Callebaut of his visionary architectural works