mr president i would like to thank the rapporteur mr csibi
the result of our joint efforts reviewing the eco-design directive is in my opinion to a large extent a missed opportunity
to widen the scope from energy-consuming to energy-related products is of course good
but why stop there
the problems we face in terms of resource use go beyond energy
the commissioner should know that
the problem is the overall pressure on ecosystems and the natural resource base
many scientific reports bear witness to this not least our own thematic strategy on natural resources
an estimated two thirds of major ecosystems in the world are over-utilised and we are depleting natural capital
this problem is getting worse because of growing economies and populations
the fact is that the current growth model and concept is not sustainable
who but the european union could help transform the concept to a more sustainable one
the eco-design directive in my opinion does offer a way forward
as with energy efficiency we could establish standards and norms for how to source materials how to design products to facilitate recycling and reuse and enhance resource efficiency
sooner rather than later we will have to address resource efficiency
having seen earlier drafts of the commission proposals which included resource efficiency it is a mystery to me why such proposals were not followed through
tell me where else in eu legislation do we have measures that encourage resource efficiency
we need policy frameworks that encourage resource efficiency across the board that encourage companies to try new business models like functional thinking offering services rather than products and where revenues obtained through quality of service and not only via increased volumes from sales are taking place
as i said all this could have been covered by the directive
i predict that a few years from now we will all regret that we were not more proactive today
as i said a missed opportunity
