Mikael Karlsson, President of the EEB, explained: “For a successful EU-2020 Strategy we need a political leadership that puts people and the planet at the core of EU policies and we expect EU leaders to single out a sustainability roadmap with clear targets, actions and time frames to move the economy in an eco-efficient direction.”

In order to do so the EU’s political leaders should look at environmental tax reforms for setting the real price of products for consumers while reducing labour costs. In addition, ambitious policies for green public procurement would also help the EU move towards a more sustainable society.

The letter points to the important need to move as soon as possible towards a low carbon economy, as well as a resource efficient one. John Hontelez, Secretary General of the EEB, explained that “the current level of resource use of the EU society applied at a global scale requires more than 2.5 planets” and that the EU and the world will suffer from increasing imbalance if this is not significantly reduced in the next decade.

The letter also highlights the fact that after failing to meet the target to protect biodiversity by 2010 – now International Year of Biodiversity – the EU-2020 strategy must ensure a strong commitment to stop the further decline of eco-systems and where possible ensure their regeneration.

EEB’s letter in full can be found here