British Government Panel on sustainable development : second report, January 1996

24 Pages·1996·1.6 MB·English

by  Great Britain. Department of the Environment

BRITISH
GTO VENI INGE
PANEL
ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SECOND REPORT
me rlilerla‘ae bebels

BRITISH
GOVERNMENT
PANEL
ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SECOND REPORT
January 1996
© Crown copyright 1996
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AAI
22502718565
The Rt Hon John Major MP
No 10 Downing Street
LONDON SWIA 2AA.
| have the honour to submit the second report of the Panel which you appointed
exactly two years ago to advise you on key issues relating to sustainable development.
We are grateful for your prompt response to our first report. In this second report we
comment briefly on progress on the topics we then raised and draw attention to
where, in our view, more work is necessary. We have also identified new topics which
we believe require higher priority and Government leadership in coping with them.
There have been important developments in Britain, elsewhere in Europe, and
worldwide. For example:
@ The new Environment Agencies will bring together responsibilities for the control
of industrial pollution and wastes and for the regulation and enhancement of the
water environment. A new Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment
is being appointed.
@ The new European Environment Agency has reviewed the European
Environmental Action Programme. The forthcoming Intergovernmental
Conference will provide an opportunity to take forward environmental policy
within the European Union.
@ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has produced its second
comprehensive report.
@ International work on such major global issues as ozone depletion and
biodiversity is continuing.
@ The UN Commission on Sustainable Development has set up a new
Intergovernmental Panel on Forests.
Public awareness of environmental issues and their importance has continued to
increase. In spite of its ambiguities, the idea of sustainable development has entered
the vocabulary of economic policy and thinking for the future.
As before, we are grateful to those in government, whether Ministers or officials, and
to those outside government, whether organizations or individuals, who have helped
or contributed to the work of the Panel. | also record my warm thanks to my
colleagues on the Panel and to our invaluable secretary for their contribution to our
enterprise.
CTS '
CRISPIN TICKELL 25 January 1996
Convenor
MEMBERS OF THE PANEL
Sir Crispin Tickell GCMG KCVO. (Convenor)
Warden : Green College, Oxford
Director : Green College Centre for Environmental Policy and Understanding
Chairman : Advisory Committee on the Darwin Initiative
Lord Alexander of Weedon QC.
Chairman : National Westminster Bank PLC
Sir John Houghton CBE FRS.
Chairman : Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Co-chairman : Working Group 1, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Dr Anne McLaren DBE FRS.
Foreign Secretary and Vice President : The Royal Society
Member : European Commission Advisory Group on Ethics of Biotechnology
The Earl of Selborne KBE FRS.
Chairman : Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Member : Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
PANEL SECRETARIAT
Secretary: Mrs K V Cavill
Assistant: Ms C K F Jamieson (until June 1995)
Mr T J A Burt (from July 1995)
P1/024
2 Marsham Street
LONDON SW1P 3EB
Tel: [phone]
fax: [phone]
CONTENTS
Page Paragraph
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TAVTROLG LOGIC Ys saskatopoeen RNB oy 1
REVIEW OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN FIRST REPORT
Environmental pricing and economic instruments ............000 reer ae 7
Environmental education and training ........ccecceeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeees Dee Secs. 10
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ZO ETAS POON ere tee ered ine ee eth sesso ea races ne ceed an cue EE lORere. iB
STeecoIn ONO CV MUA STC eae ee een ce ee tcc heen! done eteusacecess [ieee 16
Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy .......ceeeeeeeeeeeees eee Aer 17
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BTe lla st WsU MMM earn eee ce asc ae SS See cy sl SuPu A variedd edoncdvedu ass ooeeandesee (Dates 20
TOPICS
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PISO Samra CIOAGLIVE WASIGke cece tereearst cscasesseecv.ssetes ens ( Eshicx aor 44
ANNEX
Organizations and individuals who submitted
Written, DAaDErs OF COMMENTS: ON TOPICS -i...i0.-..-02.c-seosesereouseeoesee> 19
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Government Panel on Sustainable Development was appointed by the Prime
Minister on 25 January 1994 to advise the Government on strategic issues arising from
the Sustainable Development Strategy and the other post-Rio reports on climate
change, biodiversity and forestry’.
The Panel's remit is:
@ to keep in view general sustainability issues at home and abroad;
@ to identify major problems or opportunities likely to arise; €
@ to monitor progress; and
@ to consider questions of priority.
The Government consults the Panel on issues of major importance and the Panel has
access to all Ministers. It keeps in touch with people in different sectors in Britain, and
abreast of developments in other countries. It meets formally at least four times a
year.
' Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy. Cm 2426. HMSO, 1994.
ISBN 0-10-124262-X.
Claie mate Change: The UK Programme. Cm 2427. HMSO, 1994.
ISBN 0-10-124272-7.
Biodiversity: The UK Action Plan. Cm 2428. HMSO, 1994.
ISBN 0-10-124282-4.
Sustainable Forestry: The UK Programme. Cm 2429. HMSO, 1994.
ISBN 0-10-124292-1.
INTRODUCTION
This report marks the end of the Panel’s second year. Appointed by the Prime
Minister in January 1994 when he launched the Government's Sustainable
Development Strategy, the Panel's first report? was submitted to him in January 1995.
The Prime Minister’s reply and the Government’s response were published on
29 March 1995.
The Panel formally met five times in 1995. It has kept a watching brief on subjects
considered in its first report and this second report contains a brief update on them.
The Panel has also selected four further topics for study which it considers warrant
higher priority. These are environmental accounting, biotechnology, forestry, and the
disposal of radioactive waste. The Panel’s views on them are set out below.
Through its Convenor and other members, it has been in touch with the Prime
Minister, other Ministers and officials on several occasions. The Panel has also kept in
touch with the work of some of the many other bodies involved in sustainable
development issues in this country, including the UK Round Table on Sustainable
Development on which the Convenor is an ex officio member, and the Advisory
Committee on Business and the Environment.
The Government has provided support for the Panel through an interdepartmental
official group on sustainable development led by the Cabinet Office and the services
of a small secretariat. The Panel commissioned papers from Government
Departments on several topics and subsequently sought views from outside
organizations and individuals. The Annex to this report lists those who supplied
written comments.
2 British Government Panel on Sustainable Development First Report. January 1995.
Copies available free of charge from: Department of the Environment, Publications Despatch Centre,
Blackhorse Road, London SE99 6TT, or by telephoning 0181 691 9191 or faxing 0181 694 0099.
REVIEW OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN FIRST
REPORT
In its first report the Panel made recommendations on four main topics: two general
O1
issues of long-term significance for sustainable development (environmental pricing
and environmental education), and two specific issues where the Panel identified
action that should be taken (depletion of fish stocks and atmospheric ozone
depletion). On all four topics the Panel records that some progress has been made.
The Panel also made recommendations on technology transfer and reform of the
Common Agricultural Policy, and commented on developments relating to climate
change, transport, and environmental indicators and targets. The following
paragraphs briefly summarise the Panel’s current assessment of these issues.
Environmental pricing and economic instruments
“...the Panel recommends that the Government should give higher priority to the
definition of its environmental objectives and targets, and to how it intends to meet
them.” [para.12 of the Panel’s First Report]
“The Panel ... recommends that the Government enter into discussion with industry to
draw up proposals in key sectors for pilot projects involving economic instruments.”
[para. 13]
The Panel welcomes the increased emphasis in the 1995 Environment White Paper?
>|
and in the Government's response to the House of Lords Select Committee on
Sustainable Development? on the importance of establishing quantifiable targets and
progress, particularly in the fields of waste, air quality and biodiversity. It also looks
forward to the publication in 1996 of the Government's preliminary set of indicators
of sustainable development.
8. Commitment to setting targets has so far been patchy. The Panel believes that more
should be done to define environmental objectives. It recommends that priority
should be given to setting targets for agriculture and transport over the coming year.
9. The Panel continues to advocate wider use of economic instruments, and a gradual
move away from taxes on labour, income, profits and capital towards taxes on
pollution and the use of resources, including energy. In this respect, it welcomes the
proposed landfill tax and the creation of environmental trusts. These measures should
* This Common Inheritance. UK Annual Report 1995. Cm 2822. HMSO, 1995. ISBN 0-10-128222-2.
* Government Response to the Lords Select Committee on Sustainable Development. Cm 3018. HMSO, 1995.
ISBN 0-10-130182-0.