Sustainable investment: Better safe than sorry

Several Advisory Councils for Sustainable Development work on the issue of Sustainable Finance. The EEAC Network is glad to facilitate European cooperation among councils and stakeholders on this important issue. In 2019, we kicked off with a joint event together with our Belgium colleagues.

In the context of their work on financing the transition towards a
carbon-neutral economy, the Federal Belgium Council for Sustainable
Development organized, together with the European Environment and
Sustainable Development Advisory Councils network (EEAC), a
seminar on: A) the implementation of the EU Action Plan:
Financing Sustainable Growth; B) The proposal for a regulation on
disclosures relating to sustainable investments and sustainability risks
(COM (2018) 354 final) and C) the revision of the guidelines on
non-financial information.

The programme included an in-depth discussion about the related key
issues for actors involved in financing the transition in Belgium and in
other European countries: institutional investors, asset managers,
savers, NGOs andfinancial regulators. Speakers included among others: Marie Dominique Blanc (Novethic, Paris); Sven Genter (EuropeanCommission); Jean-Marc Gollier (Eubelius, Bruxelles) and Yvonne Zwick (Rat fürNachhaltige Entwicklung, Berlin).

The seminar was conducted in English. Please click here to see the seminar’s presentations. An outcome document will be published in due time.C

Sustainable_AND_digital Sustainable development as the framework for digital transformation

The latest report by the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) includes recommendations of the council to the German Government on the issue of sustainable_AND_digital Sustainable development as the framework for digital transformation. In its report the RNE introduces five main recommendations and examines these key recommendations in greater detail in the course of the report. Read More

Food system needs urgent reform

The global food system needs urgent reform, less meat consumption and more legumes, as three billion people worldwide are malnourished and food production is exceeding planetary boundaries, scientists have warned in a new report by the EAT-Lancet Commission.

The EAT-Lancet Commission calls for the global food systems to be urgently reformed. Scientists suggests a dietary shift that improves human health and that enables food production in a sustainable manner for the environment.

The need for reform has recently also been underlined by several EEAC member councils. For example, the Council for Sustainable Development in Catalonia has analysed the main challenges facing Catalonia to guarantee, in the mid and the long term, that its population has physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

In addition, the Dutch Council for the environment and infrastructure recently launched a report in which the council advised on the must do’s to speed up the transition to a healthy and sustainable food system in the Netherlands. The Council’s report focused on animal products, because their production and consumption make a significant contribution to climate change and to public health and environmental problems. Read more

The EU Water Framework Directive: the public consultation

EEAC member councils active in the Working Group on Fresh Water Affairs discussed the context and questions of the Water Framework Directive’s public consultation. The session was utilized to update all councils on the progress of the Water Framework Directive, to discuss the (European) state of affairs and to exchange experiences and views from sub-national and national level with regard to water policy (advise). The working group also discussed the agenda for 2019. The working group is expected to present its annual framework of action at the end of January 2019