(20 August 2014) Hans Bruyninckx, the director of the European Environment Agency, has urged EU ministers to carry out fiscal reforms, such as moving tax from labour to activities that damage the environment.
The EEA issued environment and employment ministers this week with a report arguing that "greener" fiscal reforms can boost employment, while protecting the environment.
Shifting tax away from labour, for example, makes it more attractive for employers to hire new people, boosting economic growth, the EU body says.
The ministers met in Milan on 17 July, under the EU's Italian presidency, to discuss climate change and green growth. "Well-designed environmental taxes can reduce pollution and increase resource efficiency in a very cost-effective way, and at the same time promote employment, economic growth and social fairness," Bruyninckx said, adding that environmental taxes were "still an under-used tool''.
Guy Ryder, the director-general of the International Labour Organization, also addressed EU ministers in Milan, making the case for employment strategies that protect the environment, such as greener investment. "The world does not have to choose between job creation and preserving the environment," he said at the first-ever joint meeting of EU ministers of the environment and labour. “The transition to a green economy is only possible with the active engagement of the world of work”: read the press release
The informal ministerial comes after the European Commission published proposals earlier this month aimed at pushing the EU towards a 'circular economy', with higher recycling targets and a phase-out of landfill. The Commission released a series of measures aimed at boosting more environmentally friendly employment, such as in water, waste and renewable energy.
- Log in to post comments
