Commission 'too cautious on natural-resources strategy' 

The European Parliament backed an own-initiative report by Kartika Tamara Liotard MEP (GUE-NGL, NL) on 25 April 2007, urging the Commission to take action to reduce the use of natural resources across the EU.

"Parliament considers that by 2030 the use of primary non-renewable resources in the EU must be reduced by a factor of four, or the use of natural resources must be halved by 2030 while simultaneously increasing worldwide prosperity," a Parliament statement said.

MEPs asked the Commission to "perform within three years an assessment regarding…the instruments for decoupling natural resource use from economic growth".
They also urged it to: 

• Cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2020 and push to an 80% cut by 2050 against 1990 levels;
• develop and implement best practices for every production chain;
• reallocate subsidies to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, for example by promoting small-scale hydroelectric power, wind power and solar energy, and;
• ensure that the conservation of natural resources is also pursued in the EU’s  relations with other countries

The Commission strategy, published in December 2005, focuses on improving knowledge about the impact of economic activity on everything ranging from land, forests, wildlife, soil, air, water, fossil fuels and raw materials (EurActiv 21/12/05). 

It proposes to put in place a data centre to gather information on natural-resource use during each stage of a product's life-cycle - from commodity extraction or harvesting to processing, transport, dumping, recycling or re-use. Once in place, the data centre is expected to serve as a decision-making tool to support the overall strategy. 

The strategy is closely linked to waste prevention and recycling proposals, put forward by the Commission on the same day.