Tag: green consumption

Some 80% of Europeans are concerned by the environmental impact of their purchases but only one-quarter say they “often” buy green products, reveals the latest EU opinion poll.

Flagship environmental scheme fails to win support of big names amid criticism it is too complex and may disadvantage the poor.

Despite the economic crisis and the struggle to save the euro, the European dream is not dead: what Europe needs is an "economic vision and game plan" that can create "a seamless, distributive energy grid" and build a third industrial revolution, said Jeremy Rifkin, author of 'The European Dream', in an interview with EurActiv.

The drive to "green" the EU economy will only succeed if it provides real solutions for low income earners and works towards a "renewed sense of shared prosperity," according to Mario Sepi, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), an EU advisory body.

The drive to 'green' the EU economy will only succeed if it provides real solutions for low income households and works towards a "renewed sense of shared prosperity," European Economic and Social Committee President Mario Sepi told EurActiv in an interview.

"A Global Green New Deal will only work if it succeeds in addressing both pressing environmental priorities and pressing social needs in industrialised and in developing countries," argues a June report by Worldwatch Institute prepared for the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

EU countries should pour money into 'green' jobs to make Europe the world leader in green engineering, John Monks, secretary-general of ETUC, the European Trade Union Confederation, told EurActiv in an interview, describing the bloc's economic recovery plan as "ambitious, but not enough".

France and Britain have announced their support for reduced value-added tax rates for cars, efficient light-bulbs and other consumer products that are less environmentally damaging. But the issue promises to provoke controversy, as changes to EU tax rules must be agreed unanimously by all 27 member states.

Ahead of a summit that will agree on the EU's future sustainable development strategy, the WWF has presented a study claiming that Europe is consuming twice as many resources as its own environmental capacity.

Rising consumption patterns are unsustainable and damaging to both poor and rich countries, says the yearly report by the Worldwatch Institute.