Tenfjord-Toftby report on GGEE 22 BSPC

The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy EfficiencyFinal Report to the 22 BSPC, Pärnu 26-27 August 2013Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, Chairman of the Working GroupChairman,Dear colleagues,We, the members of the BSPC, represent about 85 million people living in the Baltic Sea Region. Together, we are many, so many that we could become a very important player in the field of Green Growth and Energy Efficiency. We have the potential to transform our conventional economy to a green one, in which production and consumption is carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner.In order to transform our economies towards a sustainable development, we need policies that foster economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies.A successful implementation of green growth will boost economic performance, create new opportunities for businesses, increase security in the supply of essential resources, and support the efforts to curb dangerous climate change. Energy Efficiency is the key component in EU’s 2050 Road Map.The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency was launched by the 20th BSPC in Helsinki in August 2011. I was entrusted with the task of chairing the group, a task that I have found challenging, educating and enjoyable. The overarching mission of the Working Group is to elaborate political positions and recommendations in the field of green growth and energy efficiency and to raise the political attention on these issues. We have now issued our final report with consolidated political recommendations, and all of you have got it in your conference material.Chair,Today, I would like to briefly share with you the political recommendations of the Working Group and our core messages to the 22nd BSPC.In the 8 Political Recommendations of the Working Group, we call upon the Governments of the Baltic Sea Region and, where appropriate, the Parliaments of the Baltic Sea Region to take concrete action:First, to further develop and implement financing schemes that support green growth and energy efficiency, at both national and regional level. A legislation that facilitates innovative financing of energy efficiency measures must also be developed;Second, to build up capacity to give temporary public support that is necessary to promote the development of new green technologies. The support has to be designed in such way that it does not favour certain technologies or crowd out private investment;Third, to strengthen efforts to develop and apply green public procurement and adopt common criteria that can be applied in the region as a whole, in order to expand markets and open up for innovation;Four, to cooperate to develop common technical standards and building codes for the region as a whole in order to enable economies of scales for green technologies, including a common green labelling scheme;Five, to support efforts in the European Union to improve the functioning of the market for CO2 emission trading (ETS) in order to internalise external environmental costs. Furthermore, support to unsustainable production should be cut;Six, to support efforts to connect national electricity grids, which will facilitate investments in renewable energy production and contribute to energy supply security;Seven, to facilitate development and investment in infrastructure for delivering ecologically friendly marine fuels, such as LNG and CNG;Eight and final, to make efforts to increase awareness in households and enterprises about the environmental consequences of current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, as well as about the mid- and long-term social and economic gains through green growth and increased energy efficiency.Now, these 8 political recommendations were boiled down to 4 Core Messages to the 22nd BSPC Resolution. These are the following:a. Public awareness, in households as well as enterprises, is a prerequisite for broad support for green growth and energy efficiency. Governments in the Baltic Sea Region, in cooperation with local authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders, need to strengthen efforts to create awareness about how green growth and energy efficiency can support well-being in the region.b. Common standards and building codes are required to create a larger market for new products and innovative solutions that support green growth. Through green public procurement (GPP), governments can release the business potential in new and innovative solutions. The governments in the Baltic Sea Region should strengthen cooperation for developing common technical standards and building codes, as well as common criteria for GPP.c. Connecting national grids will facilitate investments in renewable energy production and contribute to energy supply security. The governments in the Baltic Sea Region should support and strengthen efforts by the national grid operators to improve the connections of national grids across borders.d. Investment in infrastructure, businesses and buildings is greatly needed in order to exploit the potential for energy efficiency and green growth at national, regional and local level. The governments in the Baltic Sea Region need to further develop and implement financing schemes that support green growth and energy efficiency, and to develop legislation that facilitates innovative financing of energy efficiency measures.Chair,We are glad to register that there is a growing awareness of the need for a transfer to a more sustainable use of ecosystem services, and for a long-term and ecologically based perspective on social development and economic growth. There is also a growing interest for measures to promote green growth and energy efficiency. During the course of the Working Group ́s activities, we have witnessed many promising achievements to this end. We are moving in the right direction, but we need to do it at a higher speed in order to avoid serious environmental consequences which will eventually hurt our economies and our well-being. Stringent and persistent policies and actions are needed to realize this potential for green economies.I would like to end by expressing my warm thanks to my colleagues in the Working Group for their firm support, steady dedication and invaluable contributions to the progress and results of the Group. It has been an enriching and educational journey, which has provided the Working Group with inspiring insights and valuable knowledge from the whole Baltic Sea Region. It fills us with confidence that activities are bustling and that the willingness and potential for cooperation on green growth and energy efficiency is high.Thank you.