By Ruth Marsden - 24th May 2011
European commissioner Janez Potocnik has opened the EU's 2011 Green Week, saying that "resource efficiency is basically common sense".
The Slovenian official said Europeans must change their behaviour if they are to meet Europe's environmental challenges.
Delivering the opening speech at Green Week in Brussels on Tuesday, Potocnik warned that "inefficiency has become the norm", saying that consumption patterns would need to adapt to population growth.
He added that the world's population could reach nine billion by 2050, meaning there will be an additional 140,000 mouths to feed, clothe and provide for every day.
"In spite of the fact we are clearly overusing this planet's resources many times over, we are still so inefficient. Maybe common sense isn't so common after all?" he said.
The theme of this year's Green Week is 'Resource efficiency: using less, living better', and Potocnik said the event was an opportunity for Europe to examine how to move to a more sustainable environment.
He said, "Do not misunderstand resource efficiency. It is not just about making our resources go a little further… It is about making our resource-use sustainable, so that we can stay within the Earth's limits in the long term."
Potocnik argued that efficient use of resources can help us achieve policy goals in other areas, such as social and economic.
"Resource efficiency is a further and practical implementation of sustainable development," he added.
"Green week equals green growth," he said, "This week is all about how we build a truly green economy by 2020, fulfilling the ambition of our 2020 strategy."
Elsewhere, the commissioner was among the contributors to the Parliament Magazine's special Green Week issue, where he suggested that environmental taxes could help secure green growth and a more sustainable economy.
