OPEN: EU Scenario Storylines Report: - One Planet Economy Network

past 40 years, overall environmental impact (measured by the Footprint family of
indicators) is low, due to the substantial decline in resource inputs for farming and the
dramatic decrease in meat and animal product consumption. There has been a gradual
move from conventional agriculture and (industrial) livestock operation towards plantbased,
labour-intensive and organic agriculture. The share of organic farming is nearly
95%. Thanks to the spread of permaculture systems, wastes are turned into resources,
productivity and yields are high, and natural environments have been restored. GMO
crops are no longer used or consumed in the EU. GMO crop import bans have resulted in
a significant global reduction in the use of GMOs, which in turn has enhanced crop
biodiversity and food security.
At the international level, global, peaceful agreements ensure convergence of
emissions and on the sustainable and equitable use of resources. A new
international consensus was reached to ensure that international trade would contribute
to a global One Planet Economy. The regime is built on three guiding principles: (1) trade
based on environmental competitive advantage; (2) fair trade; (3) localisation 15 . No trade
barriers exist for best available technologies in terms of resource and energy efficiency.
As a result of large-scale dematerialisation, the EU was able to diminish its overall
dependence on imports of goods and services to become more self-contained.
EUROPE’S POLICY MIX TO A ONE PLANET ECONOMY BY 2050
Broad economic policies
� Economic reform. Given the strong societal drive to shift into a quality-driven
development paradigm, EU economic policy transitioned to a Beyond GDP model.
This was aided by the early adoption (2012) of sustainability indicators for
monitoring economic progress. To support this, Europe embarked on a broad
policy of ensuring that the true social and environmental costs of producing and
consuming all goods and services are reflected in prices.
� Monetary policy reform. European monetary policy is strongly aligned with the
objectives of the One Planet Economy. The European Central Bank and the
National Banks took on a role designed to steer the European economy towards a
path consistent with the One Planet economy goals.
� R&D investment policy. As in scenario 3, great emphasis was placed on efforts
to compensate for the lag in technological innovation. Building on policy
recommendations existing in 2011, the EU mandated (effective 2015) that
Member States invest in R&D the equivalent of 8% GDP each year and increase
total R&D energy subsidies at a rate of 7% every 5 years – percentages that are
slightly lower than in scenario 3.
� Coordination of innovation-technology agencies. A coordination framework
was established early on to enhance EU-Member State collaboration under the
Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP), the Competitiveness and
Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and other programmes fostering ecoinnovation.
Eco-innovation was focused on ―low hanging fruit‖ sectors where large
15 Economic localisation actively favours more local production and investment whenever it is reasonable and
conveniently possible. With a focus on co-operation for the best, rather than competition for the cheapest,
localisation aims to rebuild sustainable national and local economies worldwide. Depending on the size of the
country, ―local‖ can both refer to a country, which may aim for increased self-reliance within its own borders,
or to a grouping of smaller, neighbouring countries. For a more detailed account of localisation, see for
example Woodin and Lucas (2004).
Page 41 of 57