Press release
29 March 2012
Ministry of the Environment
Minister for the Environment Lena Ek to environment ministers meeting in Paris
"Making green growth deliver" is the theme of the OECD environment ministers meeting on 29-30 March 2012 in Paris. Meetings of environment ministers in the OECD take place every four years and mainly aim at guiding the extensive OECD environmental work and stimulating political discussion on environmental issues in the OECD countries. Ms Ek will chair parts of the meeting.
During the meeting the ministers will review implementation of the OECD environmental strategy that was adopted in 2001 (Ms Ek will chair these discussions), discuss future priorities for action and the OECDs contribution to the RIO+20 conference in June. In addition, the role of cities in sustainable development will be discussed, as will how to better link science and environmental policy.
Ahead of the meeting, the OECD has produced an analysis of how the situation of the environment may develop until 2050, based on various scenarios for socioeconomic developments, called "OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction". It states that further delays of measures to reduce environmental pressures will mean major costs, undermine growth and development and risk leading to irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes in the future. At the same time, it states that a well-designed policy can change the trend and ensure long-term economic growth and welfare for coming generations. How a policy of this kind can be designed will be the main point of discussion at the meeting.
Contact
Erik BratthallPress Secretary
+46 8 405 10 00
+46 72 743 31 57
email to Erik Bratthall, via the Senior registry clerk
