On 6 June 2014, Max Grünig, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the analysis of the environment and development performacen of 21 European countries prepared based on the Commitment to Development Index 2013 by the Center for Global Development at The Centre in Brussels. The draft report is available for download. Comments and feedback are much appreciated.
Martin Porter, Chair Edelman Europe, welcomed participants to The Centre which generously hosted the meeting. Owen Barder, Senior Fellow and Director for Europe at the Center for Global Development (CGD), then introduced CGD's Commitment to Development Index (CDI) and it purpose.
Max Grünig then went ahead with a detailed presentation of the analysis of the environment dimension of the CDI for 21 European countries.
Participants to the discussion included representatives from policy making, NGOs and think tanks. The discussion of the methodology yielded significant input as to potential new and alternative indicators in all three categories of the environment dimension: global climate, fisheries as well as biodiversity and global ecosystems. The suggestions aimed mostly at fostering the link to development impacts and fostering the relevance of the indicators.
In a next step, Max Grünig presented policy recommendations based on the existing indicator ratings. While some recommendations were shared by participants, others were met with criticism. Part of the dissent on policy recommendations can be attributed to the discussion on alternative indicators. Moreover, participants asked that recommendations show a better development link as well.
Possible recommendations – not supported by all participants – included:
- In the field of global climate: reviving des Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
- In the field of fisheries: reviewing the role of European Free Trade Agreements and associated fishing agreements with ACP countries
- In the field of biodiversity and global ecosystems: fostering sustainable management of tropical forests and consumer-oriented measures
The draft report [pdf, 590 kB, English] is available for download. Comments and feedback are much appreciated.
The revised report 'Europe Beyond Aid' is expected for the end of 2014.