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Prudent Precaution? Experiences with the Precautionary Principle, 2000-2010
Am 2. und 3. September 2010 fand in Kopenhagen am Sitz der Europäischen Umweltagentur eine internationale ExpertInnenkonferenz zum Vorsorgeprinzip in der EU-Politik statt.
Das Umweltbundesamt hat die Konferenz gemeinsam mit der Europäischen Umweltagentur vorbereitet und durchgeführt. Die Konferenz hatte das Ziel anlässlich des 10 Jahres-Jubiläums der EU-Leitlinien zur Anwendung des Vorsorgeprinzips Vorschläge für die weitere Verbesserung der Umsetzung des Vorsorgeprinzips zu erarbeiten .
Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung präsentierte das Umweltbundesamt die Studie "Considerations for a Precautionary Approach in GMO Policy“ und brachte die spezifischen Aspekte der Anwendung des Vorsorgeprinzips bei der Regelung der Gentechnik in die Diskussion ein.
Informationen zur Konferenz und die Materialien zur Veranstaltung finden Sie im Folgenden in englischer Sprache.
Conference information and materials
The conference “Prudent Precaution? Experiences with the Precautionary Principle, 2000-2010” held on 2.-3.September at the European Environment Agency addressed the implementation of the Precautionary Principle in environmental policies ten years after publication of the Communication on the Precautionary Principle by the European Commission.
The conference was organized by the European Environment Agency (EEA) together with the Environment Agency Austria, the Health Council of the Netherlands and the French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES).
It convened a forum of top level experts from different backgrounds, i.e. regulators, risk assessors, academia and EU policy stakeholders.
The participants discussed appropriate suggestions for a way forward to a better implementation of the Precautionary Principle. The discussion was based on case-studies on different aspects of application of the Precautionary Principle in various policy fields, such as regulation of chemicals, GMOs, or electromagnetic fields.
The conference identified shortcomings regarding the current implementation of the Precautionary Principle and in its course addressed crucial issues, like provision of relevant science for decision making, transparency in evaluating evidence, management of uncertainties as well as questions of risk and innovation governance.
Results and materials of the conference
The discussions at the conference showed that a great body of knowledge and experience is already available regarding possible improvements to the current implementation of the Precautionary Principle. However rapid and concrete action from the side of the involved actors – specifically policy makers and actors/institutions involved in the different steps of risk analysis – will be necessary to translate them into practice. The organisers hope that the suggestions discussed at the conference are considered as an important input on this way forward.
Presentations of speakers and summaries of the working group discussions are available through the below links.
