Policy Dialogue with Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans:"Kick-starting a Sustainable Europe"

From food and clothes to cosmetics and mobile phones, our consumption has a considerable impact on the planet. Want to tackle that challenge? Then raise your voice at our upcoming Youth Dialogue!

Our future relies on our ability to transition to a circular economy – not only ensuring that companies manufacture goods in a sustainable way, but also changing our own habits as consumers to repair, reuse and recycle products, giving them a second life wherever possible.

2022 is the European Year of Youth and we want to hear from young people across Europe! Share your overconsumption concerns, but also your ideas for making the future of Europe greener and more sustainable for everyone. Join our Youth Dialogue with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, young Climate Pact Ambassadors and youth civil society organisations, to discuss:

How to ensure that shoppers have access to information about the sustainability of foodstuffs and products
How to avoid greenwashing and ensure that consumers can trust the sustainability claims made by producers
How to design products that have a longer lifespan to avoid ‘planned obsolescence’.

Did you miss the live discussion? Don't worry, you can watch the recorded version by accessing the European Commission live stream page.

Interested in learning more? Here’s what the EU is doing.
Speaker: European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans

Moderator : Biliana Sirakova, EU Youth Coordinator (tbc)

EU Climate Pact Ambassadors 

Nadia Paleari, Italy

Giacomo Pieretti, Italy

Fotios Kotzakioulafis, Greece

Suzanne Groenewoud, the Netherlands

Zuzanna Borowska, Poland

Morgan Janowicz, Poland

Nuno Gaspar, Portugal

Maria Teresa Parreira, Portugal

Dunja Trifunović, Serbia

Anar Ahmad-zada, Slovakia

Jelena Mugosa, Slovenia

Yohana Fontenla, Spain

Lidia Martin, Spain

Hlib Mikhno, Ukraine

Take aways from the Dialogue

1. Sustainable Production.The participants agreed that industries need to be made more interested in sustainable options, but also to convince consumers to choose less plastic, and give them more sustainable alternatives. The EU can set the rules and support innovation to enable the circular economy, as shown by Circular Economy Action Plan, but there needs to be a change in our consumer habits of how we as consumers think about sustainability. 
2. Energy. In his discussion with the youth participants, the EVP Frans Timmermans highlighted the importance of shifting the way we produce energy in Europe, as well as improving our energy efficiency in everyday life, which will reduce our dependency on Russian oil and gas. For this, it's important to balance short term and long-term perspectives and convey the message that it is in the long-term interest of everyone to transition towards sustainability. 
3. Food. On the subject of food, the EVP agreed with the participants that sustainability in the sector was a complex concept, which has to be simplified to allow for consumers to make informed decisions. He argued that energy labels have been successful in informing citizens in a simple way and that a similar concept could be used for foods, however, he also highlighted that there is a risk of greenwashing and false labelling. He argued that the key is to create labelling that can be certified and easily understood. The EVP also argued that at the heart of the issue is the income of farmers. He underlined that it was key to ensure that farmers have a decent income and economic security, that does not rely on them selling more consumer food products. He argued this would allow them to work with more sustainable ways of farming and to be able to preserve nature. Furthermore, he explained that by producing closer to the consumer, it becomes easier to trace back the food to the producer. He argued that we are not currently paying a fair price for food. He did not see striving for cheaper food production as the solution, but rather making sure that people can afford to pay the price of food. This could be done by compensating some consumer groups and removing taxes from certain food types.