유럽의 통합제품정책(IPP) 추진동향과 대응정책

Abstract

On the 18th of June 2003, the European Commission adopted a Communication Paper on an integrated product policy(IPP). IPP is a new environmental policy which seeks to minimize environmental impacts by looking at all the phases of products’ life-cycle and taking action where it is most effective. This report reviewed the framework of the IPP, which is being discussed and constructed in the European Union and then, the required tasks, assuming the adoption of the IPP as a domestic policy, were examined. Many different policy tools are being considered for the IPP, such as taxes and subsidies, voluntary agreements, product or process standardization, public procurement, information dissemination, and EMS implementation, although a full framework has yet to be established. The LCA is considered as an important support tool for the IPP, which provides a framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products. But the debate, about good practice of LCA use and interpretation, is ongoing. In Korea, the quantity of products are rapidly rising, partly due to increases in income and smaller households, and products are coming into market in various models as a result of technical innovation. But, with pollution steadily increasing, current environmental measures are unfortunately focused on larger point sources. Considering the present situation of Korea, the country must consider IPP in order to overcome the limit of present environmental approach. The domestic situation aside, it is worth our consideration to concentrate on the IPP because various instruments such as tax exemption, product standards, EMS, and eco-labelling can make significant impacts on international trade. Therefore, it would be prudent to follow up the activities of the European Commission on IPP.