Activities of Paolo BORCHIA related to 2020/0006(COD)
Shadow opinions (2)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Just Transition Fund
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Just Transition Fund
Amendments (17)
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The transition to a competitive climate-neutral and circular economy constitutes one of the most important policy objectives for the Union. On 12 December 2019, the European Council endorsed the objective of achieving a climate-neutral Union by 2050, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. While fighting climate change and, environmental degradation and energy poverty will benefit all in the long term and provides opportunities and challenges for all in the medium term, not all regions and Member States start their transition from the same point or have the same capacity to respond. Some are more advanced than others, whereas the transition entails a wider social and economic impact for those regions that rely heavily on solid fossil fuels - especially coal, lignite, peat and oil shale - or greenhouse gas intensive industries. Such a situation not only creates the risk of a variable speed transition in the Union as regards climate action, but also of growing disparities between regions, detrimental to the objectives of social, economic and territorial cohesion.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In order to be successful, the transition has to be fair, gradual and socially acceptable for all. Therefore, both the Union and the Member States must take into account its economic and social implications from the outset, particularly in terms of unemployment, and deploy all possible instruments to mitigateavert any adverse consequences. The Union budget has an important role in that regard.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation establishes the Just Transition Fund (‘JTF’) which is one of the pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism implemented under cohesion policy. The aim of the JTF is to mitigateavert the adverse effects of the climate transition by supporting the most affected territories and workers concernedensuring that workers dismissed from employment as a consequence of the energy transition process will successfully re-enter the job market in the same region. In line with the JTF specific objective, actions supported by the JTF should directly contribute to alleviate the impact of the transition by financing the diversification and modernisation of the local economy and by mitigating the negative repercussions on employment. This is reflected in the JTF specific objective, which is established at the same level and listed together with the policy objectives set out in Article [4] of Regulation EU [new CPR].
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) In view of the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement, the commitment regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the increased ambition of the Union as propossuggested in the European Green Deal, the JTF should provide a key contribution to mainstream climate actions. Resources from the JTF own envelope are additional and come on top of the investments needed to achieve the overall target of 25% of the Union budget expenditure contributing to climate objectives. Resources transferred from the ERDF and ESF+ will contribute fully to the achievement of this target.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Transitioning to a climate-neutral economy is a challenge for all Member States. It will be particularly demanding for those Member States that rely heavily on solid fossil fuels or greenhouse gas intensive industrial activities which need to be phased out or which need to adapt due to the gradual transition towards climate neutrality and that lack the financial means to do so. The JTF should therefore cover all Member States, but the distribution of its financial means should reflect the capacity of Member States to finance the necessary investments to cope with the gradual transition towards climate neutrality.
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) This Regulation identifies types of investments for which expenditure may be supported by the JTF. All supported activities should be pursued in full respect of the climate and environmental priorities of the Union. The list of investments should include those that support local economies and are sustainable in the long- term, taking into account all the objectives of the Green Deal. The projects financed should contribute to a gradual and economically sustainable transition to a competitive climate-neutral and circular economy. For declining sectors, such as energy production based on coal, lignite, peat and oil shale or extraction activities for these solid fossil fuels, support should be linked to the gradual phasing out of the activity and the corresponding reduction in the employment level. As regards transforming sectors with high greenhouse gas emission levels, support should promote new activities through the deployment of new technologies, new processes or, products or new skills, leading to significant emission reduction, in line with the EU 2030 climate objectives and EU climate neutrality by 205013 while maintaining and enhancing employment and avoiding environmental degradation. Particular attention should also be given to activities enhancing innovation and research in advanced and sustainable technologies, as well as in the fields of digitalisation and connectivity, provided that such measures help mitigate the negative side effects of a transition towards, and contribute to, a climate- neutral and circular economy. __________________ 13 As set out in “A Clean Planet for all European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy”, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank - COM(2018) 773 final.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) To protect citizens who are most vulnerable to the climate transition, the JTF should also coverwill also ensure the up-skilling and reskilling of the affected workers, with the aim of helkeeping them to adapt to new employment opportunitieswithin the job market in the same region, as well as providing job-search assistance to jobseekers and their active inclusion into the labour market.
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to enhance the economic diversification of territories impacted by the transition, the JTF should provide support to productive investment in SMEs. Productive investment should be understood as investment in fixed capital or immaterial assets of enterprises in view of producing goods and services thereby contributing to gross-capital formation and employment. For enterprises other than SMEs, productive investments should only be supported if they are necessary for mitigaaverting job losses resulting from the transition, by creating or protecting a significant number of jobsnew jobs in that same region or protecting all the jobs that are at risk and they do not lead to or result from relocation. Investments in existing industrial facilities, including those covered by the Union Emissions Trading System, should be allowed if they contribute to the transition to a climate- neutral economy by 2050 and go substantially below the relevant benchmarks established for free allocation under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and if they result in the protection of a significant number of jobs. Any such investment should be justified accordingly in the relevant territorial just transition plan. In order to protect the integrity of the internal market and cohesion policy, support to undertakings should comply with Union State aid rules as set out in Articles 107 and 108 TFEU and, in particular, support to productive investments by enterprises other than SMEs should be limited to enterprises located in areas designated as assisted areas for the purposes of points (a) and (c) of Article 107(3) TFEU. __________________ 14Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of solid fossil fuels;
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) investment related to combustion of fuel without a share of renewable energy
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The territorial just transition plans should identify the territories most negatively affected, where JTF support should be concentrated and describe specific actions to be undertaken to reach a climate-neutral economy, notably as regards the conversion or closure of facilities involving solid fossil fuel production or other greenhouse gas intensive activitieswhile protecting jobs and avoiding workers' dismissal from employment. Those territories should be precisely defined and correspond to NUTS level 3 regions or should be parts thereof. The plans should detail the challenges and needs of those territories and identify the type of operations needed in a manner that ensures the coherent development of climate-resilient economic activities that are also consistent with the transition to climate-neutrality and the objectives of the Green Deal. Only investments in accordance with the transition plans should receive financial support from the JTF. The territorial just transition plans should be part of the programmes (supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund or the JTF, as the case may be) which are approved by the Commission.
Amendment 216 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article [4(1)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], the JTF shall contribute to the single specific objective ‘enabling regions and people to address the social, economic and environmentalergy security impacts of the transition towards a climate- neutral economy’.
Amendment 218 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Where the Commission concludes, based on the examination of the final performance report of the programme, that there is a failure to achieve at least 65% of the target established for one or more output or result indicators for the JTF resources, it may make financial corrections pursuant to Article [98] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] by reducing the support from the JTF to the priority concerned in proportion to the achievements. However, when there is a failure to achieve at least 65% of the target established for one output or result indicator, support from the JTF shall not be reduced if the overall performance is considered satisfactory for the purpose of the present regulation.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 8(4) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time5 years from [the date of the entry into force of this Regulation].
Amendment 373 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of solid fossil fuels;
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall prepare, together with the relevant authorities of the territories concerned, one or more territorial just transition plans covering one or more affected territories corresponding to level 3 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics (‘NUTS level 3 regions’) as established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 868/201417 or parts thereof, in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. Those territories shall be those most negatively affected based on the economic and social impacts resulting from the transition, in particular with regard to expected job losses in solid fossil fuel production and use and the transformation needs of the production processes of industrial facilities with the highest greenhouse gas intensity. __________________ 17 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154 21.6.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 471 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 8(4) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from [the date of the entry into force of this Regulation].