19 Amendments of Ewald STADLER related to 2012/0337(COD)
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 34
Annex 1 – paragraph 34
34. Since 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are locked in during their design phase, the EU policy framework should ensure that priority products placed on the EU market are ‘eco- designed’ with a view to optimising resource and material efficiency, by addressing inter alia recyclability, recycled content and durability. These requirements will have to be implementable and enforceable. Efforts will be stepped up at EU and national level to remove barriers to eco-innovation and to unlock the full potential of Europe’s eco-industries, generating benefits for green jobs and growth. However, such measures must on no account result in products being banned.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 44
Annex 1 – paragraph 44
44. Access to water of satisfactory quality remains problematic in a number of rural areas in the EU, while ensuring the good quality of Europe’s bathing waters benefits both human health and the EU’s tourism industry. Privatisation of water supply has given rise to health risks, particularly where large businesses have acquired water rights. In order to preserve, improve and protect water quality, it is vital to ban privatisation of drinking water supplies. Adverse consequences of floods for human health and economic activity are being experienced more frequently, partly due to changes to the hydrological cycle and land use.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 58
Annex 1 – paragraph 58
58. Second, the EU will extend requirements on inspections and surveillance to the wider body of EU environment law, complementing these with an EU-level capacity that can address situations where there is due reason for concern. In the interests of efficiency and minimising red tape, no new EU authorities should be set up, and the competence of national environmental authorities must not be called into question.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 74
Annex 1 – paragraph 74
74. The Union and Member States will need to put in place the right conditions to ensure that environmental externalities are adequately addressed and that the right market signals are sent to the private sector, with due regard to any adverse social impacts. This will involve applying the polluter-pays principle more systematically, through phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies and shifting taxation away from labour towards pollution. However, this shift must not result in any relocation of jobs. As natural resources become increasingly scarce, the economic rent and profits associated with their ownership or exclusive use may increase. Public intervention to ensure that such rents are not excessive and that externalities are taken into account will lead to more efficient use of these resources and will help to avoid market distortions, as well as generate public revenue. Environment and climate priorities will be pursued in the framework of the European Semester where these are relevant to the sustainable growth prospects of individual Member States to which country-specific recommendations are addressed. Other market-based instruments, such as payments for ecosystem services, should be used more extensively at EU and national level to incentivise private sector involvement and sustainable management of natural capital.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 87
Annex 1 – paragraph 87
87. The EU is densely populated and by 2020, 80% of the EU population is likely to live in urban and peri-urban areas. Quality of life will be directly influenced by the state of the urban environment. The environmental impacts of cities also spread well beyond their physical limits, as they rely heavily on peri-urban and rural regions to meet demand for food, energy, space and resources, and to accommodate waste. Special attention should therefore be devoted to promoting rural areas and creating new jobs in the rural sector.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – paragraph 97
Annex 1 – paragraph 97
97. The EU has a good track-record when it comes to membership in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), although a number of Member States have still not ratified key agreements. This compromises the EU’s credibility in related negotiations. Member States and the EU should ensure timely ratification of all MEAs to which they are signatories, albeit bearing in mind that the Member States are permitted to apply different approaches in order to combat climate change.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 2
Annex 1 – point 2
2. Emissions of pollutants to air, water and soil have been reduced significantly over the past decades, as have greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in recent years. This reduction is partly the result of production cutbacks during the economic crisis and plant closures in eastern Europe. EU chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury has been restricted in products found in most households. EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world, and over 18 % of the EU’s territory and 4 % of its seas have been designated as protected areas for nature.
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 5
Annex 1 – point 5
5. However, many environmental trends in the EU remain worrying, not least due to insufficient implementation of existing EU environment legislation. Only 17 % of species and habitats assessed under the Habitats Directive are in good status, and the degradation and loss of natural capital is jeopardising efforts to attain the EU’s biodiversity and climate change objectives. This has high associated costs which have not yet been properly valued in our economic or social system, even assuming that a figure can be put on the value of nature. What is more, it is still in no way clear to what extent climate change is a man-made phenomenon and to what extent the climate is changing as a result of the impact of natural factors. Thirty per cent of the EU’s territory is highly fragmented, affecting the connectivity and health of ecosystems and their ability to provide services as well as viable habitats for species. While progress has been made in the EU to decouple growth from GHG emissions, resource use and environmental impacts, resource use is still largely unsustainable and inefficient, and waste is not yet properly managed. As a result, EU businesses are foregoing the significant opportunities that resource efficiency offers in terms of competitiveness, cost reductions, improved productivity and security of supply. Water quality and air pollution levels are still problematic in many parts of Europe, and EU citizens continue to be exposed to hazardous substances, potentially compromising their health and wellbeing. Unsustainable land use is consuming fertile soils, with impacts on food security and the achievement of biodiversity targets. Soil degradation continues largely unchecked.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 6 a (new)
Annex 1 – point 6 a (new)
6a. The international dimension of EU environmental policy must encompass negotiations with other groupings of states. The scope for integrating environmental objectives into WTO trade policy has not yet been exhausted.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 17
Annex 1 – point 17
17. However, recent assessments show that biodiversity in the EU is still being lost and that most ecosystems are seriously degraded. The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 sets out targets and actions needed to reverse these negative trends and to enhance ecosystem services. It must be implemented in full to enable the EU to meet its biodiversity headline target for 2020. Whereas the strategy includes built- in measures to improve the implementation of the Birds and Habitats directives, including the Natura 2000 network, reaching the headline target will require the full implementation of all existing legislation aimed at protecting natural capital.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 31
Annex 1 – point 31
31. All sectors of the economy will need to contribute to reducing GHG emissions for the EU to deliver its fair share of global efforts. The EU needs to agree the next steps for its climate and energy framework beyond 2020 in order to prepare itself for international negotiations on a new legally binding agreement, but also to provide Member States and industry with a clear framework to make the medium-term investments needed. Hence the EU needs to consider policy options for delivering the reductions set out in the Low-Carbon Economy Roadmap for the period beyond 2020. The 2050 Energy roadmap and the White Paper on transport need to be underpinned by strong policy frameworks. Moreover, Member States need to develop and put in place long-term, cost-effective low-carbon development strategies aimed at achieving the EU objective of reducing GHG emissions by 80% to 95% by mid- century, compared to 1990, as part of a global effort to limit average temperature increase to below 2°C. At the same time, there should be regular checks to determine whether this objective can realistically be achieved. The EU Emissions Trading System will continue to be a central pillar of EU climate policy beyond 2020.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 34
Annex 1 – point 34
34. Since 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are locked in during their design phase, the EU policy framework should ensure that priority products placed on the EU market are ‘eco- designed’ with a view to optimising resource and material efficiency, by addressing inter alia recyclability, recycled content and durability. These requirements will have to be implementable and enforceable. Efforts will be stepped up at EU and national level to remove barriers to eco-innovation and to unlock the full potential of Europe’s eco-industries, generating benefits for green jobs and growth. Such measures must not, however, result in products being banned.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 35
Annex 1 – point 35
35. To set a framework for action to improve resource efficiency aspects beyond GHG emissions and energy, targets for reducing the overall environmental impact of consumption will be set, in particular in the food, housing and mobility sectors. Taken together, these are responsible for almost 80 % with industry, these sectors are responsible for a substantial proportion of the environmental impacts of consumption. The Rio+20 outcome recognised the need to significantly reduce post-harvest and other food losses and waste throughout the food supply chain.
Amendment 330 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 44
Annex 1 – point 44
44. Access to water of satisfactory quality remains problematic in a number of rural areas in the EU, while ensuring the good quality of Europe’s bathing waters benefits both human health and the EU’s tourism industry. Privatisation of water supply has given rise to health risks, particularly where large businesses have acquired water rights. In order to preserve, improve and protect water quality, it is vital to ban privatisation of drinking water supplies. Adverse consequences of floods for human health and economic activity are being experienced more frequently, partly due to changes to the hydrological cycle and land use.
Amendment 369 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 58
Annex 1 – point 58
58. Second, the EU will extend requirements on inspections and surveillance to the wider body of EU environment law, complementing these with an EU-level capacity that can address situations where there is due reason for concern. In the interests of efficiency and minimising red tape, no new EU authorities should be set up, and the competence of national environmental authorities must not be called into question.
Amendment 403 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 69 – indent 4
Annex 1 – point 69 – indent 4
– Ensuring all sectors contribute to efforts to combat climate change requires a clear overview of GHG measurement, monitoring and data collection, which is currently incomplete for key sectors, such as agriculture.
Amendment 430 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 74
Annex 1 – point 74
74. The Union and Member States will need to put in place the right conditions to ensure that environmental externalities are adequately addressed and that the right market signals are sent to the private sector, with due regard to any adverse social impacts. This will involve applying the polluter-pays principle more systematically, through phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies and shifting taxation away from labour towards pollution. However, this shift must not result in any relocation of jobs. As natural resources become increasingly scarce, the economic rent and profits associated with their ownership or exclusive use may increase. Public intervention to ensure that such rents are not excessive and that externalities are taken into account will lead to more efficient use of these resources and will help to avoid market distortions, as well as generate public revenue. Environment and climate priorities will be pursued in the framework of the European Semester where these are relevant to the sustainable growth prospects of individual Member States to which country-specific recommendations are addressed. Other market-based instruments, such as payments for ecosystem services, should be used more extensively at EU and national level to incentivise private sector involvement and sustainable management of natural capital.
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 87
Annex 1 – point 87
87. The EU is densely populated and by 2020, 80 % of the EU population is likely to live in urban and peri-urban areas. Quality of life will be directly influenced by the state of the urban environment. The environmental impacts of cities also spread well beyond their physical limits, as they rely heavily on peri-urban and rural regions to meet demand for food, energy, space and resources, and to accommodate waste. Particular attention must therefore be paid to promoting rural areas and the creation of new jobs in the rural sector.
Amendment 475 #
Proposal for a decision
Annex 1 – point 97
Annex 1 – point 97
97. The EU has a good track-record when it comes to membership in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), although a number of Member States have still not ratified key agreements. This compromises the EU’s credibility in related negotiations. Member States and the EU should ensure timely ratification of all MEAs to which they are signatories but should also ensure that the Member States are permitted to follow different approaches in the fight against climate change.