31 Amendments of Stanislav POLČÁK related to 2022/0394(COD)
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1)Under the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change22 ('the Paris Agreement'), the international community has agreed to hold the increase in the global average temperature well below 2° C above pre- industrial levels and to pursue efforts aimed ato limiting the temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. The Union and its Member States are Parties to the Paris Agreement and are strongly committed to its implementation by reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and increase in carbon removals. __________________ 22 Approved by Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 1).
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) At a global scale, the latest report23 by the Internationgovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points towards a decreasing likelihood of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C unless rapid and deep cuts in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions occur throughout the forthcoming decades, and the probability of exceeding this target is currently more than 50%. The IPCC report also clearly states that ‘the deployment of carbon dioxide removal to counterbalance hard-to- abate residual emissions is unavoidable if net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) or GHG emissions are to be achieved’. This will require the large-scale deployment of sustainable activities for capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological reservoirs, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, or products. Today and with current policies, the Union is cannot on track to deliachiever the required carbon removals: carbon removals in terrestrial ecosystems have been decreasing in recent years, and no significant industrial carbon removals are currently taking place in the Union. __________________ 23 IPCC Working Group III (2022), Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Sixth Assessment Report (link).
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The aim of this Regulation is to develop a voluntary Union certification framework for carbon removals, with the view to incentivise the uptake of high- quality carbon removals, in full respect of the biodiversity-protection and the zero- pollution objectives. It is a tool to support the achievement of the Union objectives under the Paris Agreement, notably the goal of collective climate neutrality by 2050 laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119[1] of the European Parliament and of the Council24. The Union also committed to generate negative emissions after 2050. An important instrument to enhance carbon removals in terrestrial ecosystems is Regulation (EU) 2018/841[2] of the European Parliament and of the Council25, which is currently under review. The objective of the review is to set out a Union net removals target in the amount of 310 Mt CO2 eq by 2030, and to allocate respective targets to each Member State.[1] Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1). [2] Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 1). __________________ 24 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1). 25 Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 1).
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The Union certification framework will support the development of carbon removal activities in the Union that result in an unambiguous net carbon removal benefit, while avoiding greenwashing. In the case of carbon farming, such certification framework should also encourage the uptake of carbon removal activities that generate co-benefits for biodiversity, therefore achieving the nature restoration targets set out in Union law on nature restoration. The Union certification framework will be instrumental in meeting the Union climate change mitigation objectives set in international agreements and in the Union legislatDoes not affect English version.)
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In order to support operators willing to make additional efforts to increase carbon removals in a sustainable way, the Union certification framework should take into account the different types of carbon removal activities, their specificities and related environmental impacts. Therefore, this Regulation should provide clear definitions of carbon removal, carbon removal activities, and other elements of the Union certification framework.Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) This Regulation should set out the requirements under which carbon removals should be eligible for certification under the Union certification framework. To this end, carbon removals should be quantified in an accurate and robust way; and they should be generated only by carbon removal activities that generate a net carbon removal benefit, are additional, aim to ensure long-term storage of carbon, and have a neutral impact or co-benefit on sustainability objectives. Furthermore, carbon removals should be subject to independent third-party auditing in order to ensure the credibility and reliability of the certification process. Mandatory Union carbon pricing rules established through Directive 2003/87/EC[1] of the European Parliament and of the Council26 are in place which regulate the treatment of emissions from activities covered by that Directive. This Regulation should be without prejudice to Directive 2003/87/EC, except in relation to the certification of removals of emissions from sustainable biomass which are zero-rated in accordance with Annex IV thereto. [1] Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32). __________________ 26 Directive 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 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Carbon removals should be quantified in a relevant, accurate, complete, consistent and comparable manner, taking full account of the technical possibilities currently available for such quantification. Uncertainties in the quantification should be duly reported and accounted in order to limit the risk of overestimating the quantity of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Carbon removals generated by carbon farming should be quantified with a high level of accuracy to assure the highest quality and minimise uncertainties. Moreover, in order to incentivise synergies between Union climate and biodiversity objectives, enhanced monitoring of land needs to be required, thereby helping to protect and enhance the resilience of nature-based carbon removals throughout the Union. The satellite and on-site monitoring and reporting of emissions and removals need to closely reflect those approaches, and make the best use of advanced technologies available under Union programmes, such as Copernicus, making full use of already existing tools, and ensure consistency with the national greenhouse gas inventories.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) A standardised baseline should reflect the statutory and market conditions in which the carbon removal activity takes place. If a carbon removal activity is imposed upon operators by the applicable law, or it does not need any incentives to take place, its performance will be reflected in the baseline. For this reason, a carbon removal activity that generates carbon removals in excess of such a baseline should be presumed to be additional. Hence, the use of a standardised baseline should simplify the demonstration of additionality for operators. Therefore, it should reduce the administrative burden of the certification process, which is particularly important in the case of small- scale land managers.Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 206 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Atmospheric and biogenic carbon that is captured and stored through a carbon removal activity risks being released back into the atmosphere (e.g. reversal) due to natural or anthropogenic causes. Therefore, operators should take all relevant preventive measures to mitigate those risks and duly monitor that carbon continues to be stored over the monitoring period laid down for the relevant carbon removal activity. The validity of the certified carbon removals should depend on the expected duration of the storage and the different risks of reversal associated with the given carbon removal activity. Activities that store carbon in geological formations provide enough certainties on the very long-term duration of several centuries for the stored carbon and can be considered as providing permanent storage of carbon. Carbon farming or carbon storage in products are more exposed to the risk of voluntary or involuntaryintentional or unintentional release of carbon into the atmosphere. To account for this risk, the validity of the certified carbon removals generated by carbon farming and carbon storage in products should be subject to an expiry date matching with the end of the relevant monitoring period. Thereafter, the carbon should be assumed to be released into the atmosphere, unless the economic operator proves the maintenance of the carbon storage through uninterrupted monitoring activities.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Carbon removal activities have a strong potential to deliver win-win solutions for sustainability, even if the need for trade- offs cannot be excluded. Therefore, it is appropriate to establish minimum sustainability requirements to ensure that carbon removal activities have a neutral impact or generate co-benefits for the sustainability objectives of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, and pollution prevention and control. Those sustainability requirements should, as appropriate, and taking into consideration local conditions, build on the technical screening criteria for Do Not Significant Harm concerning forestry activities and underground permanent geological storage of CO2, laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/213928[1], and on the sustainability criteria for forest and agriculture biomass raw material laid down in Article 29 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001[2] of the European Parliament and of the Council29. Practices, such as forest monocultures, that produce harmful effects for biodiversity should not be eligible for certification. [1] Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of 4 June 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives (OJ L 442, 9.12.2021, p. 1). [2] Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82). __________________ 28 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of 4 June 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives (OJ L 442, 9.12.2021, p. 1). 29 Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) It is appropriate that carbon removal certificates underpin different end- uses, such as the compilation of national and corporate greenhouse gas inventories, including with regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council31, the proof of Does not affect English version.) [KŽ1]Here, I believe the English expression ‘climate- related and other environmental corporate claims (including on biodiversity), or the exchange of verified carbon removal units through voluntary carbon offsetting markets. To this end, the certificate should contain accurate and transparent information on the carbon removal activity, including the total removals and net carbon removal benefit that comply with the quality criteria set out in this Regulation. The Commission should be also empowered to adopt delegated acts to further specify or amend Annex II which lists the minimum information to be contained in the certificates’ has been mistranslated into Czech. In my opinion, these are not claims in the sense of ‘entitlements’, but rather PR claims by companies about how ‘green’ they are. __________________ 31 Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 1).
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) The provisions of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters33[1] (‘the Aarhus Convention’) regarding access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters, in particular the provisions relating to public participation and to access to justice remain applicable, where relevant. [1] Council Decision 2005/370/EC of 17 February 2005 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (OJ L 124, 17.5.2005, p. 1). __________________ 33 Council Decision 2005/370/EC of 17 February 2005 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (OJ L 124, 17.5.2005, p. 1).
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) The Commission should review the implementation of this Regulation 3 years following the entry into force of this Regulation, and subsequently not later than six months after the global stocktake agreed under Article 14 of the Paris Agreement.. Those reviews should take into account the relevant developments concerning the Union legislation, technological and scientific progress, market developments in the field of carbon removals and food security including food availability and affordability, and should be informed by the results of the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement.Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The objective of this Regulation is to facilitate the deployment of carbon removals by operators or groups of operators and, at the same time, to incentivise such deployment by means of appropriate measures. To that end, this Regulation establishes a voluntary Union framework for the certification of carbon removals by laying down:
Amendment 511 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. In the case of carbon farming, CRbaseline and CRtotal shall be understood as net greenhouse gas removals or emissions in accordance with the accounting rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/841.(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 521 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. Carbon removals shall be quantified in a relevant, accurate, complete, consistent, comparable and transparent manner. and shall be based on accurate data obtained in a manner consistent with the current state of scientific and technical knowledge.
Amendment 574 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) it takes place due to the incentive effect of the certificatDoes not affect English version.)
Amendment 592 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. An operator or group of operators shall demonstrate that a carbon removal activity aims at ensuring the long-term storage of carb(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 691 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 16 to establish the technical certification methodologies referred to in paragraph 1 for activities related to permanent carbon storage, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. Those certification methodologies shall include at least the elements set out in Annex I.
Amendment 707 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) the objective of minimising administrative burden for operators, particularly for small-scale carbon farming operators, forest owners and SMEs;
Amendment 744 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. To apply forIn order to obtain a certification of compliance with this Regulation, an operator or a group of operators shall submit an application to a certification scheme. Upon acceptance of that application, the operator or a group of operators shall submit to a certification body a comprehensive description of the carbon removal activity, including the certification methodology applied to assess compliance with Articles 4 to 7, the expected total carbon removals and net carbon removal benefit. Groups of operators shall also specify how advisory services on carbon removal activities are provided, in particular to small-scale carbon farming operators and forest owners.
Amendment 763 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5
Article 9 – paragraph 5
5. The Commission mayshall adopt implementing acts to set out the structure, format, technical details of the comprehensive description of the carbon removal activity referred to in paragraph 1, and of the certification and re-certification audit reports referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17.
Amendment 777 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 10 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) have relations with operators or with a groups of operators, that could affector with other persons or entities, that could affect the quality of their activities, in particular their independence and impartiality.
Amendment 794 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 3
Article 11 – paragraph 3
3. Certification schemes shall verify if the information and data submitted by the operator or a group of operators for the certification of compliance pursuant to Article 9 were subject to independent auditing and if the certification of compliance was carried out in an accurate, objective, reliable, and cost-effective manner.
Amendment 816 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. A certification scheme shall establish and duly maintain a public registry to make publicly accessible the information related to operators and groups of operators, the certification process and its results, including the certificates and updated certificates, and the quantity of carbon removal units certified in accordance with Article 9. Those registries shall use automated systems, including electronic templates, and shall be interoperable.
Amendment 826 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission mayshall adopt implementing acts setting out the structure, format, and technical details of the public registries, and of the recording, holding or use of carbon removal units, as referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17.
Amendment 832 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. Only a certification scheme recognised by the Commission by means of a decision may be used by operators or group of operators to demonstrate compliance with this Regulation. Such decision shall be valid for a p(Does not affect English versiod of no more than 5 years.n.)
Amendment 837 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 3
Article 13 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission may repeal a decision recognising a certification scheme pursuant to paragraph 1 where the certification scheme fails to implementadhere to the standards and rules set out in the implementing acts referred to in Article 11(5). Where a Member State raises concerns that a certification scheme does not operate in accordance with the standards and rules set out in the implementing acts referred to in Article 11(5) that constitute the basis for decisions under paragraph 1, the Commission shall investigate the matter and take appropriate action, including, where necessary, repealing the relevant decision.
Amendment 841 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. Each certification scheme recognised by the Commission shall submit to the Commission an annual report about its operations, including a description of any cases of fraud and related remediation measures. The report shall be submitted annually by 30 April, covering the preceding calendar year. The requirement to submit a report shall apply only to certification schemes that have operated for at least 12 monthsone calendar year.
Amendment 846 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission mayshall adopt implementing acts setting out he structure, format, and technical details of the reports referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17.
Amendment 866 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation shall be kept under review in all aspectsregularly reviewed, taking into account the relevant developments concerning Union legislation, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, technological and scientific progress, market developments in the field of carbon removals, and Union food security.