Activities of Massimo PAOLUCCI related to 2014/2208(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Resource efficiency: moving towards a circular economy (debate) IT
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on resource efficiency: moving towards a circular economy PDF (230 KB) DOC (174 KB)
Amendments (46)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication entitled ‘Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe’ (COM(2012)0060)’,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 2 July 2013 on ‘Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe’1a, __________________ 1a Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0302.
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 14 January 2014 on a European strategy on plastic waste in the environment1a, __________________ 1a Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0016.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas an excessive or inefficient use of resources is the root cause of various environmental hazards, such as climate change, desertification, deforestation and loss of biodiversity; whereas the global economy uses the equivalent of 1.5 planets’ worth of resources to produce global output and absorb waste and this figure is estimated to reach the equivalent of two planets’ worth of resources by the 2030s;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Europe is more dependent on imported resources than any other region in the world and its competitiveness can be increased only by getting more added value out of resources in the economy and promoting a sustainable supply of raw materials from European sources; whereas, moreover, as a contribution to safeguarding the supply of raw materials, partnerships for innovation between industry and the waste management sector and research to increase the potential for recycling of major raw materials ought to be stepped up;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the construction sector has been one of the hardest hit by the crisis (22% less output in 2013 than in 2007); whereas the construction sector consists mainly of SMEs (61% of output produced by companies of 50 employees or less); whereas energy renovation has a high labour intensity of 17 jobs per million euro invested; whereas buildings account for 38% of the EU's natural gas consumption; whereas energy efficient buildings would help reduce the €72 billion natural gas import bill; whereas existing EU programs such as JESSICA, EEEF and ELENA are well designed, however, whilst these instruments are good at supporting energy renovation in public and large scale commercial buildings, more is needed to fully support residential renovation, both legislative proposals and training programs, information campaigns and technical assistance;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the elimination of toxic chemical substances for which safer alternatives exit or will be developed in line with the legislation in force concerning chemicals has a central role to play in the establishment of a circular economy;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. having regard to the binding nature of the targets and definitive priority actions in the Seventh Environmental Action Programme;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. having regard to the trends in and forecasts of the efficiency of the use of resources highlighted in the report ‘European Environment – State and Outlook 2015’ published by the European Environment Agency in March 2015;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the Commission communication on ‘Resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector’ (COM(2014)0445); considers that an approach to construction based on a roadmap and its long-term targets is needed;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that resource scarcity requires a reduction in total extraction and use of resources, an absolute decoupling of growth from the use of natural resources ‒ a systemic change which requires backcasting the actions needed from a 2050 environmental, economic, social and technological sustainability perspective;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that in 2015 the European Environment Agency noted a 5-10 year trend towards a complete divorce between the use of resources and production, partly because of the economic recession; observes, furthermore, that in the next 15- 20 years European economic systems will remain highly resource-intensive;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the establishment of a circular economy requires first-rate know-how and that it is necessary to ensure that the vocational training and higher education available in the regions of the European Union take account of this aim;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses the central role of Regions, towns and local communities in establishing a circular economy and in promoting the full and deliberate involvement of the public in attaining this aim;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that by 2050 the EU’s use of resources needs to be sustainable; this includes fully implementing a cascading use of resources, sustainable sourcing, a waste hierarchy, creating a closed loop on non-renewable resources, using renewables within the limits of their renewability and phasing out toxic substances for which safer alternatives exist or will be developed in line with current legislation on chemicals, so as to ensure the development of non-toxic material cycles;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that by 2050 the EU’s use of resources needs to be sustainable; this includes fully implementing a cascading use of resources, sustainable sourcing, a waste hierarchy,suitable instruments for measuring and reducing European resource consumption, fully implementing a cascading use of resources targeting in particular the industrial use of biomass, a waste management hierarchy targeting sectors with greater added value, sustainable supply creating a closed loop on non-renewable resources, using renewables within the limits of their renewability and phasing out toxic substances;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to develop and introduce by 2019 a lead indicator and a number of sub-indicators on resource efficiency, including ecosystem services; these binding indicators should measure resource consumption and the water, carbon, material and land footprint, including imports and exports, at EU, Member State and industry level and take account of the whole lifecycle of products and services;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the Commission to promote and support dialogue with third countries through international conventions to establish equal conditions for all in the use of resource-efficiency indicators through international conventionsin the context of sustainable development;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. URecalls that the Commission’s Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (COM(2011)571) had planned for 2012 to extend the scope of the eco-design directive to non-energy related products; regrets that this has not been done; urges the Commission to propose a comprehensive review of the Ecodesign Directive by the end of 2016, incorporating the following important changes: broadening the scope to cover all main product lines, including non-energy related product groups, construction materials, textiles and furnishings; gradually including all relevant resource- efficiency features in the mandatory requirements for product design; introducing a mandatory product passport based on these requirements; implementing self- monitoring and third-party auditing to ensure that products comply with these standards; and defining horizontal requirements on, inter alia, reusability and recyclability;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Considers, as stated in Parliament’s resolution of 14 January 2014 on a European strategy for plastic waste in the environment, that the most dangerous plastics, those scientifically proven to be the most harmful to human health and the environment (such as micro plastics and oxo-biodegradable plastics) and those that contain heavy metals and other substances that hamper recycling, should be promptly phased out or banned by 2020;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. URecalls that the availability of standardised and modular components, disassembly planning, long-duration product design and efficient production processes have an important role to play in a successful circular economy; urges the Commission to take other relevant actions to ensure that products are easy to reuse, refit, repair, recycle and eventually dismantle for new resources;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the Commission to take other relevant actions to ensure that products are easy to reuse, refit, repair, recycle and eventually dismantle for new resources; asks the Commission in this connection to come up with a definition of bio-based products requiring a minimum renewable material content of 50%;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission to identify sectors of the European economy where there are obvious legislative, economic and financial barriers hindering the transition to a circular economy and implement an integrated strategy to eliminate them within the next two years;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to propose the extension of minimum guarantees for consumer durable goods commensurate with the potential product life cycle;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to assess, on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis, the possibility of establishing minimum recycled material content in new products in connection with the future revision of the eco-design directive;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the Commission to submit the announced proposal on the review of waste legislation by the end of 2015 and to include the following points: setting extended producer responsibility requirements; endorsing the ‘pay-as-you- throw-principle’ prioritising separate collection schemes in order to facilitate the development of business based on the reuse of secondary raw materials; increasing recycling targets to at least 70 % of municipal solid waste, based on the output of recycling facilities, using the same harmonised method for all Member States with externally verified statistics; introducing a ban on landfilling recyclable and biodegradable waste by 20250 and a ban on all landfilling by 2030; introducing fees on landfilling and incineration;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission to submit by 2015 a legislative proposal making it compulsory for biowaste to be collected separately in 2020; calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of extending the requirement of separate collection to construction and demolition waste, textiles and bulky waste; calls on the Commission to draft a recommendation to Member States to adopt the ‘pay as you throw’ principle for the management of municipal solid waste; calls on Member States to make the separate collection, house to house, of the main fractions more efficient and to increase separate collection by means of a combination of collection centres, reverse collection, collection by appointment and separated-waste collection vehicles which can be stationed temporarily in various places;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission to propose, as referred to in the Seventh Environmental Action Programme, a separate collection requirement and a ban on landfilling biowaste by 2020; reminds the Commission of the commitment to formulate the mandate for the standardisation of home composting by 2017; calls on the Commission to include the definition of ‘organic recycling’ in the Waste Framework Directive and to require Member States to notify the organic recycling rate as a proportion of the general targets for recycling of municipal solid waste and of packaging waste;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Stresses that European recycling legislation that does not include binding targets may generate uncertainty on the part of investors and public authorities; calls on the Commission therefore, by the end of 2015, to define new targets for recycling of municipal waste, construction waste and packaging waste to be met by 2020, 2025 and 2030;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Calls on the Commission to submit by the end of 2015 a legislative proposal setting a European target of at least 70% by 2030 for recycling and preparation for reuse of municipal waste; considers that the target must be based on a common European definition and calculation method;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Calls on the Commission to submit by the end of 2015 a legislative proposal requiring landfilling of non-hazardous waste to be phased out by 2025 for all recoverable and recyclable waste, which must at the minimum include flows of waste collected separately; calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of adopting by 2030 a ban on landfilling non-residual waste, which however must not exceed 5% of total waste production;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 e (new)
Paragraph 14 e (new)
14e. Calls on the Commission to impose a requirement to manage packaging waste by means of a scheme based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) incorporating compulsory minimum requirements as a basis for joint implementation in the various Member States; calls on the Commission to define the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the EPR scheme in order to preserve the principles both of Extended and of Shared Producer Responsibility without confusing the two and substituting one for the other; calls on the Commission to devise an EPR scheme based on transparency, from the planning stage to comprehensive accounting for operations and performance, including access criteria;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. In line with the commitments accepted at the Rio +20 Earth Summit, calls on the Commission to adopt a binding target of a 50% reduction in marine litter by 2025, to ban all dumping of plastic waste at sea, to fully implement the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78); calls furthermore on Member States to make the best possible use of the funds allocated to them under the Common Fisheries Policy and Cohesion Policy to attain this objective, including by promoting public information campaigns and educational programmes for citizens;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission to lay down in the Waste Framework Directive minimum requirements for national waste prevention programmes and to draw up a set of targets and indicators capable of rendering the performances of the various Member States comparable;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to propose the full implementation of the circular economy principles and requirements in the building sector and to further develop the policy framework on resource efficiency in buildings; this includes developing indicators, standards and methods as regards land use and urban planning, architecture, structural engineering, construction, maintenance, adaptability, energy efficiency, renovation and reuse and recycling; targets and indicators on sustainable buildings should also include green infrastructure, such as green roofsobserves that this requires the development of an ambitious long-term vision of Europe’s building stock from which a sustainable roadmap of targets can be derived; considers that the inclusion in this vision of the well- being and social needs of users will make buildings more efficient by means of better use of them and by giving them a longer life;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on the Commission to further develop indicators, standards and methods of land-use planning, town planning, architecture, structural engineering, construction, maintenance, adaptability, energy efficiency, building modification, reuse and recycling, on the basis of a social, economic and environmental- sustainability approach to the various stages of construction, from extraction of raw materials to the stage at which they are used and the final demolition stage;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the Commission to establish a framework which makes it possible to set targets and compile roadmaps for the medium and long term for sustainable buildings at both EU and Member State level, recogising the regional characteristics of buildings;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges the Commission to propose that BAT principles and standards be applied to all materials and parts of buildings and to develop a building passport based on the whole lifecycle of a building; considers that such a passport should document the improvements already made and facilitate an informed choice of future solutions for maintenance, repair, modification and recycling; observes that it should also improve and supplement the existing energy performance certificate and that it would raise the profile of the multiple advantages of having buildings that are efficient from the point of view of comfort, the environment, indoor climate, productivity, savings and value; takes the view that, for the purpose of managing demolition of the building, the passport must contain information on the materials which have been used to construct and modify the building throughout its life cycle;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to promote more recycling and reuse of resources by banning landfilling of construction and demolition waste by 2030 and developing infrastructure for separate collection and recycling in the field of construction, in order to be able to access this major source of resources;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that, as 90 % of the 2050 built environment already exists, special requirements should be set for the renovation sector in order to have mainly energy-positive buildings by 2050; calls on the Commission to devise a coordinated, long-term strategy at EU level for modification of existing buildings; considers that such a strategy should lead to a dynamic regulatory framework which makes it possible to phase out buildings that perform poorly and upgrade the role of national modification strategies introduced by Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, setting clear long-term targets for them; considers that such a strategy for the modification of buildings should be supported under the European Strategic Plan for Investments; calls on Member States to take measures, not only of a fiscal nature but also in the field of administrative simplification, which can promote efficient action to modify existing buildings rather than construct new ones; calls on Member States to assess the possibility of blocking new construction permits for buildings which do not comply with Class A energy efficiency requirements;
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to improve training of architects and engineers in relation to the sustainability performance of the building stock;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Commission to present a communication on sustainable food by 2016 and to submit, by 2015, a binding target of reducing food wastage by at least 30% by 2025; calls on the Commission to make this target part of the minimum requirements to be included in national waste prevention programmes in all Member States;
Amendment 422 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Commission to present, by the end of 2015, a communication on sustainable food with the binding target of reducing food wastage by at least 30% by 201625;
Amendment 426 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 22 – subparagraph 1 (new)
22. Urges the Commission to present a communication on sustainable food by 2016; calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of gradually replacing food packaging with biodegradable, compostable material in accordance with European standards;
Amendment 449 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that all EU funding, including funding through EFSI, Horizon 2020, cohesion funds and the EIB, must be mobilised to promote resource efficiency and urges the Commission to abolish all environmentally harmful subsidies; to this end, calls on the Commission to submit an integrated strategy relating to EFSI and the Structural Funds, based on the waste hierarchy, with the aim of funding projects to promote the transition to a circular economy;
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Underlines how research and innovation are essential to support the transition towards a circular economy in Europe, and that it is necessary to contribute, within Horizon 2020, to research and innovation projects that can demonstrate and test on the field the economic and environmental sustainability of circular economy; at the same time, adopting a systemic approach, these projects can facilitate the drafting of a regulation that is innovation-conducive and easier to implement, by identifying possible regulatory uncertainties, barriers and/or gaps that can hamper the development of business models based on resource efficiency;