Activities of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2021/0201(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2018/841 as regards the scope, simplifying the compliance rules, setting out the targets of the Member States for 2030 and committing to the collective achievement of climate neutrality by 2035 in the land use, forestry and agriculture sector, and (EU) 2018/1999 as regards improvement in monitoring, reporting, tracking of progress and review
Amendments (6)
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) In Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 , the Union has enshrined the target of economy-wide climate neutrality by 2050 in legislation. That Regulation also establishes a binding Union commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions (emissions after deduction of removals) by at least 55 % below 1990 levels by 2030. All sectors of the economy are expected to contribute proportionately to achieving that target, including the land use, land use change and forestry sector. The contribution of net removals to the 2030 Union climate target is limited to 225 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In the context of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, the Commission reaffirmed in a corresponding statement its intention to propose a revision of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council31 , in line with the ambition to increase net carbon removals to levels above 300 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the land use, land use change and forestry sector by 2030. _________________ 30 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).’. 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 40 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In order to contribute to the increased ambition to reduce greenhouse gas net emissions from at least 40 % to at least 55 % below 1990 levels, binding annual targets for net greenhouse gas removals should be set out for each Member State in the land use, land use change and forestry sector in the period from 2026 to 2030 (in analogy to the annual emission allocations set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council32 ), resulting in a target of 310 millions of tonnes CO2 equivalent of net removals for the Union as a whole in 2030. The methodology used to establish the national targets for 2030 should take into account the average greenhouse gas emissions and removals from the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, reported by each Member State, and reflect the current mitigation performance of the land use, land use change and forestry sector, and each Member State’s share of the managed land area in the Union, taking into account the capacity of that Member State to improve its performance in the sector via land management practices or changes in land use that benefit the climate and biodiversity. _________________ 32 Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 26).
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The land sector has the potential to become rapidly climate-neutral by 2035 in a cost-effective manner, and subsequently generate more greenhouse gas removals than emissions. A collective commitment aiming to achieve climate-neutrality in the land sector in 2035 at EU level can provide the needed planning certainty to drive land- based mitigation action in the short term, considering that it can take many years for such action to deliver the desired mitigation outcomes. Moreover, the land sector is projected to become the largest sector in the EU greenhouse gas flux profile in 2050. It is therefore particularly important to anchor that sector to a trajectory that can effectively deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. By mid-2024, the Member States should submit their updated integrated national energy and climate plans in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council34 . The plans should include relevant measures for each sector, to ensure that increased carbon sequestration in forestry does not allow reduced ambition in other sectors by which each Member State best contributes to the collective target of climate neutrality in the land sector at EU level in 2035. On the basis of these plans, the Commission should propose national targets, ensuring that the Union-wide greenhouse gas emissions and removals in the land use, land use change and forestry sector and the emissions from the agriculture non-CO2 sectors are at least balanced by 2035. Contrary to the EU level target of climate neutrality for the land sector by 2035, such national targets will be binding and enforceable on each Member State. _________________ 34 Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p.1).
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) In order to enhance greenhouse gas removals, individual farmers or forest managers need a direct incentive to store more carbon on their land and their forests. New business models based on carbon farming incentives and on the certification of carbon removals need to be increasingly deployed in the period until 2030. Member States, when drafting their respective national Strategic Plans should ensure support for LULUCF objectives and incorporate substantial financial incentives from the CAP in tailor-made solutions for the farmers in each Member State to select their best possible approach: within eco-schemes, rural development agri-environmental measures and the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). Such incentives and business models will enhance climate mitigation in the bio- economy, including through the use of durable harvested wood products, in full respect of ecological principles fostering biodiversity and the circular economy. Hence, new categories of carbon storage products should be introduced in addition to the harvested wood products. The emerging business models, farming and land management practices to enhance removals contribute to a balanced territorial development and economic growth in rural areas. They also create opportunities for new jobs and provide incentives for relevant training, reskilling and upskilling.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Considering the specificities of the land use, land use change and forestry sector in each Member State, as well as the fact that Member States need to increase their performance to achieve their national binding targets, a range of flexibilities should remain at the disposal of the Member States, including trading surpluses and the extension of forest-specific flexibilities, while respecting the environmental integrity of the targets. Member States shall ensure, in meeting those objectives, that their national policies are designed to conform to the principles of circular economy and cascading use as well as the waste hierarchy, as set out in Directive 2008/98/EC, in particular with respect to the consumption of forest and agricultural biomass for energy purposes.
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) Agriculture and land use are the sectors that impact upon Union biodiversity and ecosystems services most directly and significantly. For this reason, an important objective of the sector is to ensure on-going coherence with Union biodiversity objectives aimed at halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In light of this, LULUCF sector measures undertaken by Member States aimed, in particular, towards climate change mitigation, should also ensure coherence with the achieving Union biodiversity objectives.