Activities of Maria SPYRAKI related to 2021/2006(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
An EU strategy to reduce methane emissions (debate)
An EU strategy to reduce methane emissions (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on an EU strategy to reduce methane emissions
Amendments (27)
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas more than half of global methane emissions stem from human activities in three sectors: fossil fuels (35%),waste (20%) and agriculture (40%); whereas in the fossil fuel sector, oil and gas extraction, processing and distribution account for 23% and coal mining accounts for 12% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, respectively; whereas in the waste sector, landfills and waste water make up about 20% of global anthropogenic methane emissions; whereas in the agricultural sector, livestock emissions from manure and enteric fermentation represent roughly 32% and rice cultivation 8% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, respectively1a; _________________ 1aUnited Nations Environment Programme (2021). Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions (Summary for Policymakers).
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas in the EU, according to the European Environment Agency and based on reported data from Member States to the UNFCCC, 53% of anthropogenic methane emissions come from agriculture, 26% from waste and 19% from energy1b; _________________ 1bEC EU Methane Strategy, page 1, citing https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and- maps/data/data-viewers/greenhouse- gases-viewer.
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas over 80% of the fossil gas, 90% of the oil and40% of coal consumed in Europe is imported and most methane emissions resulting from EU consumption of fossil fuels occur outside the EU, making the EU an important driver of global methane emissions;1c _________________ 1cEurostat (November 2019). EU Imports of Energy Products - Recent Developments. Available here. See also Eurostat (webpage). Where Does Our Energy Come From? Available here. Eurostat (webpage). From Where Do We Import Energy and How Dependent Are We? Available here.
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underscores the need to revise EU climate and environmental legislation in a coherent manner; takes the view that the binding emissions reduction targets for Member States in the Effort Sharing Regulation5 should remain the main legislative tool to reduce methane emissions, while the Industrial Emissions Directive6 and other legislation could serve as a complementary tool; takes the view that the requirements of the Effort Sharing Regulation as regards methane emissions must be designed with full regard for the higher short term climate impact of methane and the potential of a reduction of methane in the atmosphere to contribute to climate neutrality by 2050; _________________ 5Regulation (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. 6 Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control). OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17.
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support a proposal for an international agreement on methane as soon as possible to realize the potential benefit from methane mitigation, ensuring coordinated actions to reduce methane emissions;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Welcomes the Strategy’s objective to promote biogas production as a tool to generate additional revenues streams in rural areas and enhance the transition to circular bio economy; stresses the need to create enabling policy framework to enhance the synergies between agricultural residues and renewable biogas production and improve the uptake of biogas digestate as a valuable organic input source for soils;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the Commission’s initiatives on the utilisation and mitigation of methane from coal mines; expresses its strong support for mandatory MRV for coal mine methane emissions, including the requirement for companies that own closed sites or Member States (for abandoned mines where no existing owner is liable) to adopt the same MRV and LDAR measures as for operating sites; calls on the Commission to adopt measurement equipment standards and impose a measuring requirement for mines assumed to be non-methane;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Underlines that the innovation, development, improvement and implementation of fit-for-purpose and appropriately targeted technologies and practices to improve MRV and to mitigate emissions are at the backbone of effective reduction of methane emissions; considers therefore that these technologies and practices should be further supported by the mobilisation of funding from Horizon Europe or other programmes;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Supports the Commission’s intention to detect methane leaking from coal mines; emphasises that for leak detection, understood as leaks other than emissions from demethanisation stations and ventilation shafts, satellite data may prove to be necessary to show the cracks in the strata from which leaks may occur; notes that when satellite technology reaches maturity to detect these leaks, the Commission should require Member States to assess the feasibility of leak repair and submit a legislative proposal;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Highlights that measures to mitigate methane emissions are crucial to accompany, not replace, a swift phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050, to align with both the aims of the European Green Deal as well as the EU commitments under the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 248 #
11d. Calls on the Commission to explore the use of a third-party verification system in conjunction with other monitoring methods as a possible solution to verifying emissions data across the supply chain from the EU and non- EU supplier countries;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Highlights that well-demonstrated practices already exist to help reduce emissions from manure management; points that methane emissions can be reduced through improved and gas-tight storages for slurry, digestates, and manure, improved slurry and manure management, acidification of slurry in the barn, and increased anaerobic digestion of manure in biogas plants; notes that these practices also decrease the level of ammonia released by the agriculture sector;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the Commission to develop targets at an EU level, in order to implement the afore-mentioned best practices, with a realistic and ambitious timeline and with funding available to support, incentivise and reward the frontrunners farmers in the transition;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses that value-added utilisation of agricultural residues and other by-products is an important driver of the circular economy and bio-economy; calls on the Commission for the acceleration of European biogas production from agriculture waste;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Welcomes the creation of a favourable framework for methane capture from agricultural waste (manure) with a view to finding synergies with the waste management sector; stresses that defining a harmonized policy framework across the EU for anaerobic digestion (for biogas production) is key to achieving this result;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Emphasises that the CAP could be a powerful policy tool to reduce methane emissions and coherence should therefore be ensured with the Methane Strategy; calls on the Commission to proceed with the integration of circular economy technologies;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Welcomes the Commission’s objective on multilateral engagement and supports active cooperation with international partners in the frames of the UNFCCC Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), which provide essential multilateral platforms to exchange best practices and to encourage our global partners to reduce methane- emitting agricultural production and to support their sustainable transition;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to revise the Sewage Sludge Directive7 and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive8 in 2022; calls on the Commission furthermore to be ambitious and to integrate a strong focus on methane emissions in the 2024 review of the Landfill Directive9 ; highlights the need for measures to require landfill sites to use the bio-methane they produce until its energy content drops below a useful value and, once no longer viable to use the biomethane produced at a landfill site, the use of bio-oxidation and other technologies in hot spots to reduce the remaining methane emissions; _________________ 7Council Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June 1986 on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture. OJ L 181, 4.7.1986, p. 6. 8 Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment. OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40. 9Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste. OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1.
Amendment 360 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States to fully comply with the existing requirements of the Landfill Directive, including the objective for 2035, by which date the amount of municipal waste landfilled is to be reduced to 10 % or less of the total amount of municipal waste generated, by weight; calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive strategy to support Member States in their efforts to move away from landfills and to ensure that Member States that are likely to miss that target take corrective measures and actions; underlines the importance of setting more ambitious targets on commercial and industrial waste for which no legally binding targets to reduce landfilling are set yet;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to align the current Directive on the landfill of waste with the EU’s overall climate change and GHG emission reduction objectives; stresses that with the current Directive due for review by 2024, an in- depth analysis should be launched with a view to better address GHG-related issues; considers that a key improvement would be to ensure that the methodology for accounting for GHG from landfills is more robust and harmonized across the EU;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Reiterates the new Circular Economy Action Plan’s objectives in significantly achieving circularity and avoiding GHG and particularly methane emissions from escaping the closed loop; understands that a genuinely integrated waste management should be promoted to successfully implement the waste hierarchy, and to higher-up the treatment of waste;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises that closure and after- care procedures for landfill cells are key to reducing leakages, taking into account the entire life cycle of landfill sites; calls on the Commission to provide specific incentives suited to the conditions of each Member State in order to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, waste prevention and separate collection of bio-waste, including by encouraging cooperation between the public and private sectors to secure a high degree of separate collection, recycling and recovery of biodegradable waste, leading to efficient diversion from landfillincluding - when waste cannot be recycled - energy recovery in advanced Waste-to-Energy facilities with a high energy efficiency and low emissions, leading to efficient diversion from landfill; calls on the Commission to provide specific incentives suited to the conditions of each Member State in order to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the treatment of the bio- degradable part of residual, non- recyclable waste left after separate collection, according to the waste hierarchy;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises that closure and after- care procedures for landfill cells are key to reducing leakages, taking into account the entire life cycle of landfill sites; calls on the Commission to provide specific incentives suited to the conditions of each Member State in order to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, separate collection of bio-waste, including by encouraging cooperation between the public and private sectors to secure a high degree of separate collection, recycling and recovery of biodegradable waste, leading to efficient diversion from landfill; calls on the Commission to provide specific incentives suited to the conditions of each Member State in order to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the treatment of the bio- degradable part of residual, non- recyclable waste left after separate collection, according to the waste hierarchy.