23 Amendments of Bronis ROPĖ related to 2016/2041(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. BelievUnderlines that COP21 has highlighted the key role of cities and regions in the energy transition and their contribution to climate change mitigation;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers, given the specific features of renewable energy sources and the need to apply them on every scale and to all sectors of activity and systems, from the smallest to the largest, that European regions, their cities, and their urban, peri-urban, and rural areas are the equally important nerve- centres of the transformation to clean low- carbon societies;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas although renewable bio- energies produced within the agricultural sector may make a large contribution to the EU’s achievement of crucial targets such as mitigating the effects of climate change, reducing the EU’s energy dependency, creating jobs and improving rural incomes in the sector, they must be sustainable and have a real accounted reduction in carbon, as scientific evidence has shown that some bio- energy production on agricultural land can undermine climate change mitigation efforts;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund ought to do much to meet the targets set by Directive 2009/28/ECUnderlines the importance of thematic concentration in Cohesion Policy which should contribute channelling investment towards low-carbon economy including renewable energies; Considers that the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund ought to do much to meet the targets set by Directive 2009/28/EC; Calls on the Member States to increase their efforts and make best use of the funding opportunities for this purpose;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Insists on the importance of promoting and encouraging decentralised energy systems, including the development of on- farm sources of alternativrenewable energy , which can have a significant impact on creating new green jobs and sustainable revenue streams in rural areas;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for intensive exchange of best practice in order to promote sustainable renewable energy solutions, including tax incentives, technological options and raising public awareness in rural communities, as well as helping local and regional authorities to plan and implement relevant assistance schemes;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Maintains that outermost, tropical, and island regions can set themselves the goal of self-sufficiency in energy and encourages them to set ambitious agendas in this field;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises the value of woodaste and residue fractions of woody biomass for energy purposes in contributing to the renewable energy targets of the 2030 climate and energy framework and in opening up new business opportunities;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Encourages European cities and regions to continue with the measures taken or devised to move towards clean transport; considers that investment in electrical charging point systems, conceived on a regional scale, should constitute a priority for all European regionscities and regions pursuing an aim to have 100% environment friendly urban mobility;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recognises that alongside the potential of sustainable bioenergy, there are negative impacts of excessive increase of biomass-based biofuel production and calls for comprehensive assessment of those risks; Notes that the lack of comprehensive sustainability criteria for biomass has impacted biodiversity and other environmental and social issues within and outside of Europe; Recalls therefore the importance of maintaining a limit on land based biofuels as agreed in the ILUC Directive 2015/1513 and urges the Commission to maintain that post 2020; Calls therefore upon the Commission to establish a robust set of sustainability criteria for all kinds of bioenergy;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of supporting EU and national framework programmes for research in relation to refinadvanced biofuels, rational use of biomass and the development of fast- growing energy crop using feedstocks without land use impacts, cascading the use of biomass, the sustainability of biofuels, the true carbon impact of all bioenergy sources and methods;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Underlines the importance of consumers' awareness about the source of energy as well as about the energy mix of every supplier in the national grid, and calls for a regulatory framework that allows consumers to choose their energy supplier.
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Underlines the importance of civic engagement in promoting renewable energy policies; Calls for reinforced support for partners and organisations from civil society, promoting exchanges of best practices and bottom-up planning of sustainable energy measures on the local and regional level.
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Underlines the possibility for local business development and new employment opportunities in the cities and regions, offered by the extended use of energy from renewable sources, and calls for better involvement of local and regional authorities as well as of the private sector in the development of the renewable energy market.
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Encourages the Member States and the Commission to promote the importance of the sustainable forestry-based bioeconomy and of wood as one of the EU’s crucial renewable raw materials in line with the principles and priorities of the circular economy ;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines the importance of allowing natural processes in forests and forestry, in order to maintain and increase ecosystem services for the whole of society, and calls for implementation and promotion of sustainable forestry methods such as selective cutting rather than clear-cutting;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the importance of promoting and supporting local renewable energy cooperatives in both rural and urban areas in order to increase public support for renewable energy; to this end, calls for the introduction of a new Citizen and Community Energy chapter in the renewable energy directive, to provide a solid legal base stipulating a basic right to self-generation and self-consumption and the right to store and sell own-produced renewable energy, as well as to address the main market and administrative barriers, in order to provide a more attractive investment environment for the sector;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that feedstock such as wheat, maize and sugar beet could also be used as an energy resource in the production of biofuels and bioethanol in cases of market oversupply of such agricultural products, which would ensure stability of farmers’ incomes. as an overriding principle, food should not be used as fuel, and recognises that using food crops for biofuels can seriously undermine food security and climate change mitigation, as outlined in the ILUC Directive 2015/1513; Considers therefore that feedstock should be primarily based on waste or by- products or other non-food plants and not food crops, and calls for a policy framework that does not encourage switching from food to fuel via EU or member state subsidies; Although food waste could also be considered as waste for feedstock, fully supports efforts to eliminate food waste and obtain effective supply management matching supply with storage and demand.
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls the importance for rural communities of self-sufficiency in sustainable energy production from renewable sources, including consumption of home-produced energy while being connected to grid; notes the potential therein for generating added value and income for rural residents, and for contributing to solving challenges related to rural employment, depopulation and generational change;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Notes the importance of being able to link with the electricity grid so that rural energy producers can sell surplus renewable energy generated at fair price and incentivise or oblige electricity companies to purchase such electricity first;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Notes also the potential for energy efficiency in rural areas and an integrated approach for waste and energy streams in rural areas that includes urban-rural links.
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Notes the trend occurring in Baltic member states for natural afforestation of agricultural land; Considers that, on the condition that is it agricultural land and is not of high nature value and so can be afforested without biodiversity loss, there should be flexibility in the legal designation of such land, so it should be allowed to become classed as forest or agroforestry land without the requirement to return it to its previous treeless state prior to legalising afforestation.
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Cautions that high nature value permanent pasture and peat bogs or wet meadows should not be afforested due to concerns over loss of biodiversity and carbon release;