Activities of Christophe GRUDLER related to 2021/2102(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The EEAS’s Climate Change and Defence Roadmap (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EEAS’s Climate Change and Defence Roadmap
Amendments (42)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2020 on a hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe (COM(2020)0301),
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas climate change and climate-related impacts, including environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and natural disasters are already threatening local, regional and international security, stability and peace; whereas climate change, which is predicted to accelerate in the medium and long term, has become an increasingly dominant risk multiplier and must be viewed as a new security challenge, together with hybrid and cyber threats;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the climate crisis affects both human and state security; whereas global warmiclimate change intersects in various ways with political, ethnic and socio-economic dynamics, and is a direct driver of conflict in that it increases disaster risks and places additional pressure on ecosystems, thereby threatening people’s livelihoods, water and food security, and critical infrastructure, by, inter alia, instigating land-use change;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the Union’s domestic oil and gas production is steadily declining; whereas the Union is highly and increasingly energy dependent, with all its Member States being net importers of energy from a limited number of third countries and with an energy dependency rate that increased from 56% to 61% over the period 2000-2019;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas, due to the security effects of global warmiclimate change, climate security measures and their financing have to be understood as contributing to defence and security;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas the melting of polar ice caps is increasing geopolitical tensions, particularly around the North Pole;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas some EU Member States are using their vast military-designated areas to protect biodiversity, for example by preventing helicopter flights over nesting areas;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
H d. whereas a 2018 report by INTERPOL, RHIPTO and the Global initiative against transnational organized crimes found environmental crime to be the largest financial driver of conflicts and the largest source of income for non- state armed groups and terrorist organisations, ahead of traditional illegal activities such as kidnapping for ransom and drug trafficking;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)
Recital H e (new)
H e. whereas France unveiled in September 2020 its new Defence Energy Strategy with 34 recommendations to reduce and optimize the Energy consumption of its armed forces and enhance its energy security;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Strongly believes that military activities and technology have to contribute to the Union’s carbon neutrality targets in order to both contribute to the fight against climate change and increase mission security; underlines, in that regard, that the Union’s external action should reduce its own carbon footprint and its negative effects on natural resources and biodiversity to a minimum; recalls however, that the nature and the primary objective of EU CSDP missions and operations is to contribute to security in theatres where they are deployed, that their full operational efficiency has to be ensured, and that this original mission cannot be undermined;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Strongly believes that military activities and technology have to contribute to the Union’s carbon neutrality targets in order to both contribute to the fight against climate change and increase mission security; underlines, in that regard, that the Union’s external action and the armed forces of the Member States should reduce itstheir own carbon footprint and itstheir negative effects on natural resources and biodiversity to a minimum;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to make sure that climate change is mainstreamed in the Union’s external action; calls for climate-specific strategies, policies, procedures, measures and capabilities to be developed; calls on the VP/HR to make sure that the development of a Union policy on climate security and defence entails the implementation of a human security approach;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the development of concrete benchmarks to measure progress in addressing the links between climate change, on the one hand, and peace, conflict and the conflict and climate sensitivity of EU external action on the other; calls on the VP/HR to report on an annual basis to Parliament on progress made; calls on EU member states to incorporate knowledge of climate’s security ramifications into foreign military assistance programs, whenever relevant;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the development of concrete benchmarks to measure progress in addressing the links between climate change, on the one hand, and peace, conflict and the conflict and climate sensitivity of EU external action on the other; calls on the VP/HR to report on an annual basis to Parliament on progress made;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Roadmap and cCalls on the EEAS to ensure, together with the relevant Commission services and the EDA, where appropriate, the comprehensive implementation of the three work strands – the operational dimension, capability development and partnerships; calls for the timeframes for reviewing the Roadmap to be reconsidered and, in particular, for the overall objectives to be reviewed much earlier than 2030; calls on the Member States to develop national structures in support of the objectives; urges all actors to treat this process as a priority and to develop and implement initiatives in line with the integrated approach; stresses the need to assess the environmental footprint of armed forces, as proposed in the Roadmap; urges the VP/HR to propose to the Member States an immediate action programme which consists of prioritised actions presented in the Roadmap which can be implemented in the short term; calls for the timeframes for reviewing the Roadmap to be reconsidered and, in particular, for the overall objectives to be reviewed much earlier than 2030;
Amendment 97 #
8 a. Underlines that hydrogen’s characteristics make it one of the candidate to replace fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the military forces; stresses that stronger legislation is needed to incentivise the use of zero-emission fuels, including in military use cases;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the VP/HR to present, by mid-2022, an assessment of the carbon footprint and environmental impact of the EU’s external action; stresses the need to develop by 2022 a meaningful methodology to quantify the emissions from all EU security and defence activities; while considering the sensitivity of information assessed from CSDP missions and operations; believes that the Roadmap should be used to trigger clear national pledges to reduce military emissions, including mandatory military emissions reporting to the UNFCCC, as without reporting and transparency, there will be no pressure to cut emissions and no means of determining the impact of any pledges;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Strongly welcomes the fact that the Union’s new Global Europe instrument (NDICI) reflects well the urgency and importance of swift, strong and extensive external climate action; strongly welcomes, in particular the NDICI climate security policy (See subsection B.1.(d) of Annex III to the NDICI Regulation); calls on the Commission to prioritise actions seeking to achieve comprehensive and inclusive outcomes through linking climate mitigation and adaptation to conflict prevention and peacebuilding; stresses the need to include greater support for fragile and conflict-affeccalls on the Commission and the EEAS to harness existing research on emerging climated states in environmental governance, including institution-building; demands that the full potential for environmental peacebuilding be unleashed under the NDICI peace, stabilecurity hotspots around the EU’s borders, notably in the Sahel, the Middle East, and East Africa, and target relevant areas wityh and conflict-prevention programmedditional aid;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the need to boost the Union’s strategic foresight, early-warning, situational awareness and conflict-analysis capacities using qualitative and quantitative data and innovative methods from various sources; underlines that, in addition to systematic cooperation with civil society organisations, the Union’s space programmes and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) should also contribute; Commends the essential role played by European space programmes such as Copernicus, in understanding climate change and monitoring GHG emissions;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Underlines that the principle of data-driven policy and programmes must be central to climate security programmes; is mindful, at the same time, of the limitations of big data approaches and quantitative environmental stress indices with regard to conflict prediction, as they risk paying too little attention to the local societal context; recalls the non-availability of reliable data in some fragile countries, also as a result of corruption and weak governance structures, in which case proxy data shouldmight be used instead;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses the importance of strengthening the resilience of communities, and that supporting local ownership and inclusive local governance structures is essential to ensure that efforts are sustainable; stresses that an inclusive and accountable approach towards local populations and which increases environmental protection and access to vital resources also increases the security of EU forces and personnel; Expresses its full support for and defence of conservationists and environmental defenders as they experience increased repression in parts of the world; Stresses that, in reducing their capacity to act, states such as Egypt, Iran, and Turkey are harming many of those whose skills are most needed, damaging EU interests in the process;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that environmental peace building should be reinforced, as it generatesis one of the overall sustainable and fair solutions addressing the effects of climate change and can also present opportunities to build peace, while fostering dialogue and cooperation at the local, national and international level and presenting opportunities to adopt a transformational approach to address the root causes of conflict and structural drivers of marginalisation; stresses the need to increase pre-conflict mediation initiatives, including by means of higher levels of funding via NDICI;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights that CSDP missions and operations and EPF actions can contribute to enhancing the climate resilience of their host countries and stresses that a positive legacy in terms of their local footprint should be included, whenever possible and without affecting their main security and defence tasks, in particular in their exit strategies, without jeopardising mission effectiveness or the security of own personnel;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses the need to design mission infrastructure and a supply-chain that are climate- and environment-ally-resilient and sensitive and as carbon-neutral as possible, and that make use of new technology such as mobile solar systems, in particular for static features;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 – point a
Paragraph 20 – point a
(a) climate-induced scarcity of resources leadcontributing to conflict and instability,
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. recalls, however, that insecurity stems from many different root causes like poverty, state fragility, lack of public infrastructure and services, very limited access to basic goods, lack of education, corruption, etc., among which figures climate change;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. States that all military capabilities and services used by the Union and its Member States should contribute to reaching the EU’s climate targets and adapt to increasingly challenging climate conditions in order to be able, inter alia, to guarantee the fulfilment of their tasks at home and abroad;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Underlines that an increase in defence expenditure should, whenever possible and bearing in mind the necessity to maintain the level of ambition of our armies, not lead to an increase in emissions, and that part of defence spending should be dedicated to investments in instruments that significantly reduce emissions; recalls that EU and NATO military strategists and planners have been working on the question of how armed forces can reduce their carbon footprint for more than a decade; welcomes, in this respect, the EDA’s activities, in particular the Go Green policy it launched in 2012, its Military Green concept and its working group on the circular economy, and calls for an acceleration and broadening of such projects and for an independent external evaluation thereof;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Underlines that an increase in defence expenditure should not lead to an increase in emissions, and that part of defence spending should be dedicated to investments in instruments that significantly reduce emissions, such as electrification, and the use of carbon- neutral fuels; recalls that EU and NATO military strategists and planners have been working on the question of how armed forces can reduce their carbon footprint for more than a decade; welcomes, in this respect, the EDA’s activities, in particular the Go Green policy it launched in 2012, its Military Green concept and its working group on the circular economy, and calls for an acceleration and broadening of such projects and for an independent external evaluation thereof;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes that the EDA has concluded that the subsequent reduction in fossil fuel consumption cuts costs, decreases emissions and reduces dependencies on non-European sources, andRecalls that the reduction in fossil fuel consumption and the increase in the share of decarbonized fuels in military applications may, in addition to contributing to climate neutrality, help increase security of supply and strategic autonomy where it diversifies energy sources; highlights that the number of casualties canould be reduced significantly given that there are far fewer fuel convoys for adversaries to target, thereby freeing up resources that are used to protect convoys, and that overall capabilities are made more effective through enhanced endurance, mobility and autonomy;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on DG DEFIS, the Member States, the EEAS and the EDA to adopt an approach incorporating a low energy, carbon and environmental footprint by design when implementing relevant EU funds and to regularly report on progress; welcomes, in this respect, the fact that 30 % of the European Defence Fund aims to contribute to climate actionwill aim at contributing to the overall target of 30% climate action target set up for the EU 2021-2027 budget; welcomes the relevant investment of EUR 133 million provided for in the first annual work programme, but notes that this represents only 11 % of the overall annual EDF budget;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on DG DEFIS, the Member States, the EEAS and the EDA to adopt an approach incorporating a low energy, carbon and environmental footprint by design when implementing relevant EU funds and to regularly report on progress; welcomes, in this respect,Welcomes the fact that 30 % of the European Defence Fund aims to contribute to climate action; welcomes the relevant investment of EUR 133 million provided for in the first annual work programme, but notes that this represents only 11 % of the overall annual EDF budget; Recalls the role of NextGenerationEU for climate action and calls on Member States to use resources from national recovery plans in order to invest in the green transition of their armed forces and military infrastructure;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the need to significantly increase investments in ‘green’ defence, in particular by dedicating a higher share of military R&D funded from the EU budget to carbon-neutral fuels and propulsion systems for military aircraft, ships and other vehicles, in particular as regards future major weapons systems (e.g. the future combat air system (FCAS) and the European main battle tank (EMBT)); underlines that, given the dual nature of such investments, they have strong positive spill-over effects in the civilian sector, in particular for the ailing civil aviation industry; believes that the electrification of military technology should be further promoted and extensively financed via the EDF, in particular as regards weapons systems, but also in terms of housing, barracks and related heating or cooling systems; recalls that the adaptation of defence means and their uses to climate changes, lies primarily on the Member States and that the EU as such does not have yet its own capacities;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Member States to consider the feasibility of PESCO for setting up a corps of military engineers to focus on addressing climate-induced natural disasters and the protection of environmentally-critical infrastructure in fragile countries; Commends the role played by joint operations to save civilians in natural disasters, such as the French- Dutch disaster management "Hurricane Exercice" (Hurex) training in the Caribbean;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Recalls that the importance of cooperation as a corner stone of the EU’s leading role in addressing climate change, as set out in the Roadmap; welcomes ongoing staff-to-staff exchanges with the UN and NATO, and stresses the need for closer cooperation in this field; calls on the EEAS and the relevant Commission services to further establish dialogue with other partners, such as the African Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Canada and the United States; stresses that there is also a need to address the current lack of reliable and internationally comparable data on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the defence sector;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the stated ambitdecision ofby NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg that NATO reach net zero carbonallies at the 2021 Brussels Summit to assess the feasibility of a target to reduce NATO's net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050; underlines the fact that 22 Member States are NATO members and calls on the VP/HR to make sure that emission reduction objectives, benchmarks and methodologies are synchronised, as Member States have only a single set of forces and cannot afford to have different EU and NATO standards or the duplication of forces; believes that NATO and the EU should decide to treat climate security as a new area for cooperation and concrete actionstherefore calls on the EU and NATO to coordinate their efforts to cut down emissions through shared objectives and benchmarks; believes climate security offers fruitful avenues for future cooperation between the EU and NATO;