Activities of Francisco GUERREIRO related to 2020/2074(INI)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on cohesion policy and regional environment strategies in the fight against climate change
Amendments (20)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas the Cohesion Policy is expected to contribute 37% for 2021-2027 of the overall target of at least 30% of the total amount of Union budget and NGEU expenditures dedicated to climate expenditure;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital B (new)
Recital B (new)
B. whereas an estimated 23% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (2007-2016) derive from Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)1a; Whereas agriculture alone accounts for 10.3% of all the union’s GHG emissions, and from these, around 70% come from animal farming; __________________ 1a https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/20 19/08/4.- SPM_Approved_Microsite_FINAL.pdf
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C. whereas according to the European Court of Auditors, the implementation of the EU target of 20% reduction in GHG by 2020 has led to more, and better-focused, climate action funding in the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Policy, but that in the areas of agriculture, rural development and fisheries, however, there has been no significant shift towards climate action and not all potential opportunities for financing climate-related action have been fully explored 2a; __________________ 2a https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADoc uments/SR16_31/SR_CLIMATE_EN.pdf [Special report, 2016: Spending at least one euro in every five from the EU budget on climate action: ambitious work underway, but at serious risk of falling short] PAGE 7
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas currently underway coal- to-biomass projects in the EU would release 67 MT of CO2 per year and require approximately 2,700km2 of forest to be cut down every year while producing only 64 TWh of electricity, which is less than 2% of the EU’s electricity production;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas the availability of sustainable biomass in the EU is rather limited and existing criteria for its sourcing as laid down in the Renewable Energy Directive are not science-based and rather inadequate; whereas a further increase in the use of biomass above sustainable levels will subsequently have an adverse effect on the climate and environment;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas according the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Economic Services (IPBES), growing demand for bioenergy could cause an 10-fold to 30-fold increase in green energy-related land use in coming years, according to a new report, that would drive the loss of wildlife habitats, potentially leading to massive biodiversity loss and the extinction of endangered species;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital G (new)
Recital G (new)
G. whereas tourism has an impact on climate change by contributing to 8% percent of the global CO2 emissions, and whereas the transport-related CO2 emissions represents the biggest share of these emissions and are expected to increase by25% between 2016 and 2030 due to a growing demand of tourists3a; __________________ 3ahttps://www.e- unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416 660
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital H (new)
Recital H (new)
H. whereas between 8 and 10% of all the greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to originate from food loss and food waste4a; __________________ 4a https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter- 5/
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that cohesion policy must support strong climate mainstreaming in agriculture and food-related sectors, and ensure that all EU funding programmes and projects are embedded in strategies that support ambitious climate objectives;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that, in order to reach the target of a 32% reduction in GHG emissions in 2030, allocations from ESI funds supporting the transition towards climate neutrality in all eligible sectors would have to at least double, and 40% of ERDF resources would need to be allocated to the ‘green, low-carbon objective’1 5a; __________________ 1 5a https://www.caneurope.org/docman/clima te-finance-development/3599-funding- climate-and-energy-transition-in-the- eu/file
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the importance of linking regional environmental strategies to ambitious climate targets that go beyond the overall target of achieving a climate- neutral EU by 2050, taking into account the potential contribution of the farming, food and forestry sectors; notes that these targets have to be in line with the overall EU targets in this regard;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that regional environmental strategies should exclude any kind of support for fossil fuels and gas infrastructure projects and should support renewable energy production and resource efficiency in the farming, food and forestry sectors; notes that the production of biomass from wood or agricultural products for energy production do not guarantee sustainability; suggests that the relevant authorities prioritise the most sustainable options, such as wind or solar, and subject bioenergy projects to strict sustainability criteria;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point a (new)
Paragraph 4 – point a (new)
(a) Notes that the Cohesion Policy and Regional environmental strategies offer opportunities to support farmers and forest managers’ sustainable investments in climate change adaptation, notably aiming at prevention against flood, drought and fire; suggests that these opportunities be highlighted in the future in order to encourages Member States and regional authorities to make full use of these possibilities;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point b (new)
Paragraph 4 – point b (new)
(b) Stresses the need for regional environmental strategies to include a "do no harm principle" and support achieving the SDGs and Paris Agreement in full respect for the EU taxonomy, including in the agriculture and food production sectors;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point a (new)
Paragraph 5 – point a (new)
(a) Notes the positive impact that green sustainable local agro-tourism can have on climate mitigation, and encourages Member States and regional authorities to make use of the possibilities offered by the Cohesion Policy and by Regional environmental strategies to support its development, conditional on respecting environmental and social standards;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point b (new)
Paragraph 5 – point b (new)
(b) Stresses that regional environmental strategies should include waste-management plans, including for wastes originating from farming, food processing, food storage and food distribution, following the circular economy principle;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that EU macro-regional strategies should help build cooperation in order to solve regional issues linked to climate mitigation and adaptation in the farming, food and forestry sectors, in fields such as flood and fire protection, efficient collective waste management, including with the aim of energy production, and the re-localisation of food production; underlines that environmental strategies should support and complement EU macro-regional strategies in this regard.
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point a (new)
(a) Highlights the importance of upholding the Partnership Principle in all programming, implementation and monitoring of EU cohesion policy and to set up a strong cooperation between regional and local authorities NGOs and stakeholders, including farmers’ organisations and environmental NGOs; stresses that this process should take into account the gender perspective.
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point b (new)
Paragraph 6 – point b (new)
(b) Notes that community and citizens initiatives can strongly support the ecological transition, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation, and that Local Action Groups and the LEADER program can be primary tools to achieve this; encourages Member States and regional authorities to coordinate these programmes with their Regional environmental strategies.
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point c (new)
Paragraph 6 – point c (new)
(c) Stresses that Cohesion policy should support investment in education and training, helping local authorities, workers and companies to take greater account of the challenges caused by Climate change, and the role they can play in climate change mitigation and adaptation in their respective sectors.