31 Amendments of Cristina MAESTRE MARTÍN DE ALMAGRO related to 2021/0206(COD)
Amendment 59 #
(8) Those amendments have differing economic and social impacts on the different sectors of the economy, on the citizens, and the Member States. In particular, the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and road transport into the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and the Council31 should provide an additional economic incentive, on top of the economic incentive from the other GHG emitting sectors, to invest into the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and thereby accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with other measures, this should, in the medium to long term, reduce the costs for buildings and road transport to make this SCF sustainable over time, and the proposals resulting from the negotiations on the future revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, this should, in the medium to long term, reduce the costs for buildings and road transport, increase the energy sustainability of buildings by reducing their energy demand and thus their GHG emissions, and provide new opportunities for job creation and investment. _________________ 31 Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) However, sufficient, stable and equitable resources are needed to finance those investments. In addition, before they have taken place, the cost supported by households and transport users for heating, cooling and cooking, as well as for road transport, is likely to increase as fuel suppliers subject to the obligations under the emission trading for buildings and road transport pass on costs on carbon to the consumers.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9 a) In the construction sector, a holistic reform of building structure: building envelopes (roof and façade), shading, ventilation control, etc... would lead to less demand for energy, especially in buildings constructed after the Second World War, which would take into account in a more efficient way people at risk of exclusion, namely those who suffer most from energy poverty in the EU. It would also counter the trend of families moving between rural, peri-urban and urban areas, thus preventing them from potentially incurring higher housing prices and preventing the consequent emission of GHGs owing to increased use of private transport.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The increase in the price for fossil fuels may disproportionally affect vulnerable households, vulnerable micro- enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users who spend a larger part of their incomes on energy and transport, who, in certain regionsthus exacerbating inequalities, and who, in certain regions, especially in rural, peripheral and isolated areas, in less developed regions or territories, those suffering from severe handicaps and those in demographic decline, do not have access to alternative, affordable mobility and transport solutions and who may lack the financial capacity to invest into the reduction of fossil fuel consumption.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10 a) It is therefore essential to identify and target this sector of the population comprehensively, to ensure that SCF assistance is fast, effective and well targeted. In order to achieve this objective, a definition is needed of people/neighbourhoods at risk of social exclusion that allows for less developed micro-areas (rural and urban) encompassed in more developed areas to be identified more accurately, which renders the creation of this SCF very necessary for the fight against social inequalities that may occur owing to the implementation of various climate measures.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) This is even more relevant in view of the existing levels of energy poverty. Energy poverty is a situation in which households are unable to access essential energy services such as cooling, as temperatures rise, and heatand access to affordable energy services are essential and constitute basic and fundamental social rights for social inclusion. Energy poverty is a situation in which households are unable to access essential energy supply needs, so as to guarantee basic levels of comfort and health, such as cooling, as temperatures rise, and heating as a result of an insufficient level of income, high-energy prices and which, as the case may be, could be aggravated if they have an energy inefficient dwelling. About 34 million Europeans reported an inability to keep their homes adequately warm in 2018, and 6.9% of the Union population have said that they cannot afford to heat their home sufficiently in a 2019 EU-wide survey32. Overall, the Energy Poverty Observatory estimates that more than 50 million households in the European Union experience energy poverty. Energy poverty is therefore a major challenge for the Union. Despite the growing importance of that challenge having been acknowledged at Union level through various initiatives, legislation and guidelines, there is no standard Union-level definition of energy poverty and only one third of Member States have put in place a national definition of energy poverty. As a result, no transparent and comparable data on energy poverty in the Union is available. Therefore, a broad Union-level definition of energy poverty should be established with a view to collecting data in an appropriate way, including gender- disaggregated data, to guide assistance and monitoring practices. While social tariffs or direct income support can provide immediate relief to households facing energy poverty, only targeted structural measures, in particular energy renovations, can provide lasting solutions. _________________ 32 Data from 2018. Eurostat, SILC [ilc_mdes01]).
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) As regards the buildings sector, a holistic reform of buildings, based on actions aimed at improving energy efficiency by focusing on all the elements that make up a building: façade, heating/cooling systems, etc., would lead to a reduction in energy consumption for each household, and would be visible in the money they would save and, as a result, would provide one means of combatting energy poverty. The future revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will lay the foundations for these objectives to be achieved and should therefore be taken into account when implementing the SCF.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) A Social Climate (‘the Fund’) should therefore be established to provide funds to the Member States to support their policies to address the social impacts of the emissions trading for buildings and road transport on vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users. This should be achieved notably through temporary income support and measures and investments intended to reduce reliance on fossil fuels through increased energy efficiency of buildings, decarbonisation of heating and cooling of buildings, including the integration of energy from renewable sources, and granting improved access to zero- and low-emission mobility and transport to the benefit of vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
Recital 13 a (new)
(13 a) The concept of renovation needs to be changed to ensure that it is not limited only to the energy aspect, and is viewed holistically so as to include improvements in the rest of a building's installations, for example: building envelopes (roof and façade), shading, ventilation control, etc., with the aim of generating a lower energy demand, especially in buildings from the first half of the 20th century. This would take better account of people at risk of exclusion and counter the trend of families moving between rural, peri-urban and urban areas, thus preventing them from potentially incurring higher housing prices and preventing the consequent emission of GHGs owing to increased use of private transport.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 b (new)
Recital 13 b (new)
(13 b) The implementation of the Fund must take into account ex ante the unequal social impact of including the building and road transport sectors in the emissions trading system and be coupled with economic policy and governance that does not lead to inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. It is therefore imperative that the amendments, applications and legislative proposals to be adopted in the future revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and similar related legislative proposals are taken into account when implementing the SCF.
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) For that purpose, each Member State should submit to the Commission a Social Climate Plan (‘the Plan’). Those Plans should pursue two objectives. Firstly, they should provide vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users the necessary resources to finance and carry out investments in energy efficiency, decarbonisation of heating and cooling, in zero- and low-emission vehicles and mobility. Secondly, they should mitigate the impact of the increase in the cost of fossil fuels on the most vulnerable and thereby prevent energy and transport poverty during the transition period until such investments have been implemented. The Plans should have an investment component promoting the long-term solution of reduce fossil fuels reliance and could envisage other measures, including temporary direct income support to mitigate adverse income effects in the shorter term.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Member States, in consultation with regional and local level authorities and civil society organisations, are best placed to design and to implement Plans that are adapted and targeted to their local, regional and national circumstances as their existing policies in the relevant areas and planned use of other relevant EU funds. In that manner, the broad diversity of situations, the specific knowledge of local and regional governments, research and innovation and industrial relations and social dialogue structures, as well as national traditions, can best be respected and contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall support to the vulnerable.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Ensuring that the measures and investments are particularly targeted towards energy poor or vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users is key for a just transition towards climate neutrality. Support measures to promote reductions in greenhouse gas emissions should help Member States to address the social impacts arising from the emissions trading for the sectors of buildings and road transport.
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16 a) In order to achieve this objective, a definition is needed of people/neighbourhoods at risk of social exclusion that allows for less developed micro-areas (rural and urban) encompassed in more developed areas to be identified more accurately, which renders the creation of this SCF very necessary in the fight against social inequalities when adapting to climate measures. Such a definition is essential for the SCF to be implemented comprehensively.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Women are particularly affected by carbon pricing as they represent 85% of single parent families. Single parent families have a particularly high risk of child poverty. Gender equality and equal opportunities for all, and the mainstreaming of those objectives, as well as questions of accessibility for persons with disabilities should be taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation and implementation of Plans to ensure no one is left behind. disproportionally affected by the consequences of climate change1 a, by energy poverty and are particularly affected by carbon pricing due to the employment, income, pay and pension gaps. Moreover, they represent 85% of single parent families, which have a particularly high risk of child poverty and are under-represented as tenants. This limits women's participation in the energy transition, as they cannot afford energy-efficiency investments to reduce their energy consumption and have limited access to energy-efficiency retrofit programmes1 b. Gender equality and equal opportunities for all, and the mainstreaming of those objectives, as well as questions of accessibility for persons with disabilities should be taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation and implementation of Plans to ensure no one is left behind. _________________ 1 a EIGE, Area K - Women and the environment: climate change is gendered, 05 March 2020, available at: https://eige.europa.eu/publications/beijing -25-policy-brief-area-k-women-and- environment 1 b European Parliament, Directorate- General for Internal Policies of the Union, Feenstra, M., Clancy, J., Women, gender equality and the energy transition in the EU, Publications Office, 2019, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2861/989050
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
The measures and investments supported by the Fund shall benefit households, micro-enterprises, SMEs and transport users, which are vulnerable and particularly affected by the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and road transport into the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC, especially households in energy poverty and citizens without public transport alternative to individual cars (in remote and rural areas).
Amendment 191 #
The general objective of the Fund is to contribute to the transition towards climate neutrality by addressing the social impacts of the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and road transport into the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC. The specific objective of the Fund is to support vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users through temporary direct income support and through measures and investments intended to increase energy efficiency of buildings, decarbonisation of heating and cooling of buildings, including the integration of energy from renewable sources, and granting improved access to zero- and low-emission mobility and transport.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) ‘building renovation’ means all kinds of holistic energy-related building renovation, includingwhich includes a comprehensive approach to energy performance, accessibility, spatial and structural building renovation, including, in particular, the insulation of the building envelope, that is to say the walls, the roof, the floor, the replacement of windows, the ventilation, the replacement of the heating, cooling and cooking appliances, the adaptation of housing for people with disabilities and the installation of on-site production of energy from renewable sources;
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point a (new)
(a) 'small or medium-sized enterprise' or 'SME' means a small or medium-sized undertaking within the meaning of Article 2 of the annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 – point a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 – point a (new)
(a) 'vulnerable SMEs' means SMEs that are significantly affected by the price impacts of the inclusion of buildings into the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC and lack the means to renovate the building they occupy;
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. Each Member State shall submit to the Commission a Social Climate Plan (‘the Plan’) together with the update to the integrated national energy and climate plan referred to in Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 in accordance with the procedure and timeline laid down in that Article, following, where relevant, a consultation with regional and local entities and civil society organisations which work with vulnerable persons. The Plan shall contain a coherent set of measures and investments to address the impact of carbon pricing on vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users in order to ensure affordable heating, cooling and mobility while accompanying and accelerating necessary measures to meet the climate targets of the Union.
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) finance measures and investments to increasmprove the energy efficiency, accessibility, spatiality and general functioning of buildings, toby implementing active and passive energy efficiency improvement measures, to carry out building renovation, and to decarbonise heating and cooling of buildings, including the integration of energy production from renewable energy sources, including information support, capacity building and training necessary to implement those measures and investments;
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) finance measures and investments to increase the uptake of zero- and low- emission mobility and transport, including information support, capacity building and the training necessary to implement those measures and investments.
Amendment 273 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) an estimate of the likely effects of that increase in prices on households, and in particular on incidence of energy poverty, on micro-enterprises, on SMEs and on transport users, comprising in particular an estimate and the identification of vulnerable households, vulnerable micro- enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users; these impacts are to be analysed with a sufficient level of regional disaggregation and data disaggregated by gender, taking into account elements such as access to public transport and basic services and identifying the areas mostly affected, particularly territories which are remote and rural;
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) where the Plan provides for measures referred to in Article 3(2), the criteria for the identification of eligible final recipients, the indication of the envisaged time limit for the measures in question and their justification on the basis of a quantitative estimate and a qualitative explanation of how the measures in the Plan are expected to reduce energy and transport poverty and the vulnerability of households, micro-enterprises, SMEs and transport users to an increase of road transport and heating fuel prices;
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) envisaged milestones, and targets to reduce the number of vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and SMEs, and an indicative timetable for the implementation of the measures and investments to be completed by 31 July 2032;
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) reductions in the number of vulnerable households, especially households in energy poverty, of vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and of vulnerable transport users, including in rural and remote areas.
Amendment 331 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Member States may include the costs of the following measures and investments in the estimated total costs of the Plans, provided they principally benefit vulnerable households, vulnerable micro- enterprises and SMEs or vulnerable transport users and intend to:
Amendment 335 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) support building renovations, prioritising social housing and deprived areas, especially for those occupying worst- performing buildings, including in the form of financial support or fiscal incentives such as deductibility of renovation costs from the rent, independently of the ownership of the buildings concerned;
Amendment 406 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
(i) whether the Plan represents a response to the social impact on and challenges faced by vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users in the Member State concerned from establishing the emission trading system for buildings and road transport established pursuant to Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC, especially households in energy poverty, duly taking into account the challenges identified in the assessments of the Commission of the update of the concerned Member State’s integrated national energy and climate plan and of its progress pursuant to Article 9(3), and Articles 13 and 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, as well as in the Commission recommendations to Member States issued pursuant to Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 in view of the long-term objective of climate neutrality in the Union by 2050. This shall take into account the specific challenges and the financial allocation of the Member State concerned;
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point b – point i
(i) whether the Plan is expected to have a lasting impact on the challenges addressed by that Plan and in particular on vulnerable households, vulnerable micro- enterprises and SMEs and vulnerable transport users, especially households in energy poverty, in the Member State concerned;