14 Amendments of Sir Graham WATSON related to 2011/2095(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on ‘a roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050’; points out that while the current financial crisis must be borne in mintaken into account, a low carbon economy represents a great economic opportunity and could also bring solutions to the crisis and that a switch to renewable energy sources has the potential to substantially reduce energy costs in the longer term, as the fuel sources are unlimited;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on ‘a roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050’; points out that while the current financial crisis must be borne in mindtaken into account, a low carbon economy represents a great economic opportunity and could also bring solutions to the crisis;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that, as the UK government’s Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change showed, the long term economic costs of not taking action to prevent climate change far outweigh the short term costs of taking strong and decisive action now;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that unilateral action is not sufficient for the purposes of reducing emissions and that the extensive involvement of non-EU countries is also necessary; yet recognises that from an EU industrial perspective, first movers on low carbon technologies have a competitive advantage in today and tomorrow’s low carbon world;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Hopes that binding objectives will be established for each sector together with a realistic timetable, in order to inspire confidence among, and to encourage, private investors; welcomes the roadmap’s conclusion that the power sector should and is able to decarbonise almost completely by 2050 (93%-99% emissions reduction);
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the achievement of these objectives by 2050 could lead to a secure energy supply and higher rate of employment growth for the EU and stresses the role that an interconnected European electricity supergrid could have in further improving security and reliability of supply;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that the energy efficiency (EE) target of cutting current energy use by 20% will be difficultis currently not on track to be achieved by 2020; calls for more resourcesgreater ambition, more resources and stronger political commitment, particularly for increasmproving energy efficiency in buildings, in line with the Energy Efficiency Directive;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of R&D for the development of low emissions technology, and requests that funds for energy research as part of the Horizon 2020 initiative be at least doubled; clearly focused on those clean and sustainable technologies which will deliver for 2020 and beyond, thereby increasing the funds for renewable energy to EUR 1.5 billion a year; recalls that the SET-Plan is the EU’s flagship initiative on low carbon technologies, and therefore calls for sufficient financial allocations for each SET-Plan technology to be indicated in separate SET-Plan budget lines; recalls that actual financial allocations in the energy area represent only 0,5% of the EU budget 2007-2013, which is not in line with the EU’s political priorities;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of R&D for the development of low emissions and zero carbon technology, and requests that funds for energy research as part of the Horizon 2020 initiative be at least doubled; recalls that in its resolution of 9 July 2008 on the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan, the European Parliament called for €2 billion per year from the EU budget to be spent on research and development in the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan to help lower the cost of low carbon energy technology;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines the important role of renewable energy, including innovative developments in this field, and the urgent need for better solutions as regards storing this energy and increasing energy efficiency; ; calls on the Commission to assess the possibility and macro-economic impacts of setting further binding targets for renewable energy of 45% by 2030, including 60% renewable electricity, to provide clarity for investments and foster technological leadership and industrial innovation;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Invites the Member States to invest more in energy infrastructure, in particular in energy networks and smart meters and, with regard to inter-regional connections, to launch an investment plan based on the European Energy Infrastructure Package; Recognises that as electricity transmission infrastructure requires several years to be built and features long lifetimes, a long-term vision on grid assets is urgently needed to guide current and future investments, together with an optimal use of the existing grid; welcomes the focus on energy infrastructure in the upcoming Connecting Europe Facility and urges the Member States to invest more in energy infrastructure, in particular in energy networks and smart meters and, with regard to inter-regional connections, to launch an investment plan based on the European Energy Infrastructure Package; notes that this will improve competition in the internal electricity market and increase security of electricity supply; calls on the Commission to propose practical solutions on how best to incentivise a European offshore grid, onshore transmission reinforcements and a trans-European overlay grid to ensure the flow of substantial amounts of energy generated by renewable sources;
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Invites the Member States and the European Commission to invest more in energy infrastructure, in particular in energylectricity transmission networks and smart meters and, with regard to inter- regional connections, to launch an investment plan based on the European Energy Infrastructure Package;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Acknowledges that alongside an adequate electricity transmission infrastructure it is necessary for the efficient integration of large amounts of renewables to have market rules that allow for efficient and transparent international power exchange; calls therefore for a swift integration and uptake of cross-border electricity markets, in particular on the intra-day and day- ahead timeframe;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Stresses the need, when looking at future electricity prices, to take into account the merit order effect, whereby large volumes of low marginal cost renewables drive electricity prices down.