41 Amendments of Bas EICKHOUT related to 2011/2095(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the agricultural sector can contribute to further mitigating climate change, and the CAP post 2013 is expected to enhance this contribution; notes, however, that, in the longer run, the emission reduction potential of agriculture is rather limited compared to other sectors that significant greenhouse gas emission reductions can be achieved in the agricultural sector which can lead to a win-win-win situation by increasing farmers´ long term economic and agronomic viability, via increased climate resilience and reduced eutrophication, and lower external costs of pollution for society as a whole;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Parliament and the European Council have declared their ambition to secure 80-95% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; points out that a linear trajectory between 2009 and 2050 would result in a 2020 target in the range of 34-38% as compared to 1990;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that livestock production is responsible for around 10% of EU greenhouse gas emissions; notes that both sustainable livestock production and reduced meat consumption are vital to reducing agricultural emissions; recalls that such a transition to a more healthy diet could reduce methane and nitrous oxides emissions substantially;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Considers that long term competitiveness can only be achieved by having healthy, biologically diverse agro- ecosystems that are climate resilient and by taking due care of limited and finite natural resources, such as soil, water and land;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that emission mitigation efforts are expected to increase demand for bio- energy and stresses therefore that agriculture is not only part of the problem but a solution to it, being a producer of biomass and biofuelcan also offer solutions; notes that special care must be taken regarding turning over land used for food production to growing biofuel crops, in order to avoid clearance of forests and other ecosystems and food price rises;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Roadmap demonstrates that the current 20% climate target, of which more than half could be achieved through non-domestic offsets, is not on a cost effective pathway towards a 80% reduction in 2050 compared to 1990; whereas 80% is on the low end of the 80- 95% range the IPCC assessed necessary for industrialised countries and the European Council agreed as the EU target for 2050;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas a reduction target of 40% for 2020 for the EU compared to 1990 would be more in line with science and maintaining climate change to 2°C;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that the action on climate change and the need to ensureclimate change, biodiversity and global food security are dualtriple challenges which need to be pursued together;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the International Energy Agency has calculated that four-fifths of the total energy-related CO2 emissions permitted to 2035 in the 450 Scenario are already locked-in by existing capital stock;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that careful, internationally concerted approach is needed since EU agriculture is pronthere is currently no EU carbon price for the agricultural sector and therefore tohe carbon leakage, in particular through the asymmetric phase- in of a carbon pricempacts for the EU agriculture sector are very limited;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that improved agricultural and forestry practices should increase the capacity of the sector to preserve and sequester carbon in soils and forests; notes that both adaptation to and mitigation of climate change can be achieved by increasing the carbon content of the soil, re-linking animal and arable production, decreasing dependency on oil-based fertiliser and pesticides, while also closing nutrient cycles and making nutrient cycles efficient and non-polluting while ensuring optimal crop growth;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that crop rotation, especially combined with conservation tillage, leads to a higher soil-carbon content and therefore contributes to combating climate change;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ci. whereas it is necessary to assess and act against risks that in the absence of sufficient global effort, domestic action leads to a shift in market share towards less efficient installations elsewhere, thereby resulting in increased emissions globally, i.e. carbon leakage;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that in order to ensure the cohesion between the common policies, any new regulation or standard imposed climate mainstreaming of the future Common aAgricultural producers by any policy, e.g. animal welfare, should not compromise the low carbon economy targetPolicies is essential to ensure coherence between our different EU 2020 objectives;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the food chain should be shortened and the consumption of locally produced food should be encouraged, including the support for local markets, in order to reduce the transport related emissions of agricultural production; notes that transport-related emissions of agricultural products only represent a relatively small part of the total carbon footprint of these products and therefore agricultural production and product losses also need to be addressed;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises the benefits to Member States of developing a low carbon economy; therefore endorses the Commission'’s Roadmap to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050, together with its trajectory, the specific milestones for domestic emission reductions of 25%, 40%, 60% and 80% for 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively, and the ranges for sector- specific milestones, as the basis for proposing legislative and other initiatives on economic and climate policy;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls for the Commission to come forward, as soon as possible and before the end of 2011, with proposals to achieve a 25% internal greenhouse gas reduction by 2020 consistent with a cost effective pathway to the 2050 objective as outlined in the 2050 Roadmap, and to move to a 30% overall target for 2020;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that there is a need for better management of bio-waste and of agriculture and forestry by- products; notes in this respect the use of animal waste and plant based by-products and processing waste e.g. in biofermenters to produce on- farm energy, while at the same time also reducing farmers' production costs;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Invites the Commission to bring forward within the next two years the measures necessary to achieve the 2020 and 2030 objectives, taking into account particular national capacities and potentials, as well as international progress on climate action;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the financing by EU funds, including the Rural Development Fund, of only energy efficient projects for agricultural facilities, especially of those applying renewable energy sources which can reduce carbon emissions to a level as far as possible closer to zeroclose to zero as possible;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises that achieving the climate goals will lead to significant co-benefits in terms of reduced energy costs and dependency of fossil fuel imports as well as health care savings due to reduced air pollution, outweighing the initial costs of achieving the ghg reductions;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that more research funding is necessary to develop and mainstream less energy intensive agricultural methods.nd less polluting agricultural methods, and furthermore notes that low pollution and energy efficient alternatives already exist;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Believes that better livestock feed management, including protein crops in arable rotations and increasing the diversity of protein crops in permanent pasture mixes, in order to grow more animal feed on-farm, would reduce dependence on animal feed imports with a high carbon cost; this would also reduce costs of animal feed for farmers, and invest into better soil management, through increasing soil water retention, and also reducing susceptibility to pests;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Stresses the need to improve the energy self-sufficiency of farms, through incentives for on-farm renewable energy, such as wind turbines, solar panels and bio fermentation technology, to reduce production costs and increase their economic viability by providing an alternative income stream for farmers;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Notes the FAO study "Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture" from 2009, and its finding that organic agriculture reduced energy requirements for production systems by 25 to 50 percent compared to conventional chemical-based agriculture; stresses that integration of organic techniques into farming have a major role to play in tackling carbon emissions while boosting farm productivity, such as sequestering carbon in the soil, thus increasing soil organic matter content and boosting plant growth fertility, plus increasing retention of water and reducing the need to irrigate.
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Paragraph 3 g (new)
3g. Stresses that delaying global and European climate action would result in higher costs not only for achieving the 2050 target, due to stranded investment in high-carbon capital stock and slower technological learning, but also in losing an innovative leading role for the EU in research, job creation and guidance for a greener sustainable economy; points out furthermore that delayed action for 2020 will result in reduced abatement potential for 2030 and beyond;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 h (new)
Paragraph 3 h (new)
3h. Reiterates that cumulative emissions are decisive for the climate system; notes that even with a pathway of 30% reductions in 2020, 55% in 2030, 75% in 2040 and 90% in 2050 the EU would still be responsible for approximately double its per capita share of the global 2°C compatible carbon budget, and that delaying emissions reductions increases the cumulative share significantly;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 k (new)
Paragraph 3 k (new)
3k. Points out that while the climate targets pledged by most countries are not sufficient to meet the 2°C objective, EU is by no means acting alone or most ambitious in its targets;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a
Paragraph 6 – point a
(a) recalibrating the ETS before the commencement of the third phase by setting aside 1.4 billion allowances so as to restore scarcity, thus allowing the original objective of providing incentives for investments in low carbon technologies and energy efficiency measures to be met, and thereafter proposing a legislative act to enable such allowances to be eliminated;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Concurs with the Commission analysis that border adjustment measures or including imports in the ETS would need to be combined with full auctioning to the sectors concerned, and calls on the Commission to produce an analysis of sectors for which free allocation of allowances fails to prevent carbon leakage, and recommends that the Commission bring forward proposals for border adjustment measures requiring importers of products in these sectors to purchase allowances equivalent to those which would have been required if the product had been manufactured in the EU;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. CDeplores the lack of measures to capture the negative-cost greenhouse gas reduction potential in energy and resource efficiency and calls for acceleration of the work under the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC), for strict application of the least lifecycle cost principle or for implementing measures to be set close toat the level of the best performers, ands well as for minimum requirements also to be set for non-electrical products;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to encourage sustainable biomass production and use by introducing binding sustainability criteria that take account of the carbon debt of different biomass feedstocks; insists that meeting the EU'’s target for the use of biofuels must not result in the release of disproportionate quantities of greenhouse gases; calls therefore on the Commission to introduce indirect land use change (ILUC) factors in order to take account of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to changes in land-use patterns caused by biofuels production; highlights that increasing greenhouse gas saving thresholds for biofuels would not address the risks of ILUC;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recognises the importance of applying CCS technology if the carbon emission reduction goals are to be achieved at the least possible costto capture industrial process emissions in e.g. the cement and steel sector, and acknowledges that procedural delays, financial shortfalls and lack of commitment by some Member States are likely to frustrate achievement of the European Council'’s ambition of having up to 12 CCS demonstration projects in operation by 2015; calls on the Commission to publish a CCS Action Plan;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 f (new)
Paragraph 12 f (new)
12f. Calls for specific targets for EU land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), ensuring permanence and the environmental integrity of the sector’s contribution to emissions reductions as well as accurate monitoring and accounting;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Insists on the need to avoid the risk of massive carbon lock-in; calls on the Commission to propose legislation before the end of 2013 that will give a clear long- term signal to investors by requiring that, from 2015, new sources of electricity generation that emit more than 100g CO2/kWh shall not have a permit to operate for more than ten years unless intended solely as peaking plant with operating time limited to 10% of the total in any one year, and to apply the same limit to all existing power stations from 2025;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15d. Calls for the Commission to be particularly vigilant for any leakage of energy production outside the EU ETS, paying attention to Member States with interconnections to countries outside the EU;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Endorses the requirement of the Commission Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 60 % by 2050 compared to 1990 levels in the EU; furthermore calls on the Commission to come forward with interim emissions reduction targets for the sector in order to ensure that sufficient action is taken at an early stage;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Insists that the Commission put forward proposals to include international maritime emissions in the Community reduction commitment with a view to entering into force by 2013 in the absence of an international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions from shipping as agreed between Council and Parliament in the Climate and Energy Package;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Notes that, due to the low carbon price, the auction of ETS allowances will not mobilise resources for climate investments as expected unless the cap is adjusted for the third trading period; recalls that at least 50% of auctioning revenues must be reinvested in climate action both in the EU and in developing countries and urges the Commission to actively monitor the spending of such revenues by Member States and report on this on an annual basis to the Parliament; calls for the Member States to make effective use of the auction revenues to promote R&D and innovation with a view to achieving long-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to bring forward before the end of 2012 ambitious proposals to reduce the emission of methane, black carbon and F-gases;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Recalls that wood could replace very carbon intensive materials inter alia in the construction sector, and calls for a clear hierarchy of use of sustainably harvested wood to be established to ensure consistency with climate as well as resource efficiency objectives; considers that sustainable bioenergy can be sourced from waste, some residues and industrial byproducts, provided sufficient safeguards are set against loss of soil carbon and biodiversity as well as indirect emissions due to displacement of other uses of the same material;