Activities of Judith A. MERKIES related to 2011/2068(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a resource-efficient Europe PDF (292 KB) DOC (190 KB)
Amendments (38)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the over-useincreasing demand for, and the over-exploitation of natural resources leads to environmental degradation and destruction of the earth's finite natural capital;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas realising and monetising the value of nature and the ecosystem services it provides is crucial for a transition to a resource efficient economy;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for the creation of Joint Task Forces for the three key areas of food, housing and, mobility and food and drink: these should consist of experts from the Commission, Member States, industry and civil society and develop European Resource Efficiency Action Plans with clear benchmarkresource reduction actions within one year;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to develop a chain of custody system, subjected to appropriate impact assessments, that instructs producers throughout the entire chain to use a transparent system to record the use of resources, allowing for more intelligence in the use of resources;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the Commission to encourage more partnerships between actors throughout the value chains based on a good understanding of the value chain's characteristics, challenges and hurdles.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls onUrges the Commission and Member States to stimulate the reuse of products and the use of secondary materials market and to foster the demand for reuse and recycled raw materials by developing end-of- waste criteria and economic incentives, such as reduced VAT rates for secondary materials, by 2013; calls also therefore for the creation of a ´Schengen area´ for waste in order to move waste for recycling more freely between the Member States;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Urges the European Commission to research the development of a hierarchy model to ensure the highest added value of resource use without compromising the environment in analogy with the Report on an effective raw materials strategy for Europe (2011/2056(INI)); calls on the EC to map the competition for the same materials and to address non-essential consumption of resources;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Urges the Commission to examine the effects of a tax on resources and virgin raw materials, and in particular on any side effects, such as non sustainable substitution, tax evasion or a shift of economic activities to third countries and to present proposals for EU instruments to this effect in line with the resource efficiency priority; the taxation of resources must serve the purpose to promote reuse and recycling instead of the extraction of virgin materials and would help shift the tax burden from labour to resources;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Reiterates that more vigorous monitoring of the implementation of waste legislation is needed;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges the Commission to boost research andstimulate disruptive thinking to force breakthroughs in - technological- innovation to speed upin order to accelerate the transition to a greensustainable economy; underlines that the ‘´Innovation Union’ is one of the engines` and more specifically the ´Horizon 2020 Framework program` and the ´European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials` are engines to drive for a resource-efficient Europe;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission and Member States to develop and use clear and measurable indicators for economic activity that take account of climate change, biodiversity and resource efficiencyintroduce concrete legislative initiatives necessary to meet binding, resource reduction targets, supported by funds and financial mechanisms by the end of 2012;3
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to extend the scope of the eco-design directive to non- energy related products and to come forward with additional eco-design requirements on the performance of products, including recycled contentability, end-of- life recycling, durability and reusability, in order to improve their environmental impact and promote recycling markets;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Emphasises that resource efficiency is a cross-cutting issue; calls on the Commission to integrate this agenda into other policies, especially the overarching governance economic policies, such as Europe 2020.
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Endorses the Flagship Initiative on a Resource Efficient Europe and the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe and its 2050 vision, including its milestones; calls on the Commission to bring forward swiftly all legislative and other initiatives necessary to achieve the milestones and to ensure that all EU policies are aligned to them; recalls the fact that decoupling economic growth from resource consumption is essential to improve Europe's competitiveness and reduce its resource dependency;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission, by the end of 2012, to identify those priority products or services that contribute the most to key global consumption areas water, land, materials and carbon to be coherent with the consumption indicators as laid down in the Resource Efficiency Roadmap.
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines the urgency of taking action now to support innovation and investment in new techniques and business models, such as a leasing society, and to create the incentives that will bring both short- and long- term benefits for the economy; emphasises the key role of the private sector in delivering green economic growth;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Is concerned about the increasing application of nano-technology - e.g. silver in nano-particles for anti-bacterial use - which may lead to irretrievability of these materials; calls for careful study of the environmental impact before the technique is more widely taken up;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Underlines that Europe as a recycling society needs to reuse and recycle to a large extent its own waste and produce secondary raw materials in the most efficient way: accordingly, a EU-wide proximity principle should be extended to all recovery operations optimising the distance from the source to the recovery installation;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that for the transition to a resource-efficient economy to be realised, market prices should reflect fully the degree of resource scarcity as well as all the costs entailed in the production process; calls for the implementation of the life cycle approach in the accounting process and the internalisation of the external environmental costs according to the polluter-pays principle;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and Member States to develop incentives that encourage companies and public bodies to measure, benchmark and continuously improve their resource efficiencywater-, land-, material- and carbon footprints, as well as measures to extend the producer responsibility principle and to remove barriers that hold back resource efficiency;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Emphasizes the importance of the role that citizens and civil organisations play in bringing about a change in transforming the economy; stresses the need to develop awareness strategies and strategies to alter consumer behaviour and to avoid rebound effects;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Recalls that an absolute reduction of resource use is urgently needed in order to avoid upcoming problems such as resource scarcity and rising prices of resources;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Underlines the need to secure a sustainable European supply of raw materials necessary to meeting the needs of a growing recycling sector, expanding Europe's open economy and generating jobs;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for stronger requirements on Green and Sustainable Public Procurement (GPP) for products with significant environmental impacts and urges the Commission to assess where GPP could be linked to EU- funded projects; calls for efforts to promote joint procurement and networks of public procurement officers in support of GPP by the end of this year;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Reiterates the value of including resource use in product information and eco-labels and urges the Commission to integrate all existing labels as far as possible, thus providing a complete overview for consumers on e.g. resource use, energy use, corporate social responsibility, source of origin, eco- innovation, material use and recyclability;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges Member States to ensure full implementation of the EU waste acquis, including minimum targets, through their national waste prevention and management strategies; reiterates that targets that have already been set in several Directives regarding the collection and separation of waste, should be further elaborated and set for the highest and most qualitative recovery of materials in each of the phases of recycling: collection, dismantling, pre-processing and recycling/refinery;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission to investigate opportunities in setting up EU-wide extended producer responsibility schemes to drive performance in all Member States including those where reuse and recycling rates are much lower than the EU average;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to streamline the waste acquis and to introduce a progressive landfill ban, recalls the Parliaments decision on the report on an effective raw materials strategy for Europe (2011/2056(INI)) to introduce a general ban on waste landfill throughout the EU, and urges the Commission to extend this ban by introducing an incineration ban on recyclable waste at the latest by the end of this decade, accompanied by appropriate transition measures;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to further develop standards for the treatment of waste on the basis of Life Cycle Analysis thinking and the waste hierarchy to further reduce the amount of recoverable and recyclable waste going to the landfill until its phasing out at the end of this decade;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission to present measures for securing environmentally sound collection, pre-processing and recycling of raw materials per category;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges Member States to shift towards environmental taxation in public revenues accounting for an EU average of more than 10% by 2020, in line with the best performing Member States; emphasises that this will allow for cuts in other taxes such as on labour, increase competitiveness and create a level playing field;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Commission and Member States to present concrete plans to be adopted by 2014 for phasing out all environmentally harmful subsidies before 2020;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Endorses the Commission's commitment in the Roadmap to developing market-based instruments to enable negative externalities to be included in market prices thereby reflecting the true cost of using resources and their environmental impacts;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to start pilot projects for several resources, e.g. phosphorous,make use of best practices in the field of resource efficiency, e.g. in the field of phosphorous, and, if best practices for certain resources do not yet exist or need improvement, start pilot projects for scarce resources to reach 100% reuse in 2020; emphasises that these. These best practices and pilot projects should receive direct funding from structural funds, and the Common Agricultural Policy;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the importance of sustainable agriculture, dietary changes to reduce animal protein intake and diminishing imported land use; Calls for more concrete actions to reduce food waste as this would also reduce demand for water in agriculture, thereby addressing the interlinked problems of food security and water security.
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Emphasizes that nutrient losses to the environment through agricultural production creates heavy external costs for ecosystems, human health and the climate, calls for the Commission to introduce modern nutrient management techniques to reduce nutrient losses as production intensifies;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Supports the proposal by the Commission to establish a lead indicator complemented by a set of indicators on land, water, materials and carbon; underlines that these must be based on a footprint approach that takes the full life cycle impacts into acrges the Commission to ensure that these four consumption-driven indicators are the land-, water-, material- and carbon footprint, thus integrating hidden flows as well as the possible transfer of environmental pressures to third countries;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Welcomes the initiative of the Commission on the Transparency Directive, following the US Dodd-Frank bill and urges the Commission to include sustainability criteria;