38 Amendments of Judith A. MERKIES related to 2013/2135(INI)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 22 April 2013 on Microgeneration - Small scale electricity and heat generation,
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas lessons should be learned from the fact that out of the three headline 2020 targets agreed in 2007 (20% of the Union’s energy mix to come from renewable sources, a 20% increase in energy efficiency compared to projections, and a reduction in GHG emissions of 20% as compared to 1990 levels) the only target not currently on track is the non-binding energy efficiency target;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas only binding targets offer Member States the necessary flexibility to decarbonise their economies in the most efficient and cost-effective way, taking into account national circumstances and specificities;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the current climate of uncertainty surrounding the future direction of climate and energy policy is deterring much-needed investments in clean technology;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas the Commission’s Energy Roadmap 2050 finds that decarbonisation of the energy sector and a high renewables scenario is cheaper than a continuation of current policies, and that over time prices of energy from nuclear and fossil fuels will continue to rise, whereas the cost of renewables will decrease;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas the 2050 carbon roadmap estimates health savings through improvement in local air quality would save up to €17 billion per year by 2030 and the IEA estimates that by 2035 2°C consistent policies could cut the EU’s annual fossil fuel import bill by 46% or €275 billion (1% of EU GDP);
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas attention must be paid to the impact of climate and energy policy not only on the most vulnerable groups in society but also on low and middle-income households whose standards of living have been squeezed in recent years;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Eurostatpean Environment Agency figures show that the EU has reduced its CO2 emissions by 16.978% between 1990 and 20112 and is on track to achieve its 2020 target in this regard;, mainly due to the economic crisis1; __________________ 1 Trends and projections in Europe 2013, EEA Report nr 10/2013.
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas investors and industries need a clear and long-term framework for EU climate and energy policy with greater levels of certainty in order to encourage long-term private investment and reduce the risk associated with this; whereas this a clear climate and energy strategy is crucial in increasing Europe’s industrial competitiveness, stimulating economic growth and creating jobs;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU spent EUR 573 billion on imported fossil fuels in 2011 and its dependency on energy imports is expected to grow, it is clear that action needs to be taken now to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy to diminish this dependency on third countries and enhance security of supply while at the same time lowering bills and fighting climate change;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas the conclusions from the European Council meeting of 22nd May 2013 called for priority to be given to phasing out environmentally or economically harmful subsidies, including for fossil fuels;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the Commission stated in its Energy Roadmap 2050 that upgrading the grid is unavoidable and that, more importantly, no matter which future energy scenario is chosen the cost will be the same, even if it is decided to follow the business as usual scenario; stresses therefore the need to develop a smart and interconnecting grid and to choose a scenario based on renewable energy and energy efficiency as this is the only way to reach the goals of sustainability, competitiveness, energy independence, energy security and affordable energy prices;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers that a strong binding energy efficiency target is of primary importance in order to make the most efficient use of energy within the Union and such a target will also have the knock-on effect of ensuring that less effort will be needed to meet the GHG and renewable energies targets; therefore calls for the current 2020 target to be continued, but be made binding and the level of ambition doubled to 40%;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Considers that a binding target of 45% for the share of renewable energies in the Union is the best way to ensure the necessary investor certainty for the continued development and promotion of renewable energy sources and related infrastructure and is entirely feasible alongside a strong binding energy savings target;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Considers that a binding 50% domestic reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels is the absolute minimum required to stay on track for the below 2°C target and is both realistic and affordable, as has been shown by numerous studies, particularly when combined with ambitious energy savings and renewable energy targets
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the European Council to keep up the progress made at EU level and set ambitious but realistic objectivesswiftly endorse the new climate and energy package for the 2030 EU policies that take account of the economic, social, environmental, international and technological contexts, andwith these three binding headline targets, in order to establish a clear, stable, long-term and cost-effective framework for industries and investors;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that as one of the cornerstones of the EU's climate and energy package, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) should be the principal instrument for reducing industrial emissions and promoting investment in low carbon technologies; doing so in a manner that creates a level playing field for competing technologies, that gives companies the flexibility to develop their own mitigation strategy, and that provides for specific measures to combat carbon leakage;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recognises that the ETS is experiencing problems not originally anticipated which has led to an accumulation of surplus allowances; calls on the Commission to take into account past experience when proposing structural improvement to the ETS, which is necessary in order to increase the scheme's ability to respond to economic downturns and upturns, enhance investor certainty and strengthen market-based incentives for investment in and the use of low-carbon technologies;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the Member States to increase the proportion of ETS auctioning revenue spent on climate-related purposes so as to spur low-carbon investment in industry and encourage other means of job creation;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is of the opinion that support schemes, if better used, could be an appropriate tool to incentivise the development of renewable energy sources (RES) and energy efficiencybsidies and other incentives are important for the large-scale development and uptake of renewable energy sources (RES); notes that a wide variety of different schemes for promoting renewable energy sources (RES) currently coexist within the European Union; notes that greater compatibility in this regard might be an important aspect for a well-functioning internal energy market; sees an important role for the Commission in providing guidance in this regard;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that stimulating microgeneration will be vital element in raising the share of renewable energy sources in Europe's energy mix;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that some RES should nowas and when the cost of RES production be considered mature energy sources andmes competitive on the market, their subsidies should therefore be phased out onver time in order to be able to reallocate these to research and development (R&D) programmes and RESto next-generation RES technologies that are not yet cost- effeccompetitive; asksIn the Commission to study the impact of RES priority dispatch on general energy costs;same vein, affirms that fossil fuels are mature energy sources and their subsidies should be phased out as soon as possible.
Amendment 507 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Calls on the Commission to come forward with a specific framework for transport, including targets, as the transport sector accounts for around a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in the EU making it the second biggest greenhouse gas emitting sector after energy production;
Amendment 519 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Highlights that nearly half of the EU final energy consumption is used for heating and cooling, stresses the major impact of actions in these sectors and emphasizes the importance of integrating the heating and cooling sector (both ETS and non-ETS) in the 2030 policy framework; is convinced that the combination of energy efficiency measures and the development of local and renewable based heating and cooling infrastructures will strengthen security of supply, decrease GHG emissions and lower energy costs for citizens and industry;
Amendment 521 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Sees an important role for advanced biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transport, while increasing energy security and contributing to growth and jobs;
Amendment 528 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Asks Member States for better cooperation and interaction at EU level in order to make national measures more consistenStresses the importance of common EU energy policy to address the many challenges in the climate and energy field and to create a transparent EU energy market;
Amendment 577 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Notes the importance of stimulating local cooperatives for renewable energy and collective switching initiatives in increasing citizens participation, improving accessibility of renewable energy and generating financial investments;
Amendment 645 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that, when bringing about security of supply, Member States must be able to take advantage of all of their indigenous the EU as must make full use of the potential of all renewable energy resources in accordance with policies that ensure the safe and sustainable exploration, extraction and use of these resourcthat are at the disposal of EU Member States;
Amendment 682 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that the lack of full implementation of internal energy market legislation remains one of the main obstacles to completion of the single market; highlights the importance of eliminating remaining infrastructure bottlenecks and instances of market failure and of ensuring that no new barriers to electricity and gas market integration are created; underlines the need to tackle structural market distortions that do not contribute to making our energy mix more sustainable, such as ongoing fossil fuel and nuclear subsidies and lack of market transparency; calls on the Commission to increase its efforts to enforce the implementation of the third energy package;
Amendment 697 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that energy end consumers – individuals, SMEs and industry alike – are at the very core of the internal energy market and that they should benefit from lower energy prices, be duly protected, and accurately informed by ensuring easy access to information; for this purpose, calls on the Commission and Members States to achieve, as a matter of urgency, the completion of the internal market, security of supply and the interconnecpay particular attention to energy poverty and propose a specific strategy proposing measures to tackle energy poverty, including ensuring best-practice can be spread and the use of statistics and indicators, including an EU-wide definition of enetworks as requested in Article 194 TFEUrgy poverty;
Amendment 701 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. considers that special attention should be given to energy poverty, insists that energy should be affordable for all, and calls on the Commission and the Member States, and on local authorities and competent social bodies, to work together on tailored solutions to counter such issues as electricity and heat poverty, with a special emphasis on low-income, vulnerable households that are most affected by higher energy prices;
Amendment 702 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Notes that energy is an essential service covered by Protocol No 26 on Services of General Interest, appended to the Lisbon Treaties, which requires a high level of affordability; stresses that the 2030 framework needs to include the principle of affordability and avoid discrimination against vulnerable consumers, particularly those on low income; asks therefore that the Commission give greater priority to the socio-economic dimension of sustainability and introduce measures to address the distributional impact of its policies.
Amendment 712 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Notes that in order to ensure security of supply there must be enough capacity to meet demand in peak periods and in periods of (political or technological) difficulties and that excess capacity or backup must therefore be ensu; stresses, in this regard, the importance of examining the system adequacy of national generation capacities in the short and long term, taking into account all flexibility resources that could contribute to system adequacy befored and maintained; points out the need for storage and more grid flexibility as a response to the intermittence of some sources of RESssessing generation adequacy; calls, in this regard, on further efforts to be put on the development and uptake of additional sources of flexibility such as energy storage technologies and demand demand-side responsiveness;
Amendment 752 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses that modernising the existing energy infrastructure and building new, intelligent and flexible infrastructure for the generation, transmission, distribution and storage of energy is essential for a stable, well-integrated and well-connected energy market, and emphasises that large- scale investments should be made in parallel with investments in regional or even local networks; notes, in this regard, that a decentralised renewable energy supply reduces the need to build new transmission lines – and hence the associated costs- as decentralised technologies -which can be directly integrated in homes, cities and remote areas- are much closer to the end- consumers;
Amendment 754 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses that modernising the existing energy infrastructure and building new, intelligent and flexible infrastructure for the generation, transmission, distribution and storage of energy is essential for a stable, well-integrated and well-connected energy market, and emphasises that large- scale investments should be made in parallel with investments in regional or even local networkand local networks, highlights in this regard the special attention that needs to be given to the distribution level, as the increasing decentralisation of energy supply shifts investment needs from transmission to distribution levels;
Amendment 780 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Firmly believes that reducing energy use and costs through high energy efficiency, further developing renewable energy sources and using research and innovation to develop new technologies to slash our CO2 emissions are all necessary in order to boost the Union's competitiveness and create much-needed high-quality growth and jobs which cannot be exported outside the Union
Amendment 783 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Considers that the setting of ambitious targets would provide the necessary stimulus to revitalise Member States' economies and ensure an end to the current economic downturn, boosting competitiveness through lower production costs for heavy industry by resource and energy efficiency, decrease vulnerability to world energy price fluctuations and ensure a more stable investment environment, as well as ensuring European leadership in the high-tech sustainable technology sector and the first-mover advantage that goes with it.
Amendment 904 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Points out that a well-functioning EU ETS is pivotal in maintaining the EU's leadership on climate change and that several countries such as China and Australia are implementing or developing legislation to introduce their own emissions trading system following the example of the EU ETS; recalls in this regard that an international cap and trade system is central in order to secure a new legally binding global climate change agreement and that without a stable and predictable emissions trading system the credibility of the EU's climate policy is at risk;