29 Amendments of Biljana BORZAN related to 2016/0230(COD)
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The Paris Agreement, inter alia, sets out a long-term goal in line with the objective to keep the global temperature increase well below 2°C above pre- industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In order to achieve this goal, the Parties should prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions. The Paris Agreement replaces the approach taken under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which will not be continued beyond 2020. The Paris Agreement also calls for a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, and invites Parties to take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, including forests. Parties acknowledge that adaptation action should follow a fully transparent approach, taking into account ecosystems and should be based on and guided by the best available science.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5a) It is the role of other policies, e.g. the CAP, to incentivise practices going beyond the legal baseline and beyond good standard practice and which represent genuine adaptation, mitigation of climate change and maintenance of the carbon sink, as provision of public goods. Actions should be taken to implement and support, including through result-based payment, activities relating to mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, including non-intervention action considering as well non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches, e.g. flood management, resilience and biodiversity. Actions should be taken to implement and support agricultural activities, including through result-based payment, relating to mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of cropland, grassland and wetlands, considering as well non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches, e.g. drought and flood management, resilience and biodiversity.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) The research into the role of dead wood, in particular above ground coarse woody debris and dead buried wood both in unmanaged and managed forests, should be strengthened to improve the accuracy of forest carbon accounting and in the calculation of the net ecosystem carbon balance. There is limited evidence available, but the evidence available indicates that dead wood can constitute a large carbon pool and leaving deadwood on site could, inter alia play a significant role in terms of biodiversity and be recognised as playing an important part in a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy. This is relevant considering that forest management can favour the removal of deadwood for example for energy purposes, and any decision over the correct mitigation and adaptation should be an informed and scientifically underpinned decision. Dedicated resources should be allocated to research over the period 2017-2020.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 b (new)
Recital 6 b (new)
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 c (new)
Recital 6 c (new)
(6c) Given that the EU28 potential availability of removal units from agricultural land (i.e. cropland and grassland) is, as computed, 437 Mt CO2 for the period 2021-2030, agriculture needs to do its utmost to reach this potential, in order to deliver its fair share of contribution towards climate change mitigation and its limited reduction potential of non-C02 emissions. This can be achieved by improved cropping in order to increase soil organic carbon content, by the introduction of agro- forestry, or restoring the habitats, often priority habitats, from Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC, related to agro- forestry.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 d (new)
Recital 6 d (new)
(6d) The purpose of this regulation to account for emissions and removals in the LULUCF sector should not be undermined by suggestions of undue pressure on land managers or operators on whom it does not legislate, i.e. apply.
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) Wetlands, in particular peatland, are the most effective ecosystems on Earth at storing CO2. The degradation of wetlands in the EU is therefore not only a problem for biodiversity, it is also a major climate problem. Conversely protecting and restoring wetlands especially peatlands could both boost conservation efforts and generate huge carbon credits for Member States in the LULUCF sector. The category of 'managed wetlands' should therefore become part of mandatory accounting, in order for the Union to account for the true carbon balance in the LULUCF sector.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) Considering synergies between agricultural and environmental benefits and climate action of such activity, the introduction of agroforestry in cropland and restoration action on wooded meadows and grasslands (e.g. 6310 – Dehesas with evergreen Quercus spp, *6230 -species rich grasslands on siliceous substrates, *6530- Fennoscandian wooded meadow), improving the conservation status of such habitats, and in general increasing soil organic matter, should be one of the principles of agricultural policy in the EU, and of any other financing instrument affecting land use.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9a) Emissions from harvested wood in the LULUCF sector have the potential to replace emissions in the ETS and ESR sectors and this Regulation can both highlight and account for it.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Natural disturbances, such as wildfires, insect and disease infestations, extreme weather events and geological disturbances that are beyond the control of, and not materially influenced by, a Member State, may result in greenhouse gas emissions of a temporary nature in the LULUCF sector, or may cause the reversal of previous removals. As reversal can also be the result of management decisions, such as decisions to harvest or plant trees, this Regulation should ensure that human- induced reversals of removals are always accurately reflected in LULUCF accounts. Moreover, this Regulation should provide Member States with a limited possibility to exclude emissions resulting from disturbances that are beyond their control from their LULUCF accounts. However, the manner in which Member States apply those provisions should not lead to undue under-accounting. Where there is a correlation between management practices and the occurrence of a natural disaster, it should be considered as human-induced. It should be, individually or in general where possible, subject to the formal recognition of national scientific authorities.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) In the light of the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 28 February 2019 on the adequacy of the level of ambition of this Regulation. This Regulation should be reviewed as of 20243 and every 53 years thereafter in order to assess its overall functioning. This review can also be informed by the results of the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement.
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) managed wetland, including peatland: land use reported as wetland remaining wetland, and settlement, other land converted to wetland and wetland converted to settlement and other land.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall include in their accounts for each land accounting category any change in the carbon stock of the carbon pools listed in Annex I, section B. Member States may choose not to include in their accounts changes in carbon stocks for carbon pools where the carbon pool is not a source, except for above-ground biomass, deadwood (above-ground and buried deadwood) on managed forest land and harvested wood products on managed forest land.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Article 5 – paragraph 6
6. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to amend Annex I in order to reflect changes in the IPCC Guidelines and the 2013 IPCC Wetlands Supplementary Guidelines for national Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Afforestation actions taking place in 2017-2030 on wetlands (including peatlands), Natura 2000 network and habitats listed in Annex I of the Directive 92/43/EEC, in particular natural and semi-natural grassland formations and raised bogs and mires and fens, and other wetland (including peatland) under applied gross-net accounting rules shall not appear in the national accounting. Such areas shall only count, if applicable, for removals (or emissions) in the category of forested land after its transition to managed forest land in accordance with Article 5(3).
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 4
4. Member States that have chosen to include managed wetland in the scope of their commitments in accordance with Article 2 shall account for emissions and removals resulting from managed wetland, calculated as emissions and removals in the periods from 2021 to 2025 and/or from 2026 to 2030 minus the value obtained by multiplying by five the Member State’s average annual emissions and removals resulting from managed wetland in its base period 2005-2007.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Net removals from wood panels (as referred to in Article 9(b)) and sawn wood (as referred to in Article 9(c)) may be separately accounted for outside of and in addition to the net removals figure for managed forest land accounts up to the level of 3% of the Member State's emissions in its base year or period as specified in Annex III, multiplied by five.
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 b (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 b (new)
Net removals from the carbon pool category of deadwood may be separately accounted for outside of and in addition to the net removals figure for managed forest land accounts up to the level of 3% of the Member State's emissions in its base year or period as specified in Annex III, multiplied by five.
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 c (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 c (new)
The combined figure of the net removals in the first sub-paragraph (3,5% of Member State´s emissions in its base year or period) together with net removals for managed forest land accounts from wood panels, sawn wood and deadwood shall not exceed 7% of the Member State's emissions in its base year or period as specified in Annex III, multiplied by five.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
The national forestry accounting plan shall contain all the elements listed in Annex IV, section B and include a proposed new forest reference level based on the continuation of current forest management practice and intensity, as documented between 1990-2009 per forest type and per age class in national forests, expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, assuming a constant ratio between use of wood for production of harvested wood products with a half-life over 10 years and energy use from forest biomass.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 a (new)
Article 9 a (new)
Article 9 a The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to amend Annex V for the purpose of adapting the technical progress made and including new classes of harvested wood products for which half-life values over 10 years are known and confirmed.
Amendment 244 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Emissions resulting from harvesting or salvage logging activities that took place on those lands following the occurrence of the natural disturbances shall not be excluded.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 b (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 b (new)
Furthermore, in order to incentivise management practices supporting resilience of the system, where the national scientific authority finds that a correlation exists between the management and the occurrence of the disaster, and that the management undertaken in the respective area did not prevent or limit the impact of the natural disturbance, it shall be considered to be human induced. In that case, the first sub-paragraph of this Article and Article 10(3) shall not be applied and Articles 6 and 8 apply.
Amendment 262 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2
Article 14 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 13 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the [date of entry into force].
Amendment 266 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1
In the light of the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 28 February 2019 on the adequacy of the level of ambition of this Regulation. The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 28 February 20243 and every fivthree years thereafter on the operation of this Regulation, its contribution to the EU's overall 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target and its contribution to the goals of the Paris Agreement, and mayshall make proposals if appropriate.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Member States´ experts together with the Commission shall check consistency between this Regulation and agricultural policy in 2019 and thereafter in sequences relevant for the reform of agricultural policy. The European Commission shall report on synergies and potential conflicts between this Regulation and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by 2020. This report shall feed into the process of the CAP reform to ensure consistency of the CAP with climate objectives. This shall, every 10 years, become part of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans.
Amendment 291 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – part A – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex IV – part A – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. When setting the forest reference levels, Member States shall discount the effect of nitrogen deposition and of CO2 fertilisation on timber growth and on the emissions and removals in the period 2021-2025 and 2026-2030.