24 Amendments of Carlos ZORRINHO related to 2016/2041(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the Paris Agreement made in December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UNFCCC;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the development of renewable energy must ensure energy sovereignty, eliminate energy poverty and foster economic development in the EU; whereas renewable energy sources should provide European citizens with stable, affordable, sustainable, fair and transparent energy, with special attention to the most vulnerable; whereas renewable energy sources should enable citizens to benefit from self-generation and predictable energy supply;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas investment in renewables requires a long-term framework consistent with the EU’s 2050 climate commitments and the COP21 agreement;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas public participation in the energy market through consumer choice and supervision, clear policy guidelines at regional, national and European level and the engagement of social partners are key to the successful development of renewable energy;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the European renewable energy industry employs 1.15 million people; whereas according to the Commission up to 20 million jobs could be created between now and 2020 in the green economy;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas Commission President Juncker promised to make Europe the world number one in renewable energy, to strengthen the share of renewable energies on our continent which is an industrial policy imperative if we still want to have affordable energy at the Union's disposal;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas the Energy Union should be based on a transition towards a sustainable, forward-looking energy system with energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart infrastructure as major pillars; whereas a long-term stable regulatory framework is needed to create economic growth and jobs and ensure the EU's leading role in these areas;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas binding national and EU targets have been the key drivers for renewable energy capacity development in the EU; whereas binding national and EU targets for renewable energy create growth and jobs and would help secure the EU's technological leadership by providing certainty for investors;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
Ee. whereas EU companies in the renewable energy sector, many of which are SMEs, employ 1,15 million people in Europe and have a share of 40 % of all world patents for renewable technologies, which makes the EU a global leader; whereas this leadership must be maintained in the future by means of a solid EU strategy for renewable energy;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E f (new)
Recital E f (new)
Ef. whereas the EU imports more than half of all the energy it consumes, at a cost of more than €1billion every day; whereas energy imports make up over 20% of total imports;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E g (new)
Recital E g (new)
Eg. whereas money spent on importing fossil fuels and other forms of conventional energy sources and technologies contributes little to investment, jobs or growth in the Union, and whereas redirecting this money to internal investments in renewable energy would stimulate growth and create high- quality, high-skilled local jobs;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the role of well-designed renewable support schemes in attracting long-term investment and consolidating the renewable sector; rejects the retroactive elimination of renewable support schemesincreasing investor certainty thus attracting long-term investment, rapidly reducing the costs of technologies such as solar PV and onshore wind, and consolidating the renewable sector; rejects the retroactive elimination of renewable support schemes; however recognises that as and when certain renewable technologies become cost competitive and mature they will no longer require such schemes; stresses that where support schemes are still needed for less mature forms of renewable energy, they should be designed in an efficient way that minimizes market distortion, while ensuring effective results in terms of renewable generation capacity development;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines the need for an integrated approach to public investments and credit in technical improvement, grid adaptation, storage, smart metering, energy efficiency and new forms of energy production to avoid potential bottlenecks;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reiterates the need to eliminate energy islands still existing in the European Union which are affecting R&D investment policy in certain Member States with regard to renewable energy sources because of possibly limited access to the European energy market;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Underlines that grids in many Member States are simply unable to receive power generated from variable renewables; stresses that modernization of the energy grids is essential to accommodate changes in production and transmission;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the changes in working conditions in the energy sector; stresses that action is needed to ensure labour standards are not lowered as a result of energy transitionat the energy transition should never lower labour standards but on the contrary should provide higher levels of skilled and quality employment;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Reiterategrets the disappointingly weak proposal from the European Council for a 27% renewable energy target for 2030; recalls Parliament’'s call for binding targets of at least a 30 % share of renewable energy consumption and 40 % in energy savings for 2030 to be implemented by means of continued national targets in order to ensure the necessary investor and legal certainty; believes that in light of the recent COP21 agreement significantly higher ambition is desirable;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights the need to define a regulatory strategy that allows for the monitoring of Member States’ commitments while allowing for full democratic control and scrutiny of energy policiesfor an ambitious, strong, robust and transparent governance system for the EU 2030 climate and energy framework that will ensure the attainment of the EU renewable energy target and that should be enshrined in EU legislation; believes, that for elements related to renewable energies, the governance principles should be embedded in the Renewable Energy Directive; believes that in the regrettable absence of binding national targets for the period post 2020, the Commission should present an indication of necessary national contributions to the EU renewable energy target; urges all Member States to deliver their 2030 renewable energy pledges in their national energy and climate plans and present their enabling policies in due time before 2020; calls on the Commission and the Member States to secure effective democratic oversight by the European Parliament in establishing an energy union governance system by ensuring that all related proposals follow the ordinary legislative procedure;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Highlights the need for a differential treatment between micro, small and large producers; stresses the importance of ensuring financial and administrative facilities for ‘prosumers’ (households, micro and small businesses, cooperatives, public administrations and non- commercial entities that engage in energy production)Recommends reducing to an absolute minimum the administrative barriers to new self-generation capacity, in particular through removing market access restrictions; suggests shortening and simplifying authorisation procedures by moving to a simple notification requirement; suggests that the revision of the renewable energy directive could include specific provisions to remove barriers and promote community/cooperative energy schemes via "one-stop-shops" dealing with project permits and providing financial and technical expertise, and/or specific information campaigns at local and community level as well as guaranteeing prosumers' access to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms; suggests this could take the form of a new Citizen and Community Energy chapter;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses the need to strike a balance between the development of centralised and decentralised energy production that ensures that consumers that cannot afford to become ‘prosumers’ are not discriminated against; stresses the need to provide technical and administrative facilities for the collective management of energy production; emphasizes that self- generation and renewable sources are not the cause of higher European energy prices, which can be rather attributed to the lack of diversification, reliance on a single supplier and the incomplete internal energy market;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. NotWelcomes the Commission’s strategy to increase demand-response mechanisms as a valuable way of helping balance an electricity system with ever-increasing shares of renewable energy in a cost- effective and efficient manner; stresses that this should not create an additional financial burden for citizens and participating in demand-response or dynamic pricing should always remain strictly on an opt-in basis only;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that developing electricity storage solutions will be an indispensable element for the development and integration of high levels of renewable energy, assisting in balancing the grid and providing a means to store excess renewable power generation; calls for the revision of the existing regulatory framework to promote the deployment of energy storage systems and remove existing barriers;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses that certain consumers (such as energy-poor households) have rigid consumption patterns and mayit is necessary to ensure they will not be negatively affected by enhanced price- based efficiency mechanisms;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Urges European Union institutions, as a way of showing their firm commitment to renewable energies, to develop renewable energy capacities of their own to cover their own buildings' energy demand; stresses that until such capacities are developed the EU institutions should purchase green energy in order to meet its needs;