34 Amendments of Flavio ZANONATO 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 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU as a whole is on track to reach the 2020 targets but further action is required in several Member States; whereas the plunging price of fossil fuels, coupled with technological advances in renewable energy and storage, offer a unique chance to rationalize European energy policy, which is currently heavily dependent on imports;
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 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 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 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the fact that some Member States have already met or will very shortly meet their 2020 targets, well ahead of time, such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Romania, Finland and Sweden;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Acknowledges the important role played by national plans and reporting obligations in the monitoring of Member State's progress and believes these obligations should be strengthened for the post-2020 period;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the role of renewable support schemes in attracting long-term investment and consolidating the renewable sector; rejects the retroactive elimination of renewable support schemes; asks the Commission to swiftly check the compatibility of national support schemes with State aid rules in order to avoid any unnecessary delay in their implementation;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Considers that the current provisions in the Renewable Energy Directive about support schemes are insufficient and that this Directive should, in a post-2020 context, provide with more clarity on the principles regulating the use of support schemes, which is essential to ensure regulatory stability, predictability and consistency in view of attracting the necessary investments cost-effectively into the sector;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recalls the importance of cohesion policy funds in the context of the shift towards a low-carbon economy and in particular the increased cohesion policy allocations from EUR 3.9 billion to EUR 4.9 billion for renewable energy investments for 2014-2020 compared to the 2007-2013 period;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Considers that for the EU to retain a world leadership position in the renewables' sector, it needs a long term holistic strategy for the sector, pulling also on policies in other spaces such as industrial policy, research and innovation, environmental, regional development, international cooperation and trade. This strategy needs to be underpinned by a stable and ambitious regulatory policy framework, which inter alia will make the market fit for renewables. The EU strength in high shares of renewable penetration needs to be sustained through continued efforts to create the largest interconnected region in the world. The EU must equally invest massively in the future generation of technology, including maritime-based renewables, battery management systems and integration and electric vehicles, and export its expertise, both on policy and technology. The EU needs also to continue building up knowhow on renewable funding and be at the forefront of innovative ways of project financing;
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 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 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that the targets already agreed for 2020 must be taken as the baseline when revising the Renewables Energy Directive after that date, so that Member States cannot go below their 2020 national target after 2020;
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 187 #
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 policies; believes that such monitoring will only be possible if the Commission determines national benchmarks for Member States to which their progress in renewable deployment can be compared;
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 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Underlines the importance of creating an adequate environment for investments in renewables; points out the need to have an EU financial mechanism aimed at reducing high risk-derived capital costs of renewable energy projects;
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 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. HConsiders that there should be a clear EU regulatory framework on self- consumption of renewable energy and on renewable energy communities/cooperatives; highlights that ‘'prosumers’' should be allowed to access the energy grid and market at a fair price and should not be penaliszed with additional taxes orf charges; expresses its concern at the initiatives taken by some Member States to create obstacles to the exercise of the rights to self-consumption and self- production;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Considers the strategic importance of water resources for achieving the decarbonisation targets and the need to promote a consistent European regulatory framework for the regulation of water diversions and the creation of a level playing field between operators;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the European Commission to propose more ambitious, and binding, measures to unlock full potential for renewable development in heating and cooling, and improve energy diversification and security through the use of renewables in this sector;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Considers that synergies between the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Building Directive should be reinforced in order to enhance renewables use in heating and cooling;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes the failure of the biofuel-based renewable strategy for transportRegrets that the progress in the transport sector has been slow and asks the Commission to make full use of its monitoring powers to ensure Member States sound implementation of the ILUC Directive;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Asks the Commission to propose ambitious measures to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport, including through renewable fuels, increased electrification and enhanced efficiency, and to step up efforts to promote technology development and innovation in these areas.
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Asks for a revision of the sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids as set out in the Renewable Energy Directive, and their extension to solid and gaseous biomass; highlights that sound bioenergy sustainability criteria must necessarily be part of the future Renewable Energy Directive so as to contribute to the EU overall GHG emission reduction targets;
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;