11 Amendments of Maria HEUBUCH related to 2015/2112(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that climate change poses a major threat to poor and least developed countries (LDCs); stresses thatStresses that the latest Assessment Report (5AR) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown evidence that the warming of our climate system is unequivocal and that human activities are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the middle of the 20th century; underlines that climate change poses a major threat to poor and least developed countries (LDCs), as they lack the capacities to manage climate risks; stresses that the internationally adopted objective of limiting global warming to 2◦C remains as important as ever, since failure to limit global warming to 2°C maywill undermine development gains;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. PEmphasises that COP 21 represents a unique opportunity to tackle climate change and to make the link with UN work on the post-2015 development agenda; points to the links between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate change and abnormal weather conditions, and the incidence and gravity of natural disasters, land degradation, food crises, large-scale migratory flows and conflicts; notes that such phenomena have a negative impact on the global effort to achieve the sustainable development goals, as climate change amplifies existing vulnerabilities and lead to escalating humanitarian crisis;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that climate change is not a stand-alone environmental issue but a development agenda, for which the EU should give high priority; considers that climate change mitigation and adaptation need to be effectively mainstreamed in the post-2015 global development framework as a cross-cutting issue in a visible and ambitious manner;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the EU to take the lead in the fight against climate change at the COP 21 in Paris, including on climate finance; in particular, calls on the EU to step up its climate ambition by 2030 to ensure that the future UN climate agreement ("Paris Protocol") is up to the challenge of maintaining climate change well below 2°C compared to the pre-industrial level, while respecting the right to sustainable development; to that effect, calls on the EU to commit to reduce its domestic greenhouse gases emission by 60% by 2030 compared with 1990;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Insists upon the need to establish in COP 21 in Paris a common system for accounting greenhouse gas emissions to ensure that the implementation of national contributions is transparent and quantifiable;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Calls on Parties to the "Paris Protocol" to make a collective commitment to shift public support away from fossil fuels towards climate resilience and universal and fair access to sustainable energy;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that in order to reduce GHG emissions in developing countries, it is necessary to putEncourages developing countries to minimize their GHG emissions by putting in place mechanisms that would increase the use of efficient energy sources and industrial capacities with zero or low carbon footprint; encourages equally developing countries to invest among others in small-scale, off-grid and decentralised renewable energy projects; to that effect, urges the EU to scale up its programmes on renewable energies and energy efficiencies and "disaster risk reduction", with the aim to decrease dependency on fossil fuels; calls equally on the EU to scale up its assistance in developing countries in sustainable agriculture to cope with climate change, by targeting its support on small-scale farmer, crop diversification, agro-forestry and agro-ecological practises;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. DNotes with concern that 166 million people were forced to leave their home because of floods, windstorms, earthquakes or other disasters between 2008 and 2013; in particular, draws attention to the fact that climate- related developments in parts of Africa could contribute to an escalation of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean; deplores that the status of climate refugee is not yet recognised as such, and leaves a legal loophole affecting victims that cannot benefit of the refugee status;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. IStresses the need to make the Paris Protocol legally binding and applicable to all countries; insists that efforts to tackle global climate change should be undertaken jointly by both developed and developing countries; stresses that the EU must intensify its pursuit of a legally binding international agreement ensuring that mitigation and adaptation efforts are increased following the "common but differentiated responsibility" principle; but recalls that without providing predictability on the climate finance regime, developing countries cannot make commitments regarding mitigation and adaptation actions; stresses that the EU must intensify its pursuit of a legally binding international agreement ensuring that mitigation and adaptation efforts are increased; underlines that in order to be effective and credible, the EU's climate diplomacy must take into account the priorities of their partners, including the need to deliver adequate, stable and predictable climate finance; an adequate balance between adaptation and mitigation as well as a functioning mechanism to address effectively loss and damages;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EU and developed countries to scale up its funding for mitigation, adaptation, technology development and transfer and capacity building in developing countries; Reiterates its call on the EU and the other developed countries to honour their collective commitment to provide new and additional climate finance – from public and private bilateral and multilateral sources – amounting to USD 100 billion by 2020; stressesto that effect, calls on the EU to increase financial support to climate action in developing countries, by using new sources of finance, such as ETS auction revenues, financial transaction tax as well as levies on fossil fuel emissions resulting from international aviation and maritime transport; stresses that separate accounting of climate finance is needed to track the additionality of financing commitments; stresses equally that country ownership and the integration of climate objectives into national development strategies are key to an effective use of climate finance;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls for any free trade agreement negotiated by the European Union to have as a crosscutting objective a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (in line with the specific EU objectives) and generally contribute to combating climate change at global level, bearing in mind the vital importance of ensuring consistency with regard to EU development policy; notes that free trade agreements not including these climatic objectives and provisions could, under no circumstances, be signed or ratified by the EU;