63 Amendments of Seb DANCE related to 2015/2112(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that climate change poses a major threat to poor and least developed countries (LDCs) and will be a major obstacle against the achievement of the SDGs; stresses that failure to limit global warming to 2°C may undermine development gains;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
– having regard to the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2014;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that climate change poses a major threat to poor and least developed countries (LDCs); stresses that failure to limit global warming to 2°C may undermine development gains; calls on the EU to lead the fight against climate change by forcing concrete global measures to deliver this target;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that climate change poses a major threat to poor and least developed countries (LDCs); stresses that failure to limit global warming to 2°C may undermine development gains; and acknowledges that whereas the Paris agreement aims to put the world on a course for not more than a 2°C warming scenario; a 2°C warming scenario will still bring significant loss and damage to environment and communities and more than this will bring catastrophic effects;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the EU's leadership on climate change mitigation and adaption, including the creation of skills, jobs and growth that it brings; notes the crucial need for a global binding agreement to be concluded in Paris and stresses that continued EU leadership requiresthat ensures a reduction in emissions to remain within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 2°C Scenario; stresses that the EU should press for the full commitment of all parties to this agreement; insists on a regular, transparent performance reviewaluations based on the most up- to-date scientific data and technologyies, including an adjustment mechanism to assess, and where necessary adjust, INDCs;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Draws attention to the recent Adaptation Gap report produced by UNEP which estimates that the cost of adapting to climate change in Africa alone, even assuming international efforts keep global warming below 2°C this century, will rise to US$50 billion per year by 2050. Considers that even if all cost- effective adaptation is realised, there will be further ‘residual’ damages where adaptation is no longer possible. Recognises that these residual damages will double the adaptation costs in the period 2030-2050;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
– having regard to the New York Declaration on Forests at the UN Climate Summit in September 2014;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 b (new)
Citation 20 b (new)
– having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Addressing the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recommends a minimum spending commitment of at least 2% GDP on climate change mitigation and adaptation, at both the national level and the EU as a whole;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Adaptation Gap 2014 Report produced by UNEP highlights the enormous costs of inaction and concludes that the cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries is likely to reach two to three times the previous estimates of $70-100 billion per year by 2050, leading to a significant adaptation funding gap after 2020 unless new and additional finance for adaptation is made available;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses the need to strengthen coordination and climate risk management at the EU level and to create a clear EU adaptation strategy; Recommends the implementation of ambitious and binding targets on CO2 emissions and renewable energy, at both national and EU level, to enable and ensure the transition to a sustainable and secure economy;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the climate finance challenge is inextricable from the wider challenges of financing sustainable global development;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas Parties to the UNFCCC decided at COP18 (Decision 23/CP.18) to adopt a goal of gender balance in bodies established pursuant to the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, in order to improve women’s participation and inform a more effective climate change policy that addresses the needs of women and men equally and to keep track of progress made towards the goal of gender balance in advancing gender-sensitive climate policy;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that delays in taking action will increase the cost of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and will narrow the range of technology options available; considers that early action will have a positive impact on the long-term competitiveness of European industries and energy producers;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recognises that the impacts of Climate changes will guide the Global actions to eradicate poverty and end displacement and conflicts; urges for a stronger Policy Coherence for human and sustainable development in order to implement the t international summits conclusions of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Financing for development Conference, UN SDGs, the COP 21 and the first World Summit for Humanitarian action;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Insists that any agreement should contain, as a key component, the concept of a 'Just Transition' to a low carbon future, which includes decent quality job creation, enhanced social dialogue and policies to support the workforce in energy and related industrial sectors;
Amendment 39 #
1. Recognises the extraordinary scale and seriousness of the threats induced by climate change and is extremely concerned that the world is severely off track to limit global warming to below 2°C, with a carbon gap likely to reach 50% of the scale of mitigation required; calls on governments to take, without delay, concrete measures against climate change and towards a global agreement in Paris 2015 to deliver this target;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Supports a global mitigation and adaptation finance goal, based on national regional adaptation plans, to help to close the efficiency gap and to ensure an strategy for Disaster Risk reduction as stated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk reduction;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers important to ensure that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) acts as an institution that prioritize the needs of climate-impacted people in developing countries, acting strictly in the public interest and engaging with private companies and financiers only to the extent they can guarantee compliance with high environmental, social and human rights standards, implementing robust and transparent processes and prohibiting engagement with private sector actors involved in money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance activities, fraud and corruption;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Expects the European Commission to assume a pro-active role in negotiations; calls on it to make it clear that the climate challenge is the top strategic priority to this Commission and to organise itself in a way which reflects this, at all levels and across all policy areas.
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes the findings of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report concluding that even the full cessation of carbon emissions from the industrialised countries will not ensure the achievement of the below 2° C target without significant new commitments by developing countries;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls for concrete commitments to deliver additional sources of climate finance, such as exploring the potential adoption of a Fossil Fuel Transaction Tax on Investment-bank transactions for, or derived from fossil fuel commodities trading. Calls for concrete steps including a timetable for the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies, an ambitious roadmap of commitments of public and multilateral banks in favour of financing the ecological transition, specific public guarantees in favour of green investments, labels and fiscal advantages for green investment funds and for issuing green bonds;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Calls for a commitment for an allocation of climate finance towards supporting development goals that are at risk of being undermined by climate change, with particular reference to the food security objectives as laid out in the Millennium Development Goals and reiterated in the Post 2015 development Agenda.
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Expects the European Commission to assume a pro-active role in negotiations; calls on it to make it clear that the climate challenge is the top strategic priority of this Commission and to organise itself in a way which reflects this, at all levels and across all policy areas;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Calls on major developed economies to harness their existing advanced infrastructure to promote, enhance and develop sustainable growth and to commit to support developing countries to build their own capacity to help ensure future economic growth in all parts of the world is achieved at no further cost to the environment.
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Calls on the EU and its Member States to clearly define the role of private finance in the context of additional leverage of funding, while recognising that this cannot replace the need for public finance, in particular for adaptation, to emphasise the need for transparent reporting and accountability of such finance and to ensure the implementation of relevant social and environmental safeguards;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Calls on the EU to help settle ongoing discussions around additionality of climate finance to development aid and to stop the diversion of existing aid to climate finance by providing guarantees to developing countries that climate finance that qualifies as ODA will be part of an overall ODA budget that is rising at least at the same rate. Calls for a robust monitoring and accountability framework for effective follow-up of the implementation of climate finance commitments and objectives to help provide clarity on these issues;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Paragraph 7 g (new)
7g. Stresses the importance of the role that the Development Community, OECD and OECD DAC should play in working closely with stakeholders and relevant organisation to assess and mitigate the worst human impacts of climate change, which are expected to be challenging even below a 2°C warming level.
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 h (new)
Paragraph 7 h (new)
7h. Recalls the principle of EU Policy Coherence in this, the European Year for Development, which seeks to take account of development objectives in all policies that are likely to affect developing countries and therefore calls on negotiators to aim with their COP strategy to minimise contradictions and ensure synergy between the EU negotiating position and different EU policies to benefit developing countries and increase the effectiveness of development cooperation.
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists on the global phase-out of environmentally and economically harmful subsidies, which distort competitiveness and hinder innovation;, hinder innovation, and generally slows the greening of the EU economy; However, recognises that subsidies can, if utilised correctly, aid the development of a sustainable economy and can be a vital component in the development of new technologies critical to climate action.
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 i (new)
Paragraph 7 i (new)
7i. Highlights the importance of policy scrutiny to ensure that policies aimed at mitigating climate change do not inadvertently undermine communities rights to land, water and food; such as in the case of biofuels.
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 j (new)
Paragraph 7 j (new)
7j. Recognises and proposes action on the implications of high carbon food sources and related agricultural emissions, such as methane and nitrous oxide; Also calls for action on deforestation arising from change of land use for feed and pasture with an aim to avoid emissions associated with food source markets. Calls for action to be taken to raise awareness of the climate impacts of high impact food production methods and to help businesses and people change behaviour. Demands that side measures, including action on curbing food waste should be part of national mitigation plans, especially in those countries with higher than average levels of consumption;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 k (new)
Paragraph 7 k (new)
7k. Recalls the importance of monitoring, reporting and reducing maritime and air transport GHG emission reductions, and the need for swift progress and ambition in reaching satisfactory and timely outcomes before 2016, on the part of both the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in line with the scale and urgency of the climate challenge; calls for dedicating revenues derived from these to post-2020 international climate finance and the Green Climate Fund;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 l (new)
Paragraph 7 l (new)
7l. Considers that while Less Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States have contributed the least to climate change, they are disproportionately affected by the adverse consequences and are often in a lesser position to mitigate and adapt to these changing conditions. Calls therefore for a strong focus in the Paris agreement for supporting adaptation and mitigation measures for Less Developed Countries through technology transfer and finance.
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Warns against aiming for global emission reduction pathways that allow for significant carbon emissions in 2050 and beyond, as this would imply great risks and relying on unproven, energy intensive and costly technologies to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere; depending on the level of the overshoot, the ability of such emissions pathways to maintain climate change below 2°C depends on the availability and widespread deployment of biomass to energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation without plausible land availability, as well as the use of other unknown, yet to be developed, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the serious negative consequences of non-action; stresses that a concerted global political and financial push for clean energy innovation is crucial to meeting our climate goals and to facilitate growth in EU green-economy sectors; highlights the need to preserve existing copyright and intellectual property rights in technology and knowledge transfer to third countries;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Insists that the European Commission uses the Covenant of Mayors to inform its negotiating position, as cities, regions and local communities will be key actors in ensuring climate action legislation and measures are effectively implemented at the local level;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that the EU should increase its efforts on technology transfers for least developed countries, reinforcing the REACT and CELA programmes, and replicating these in other regions; considers that the current time period for a climate change related technology to reach the global market, normally several decades, is too long and is a serious limit on the global impact of such technologies;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Insists that energy efficiency should play a vital role in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Considers the current EU Council's non-binding energy efficiency target of 27% by 2030 to be insufficient; Calls on the EU, in the event of an agreement being achieved at COP 21, to revise and increase its 2030 energy efficiency targets and make such targets legally binding.
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines the enormous carbon storage potential of the bioenergy sector; calls for bioenergy, together with grassland and forestry, to be recognised for their emission- mitigating qualities; additionally notes, that when combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, biomass as a fuel for energy generation could potentially lead to negative emissions, as recognised by the IPPC;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls upon EU Member States to adopt complimentary commitments, additional to any agreed greenhouse gas reduction targets, to reduce up to 1 billion tons of CO2 per year outside of the EU before 2030 in order to enable the world to achieve the below 2° C target;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses the importance of maintaining human rights at the core of climate action, and insists that the Commission and the Member States ensure the Paris Agreement recognises that the respect, protection and promotion of human rights, encompassing i.e. gender equality, full and equal participation of women, and the active promotion of a just transition of the workforce creating decent work and quality jobs for all, are a prerequisite for effective global climate action;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the efforts made on cooperation between the EU and the United States' Department of Energy, particularly around climate change technology research; Considers that there is much potential for further research cooperation between the EU and other major economies; Stresses that the results of publicly funded research should be made freely available;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Taking note of the assessments regarding carbon price expectations under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), concludes that the ETS alone will not be sufficient to ensure timely decarbonisation of the Union’s power generation system and avoiding carbon lock-in; therefore calls for the Commission to come forward with a proposal to introduce emissions performance standards for both old and new power stations, phasing in the requirements in order to ensure decarbonisation of the EU power sector before 2050;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that without significant new mitigation effort focused on the tropical forest sector (REDD+) the achievement of the below 2° C target is likely to be impossible; notes that according to the IPCC, land-based mitigation can cover 20-60% of the global emission cuts by 2030 or 15-45% by 2050, whereas deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Reiterates, therefore, the EU’s own commitment taken in 2008 to help reduce gross tropical forest loss by 50% by 2020 and to halt global forest loss entirely by 2030; underlines that an achievement of these commitments together with restoration of 350 million hectares of forests as called for in the New York Declaration on Forests can reduce 4.5-8.8 billion tons of CO2 per year in 2030;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Reiterates the findings of the UN Environment Programme that in order to stop carbon emissions completely by 2070, carbon sequestration through forest growth or carbon capture and storage has to be mobilised in order to sequester the carbon emitted in all sectors of the global economy;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Notes the effectiveness of the existing REDD+ mitigation mechanism and encourages EU Member States to include it in any climate change mitigation efforts in order to save most of the remaining tropical forests as well as to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and global precipitation patterns vital for the world’s agriculture;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9e. Calls on EU Member States to enter into voluntary international mitigation partnerships with those developing countries particularly affected by tropical deforestation in view of providing financial or technical assistance to stop deforestation by means of implementation of sustainable land use policies or governance reforms;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 f (new)
Paragraph 9 f (new)
9f. Acknowledges the role of trade and private enterprises in generating demand for commodities that might have resulted from illegal deforestation, particularly by illegal conversion of forest land for agricultural use; calls on the Commission to propose robust measures to stop the imports into the EU of goods derived from illegal deforestation; welcomes in this regard a pledge by the Consumer Goods Forum to help eliminate deforestation from the supply chains of soy, beef, paper and palm oil by 2020;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that finance will play an essential role in finding an agreement at the Paris Conference and that it seems therefore necessary to prepare a credible ‘financial package’ covering both pre- 2020 and post-2020 periods, in order to support greater efforts for greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation to climate change impacts;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers that the level of ambition necessary to bridge the existing carbon gap on the part of the developing countries is achievable only if significant assistance from the industrialised countries has been mobilised; calls therefore on the industrialised countries to enter into dedicated partnerships with developing countries aimed at helping them meet ambitious climate mitigation objectives, particularly by way of targeted financial assistance, debt reduction or provision of know-how and technologies;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Insists on the full respect of the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change; believes that local communities play a key role in the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Requests the EU to agree on a roadmap for scaling up predictable, new and additional finance, in line with existing commitments, towards its fair share of USD 100 billion a year by 2020; recognises the imbalance between adaptation and mitigation finance and calls for steps to close it; calls for a robust governance, monitoring and accountability framework for effective follow-up of the implementation of climate finance commitments and objectives;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for concrete commitments to deliver additional sources of climate finance, such as the adoption of a financial transactions taxo explore initiatives for the adoption of a Fossil Fuel Transaction Tax on Investment-bank level transactions involving finance for or derived from fossil fuels and the allocation of emissions trading revenues to climate- related investments, and revenues from carbon pricing of transport fuels; calls for concrete steps including a timetable for the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies, an ambitious roadmap of commitments of public and multilateral banks in favour of financing the ecological transition, specific public guarantees in favour of green investments, labels and fiscal advantages for green investment funds and for issuing green bonds;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Reiterates its call for dedicating revenues derived from measures tackling international aviation and shipping emissions to be dedicated to international climate finance and the Green Climate Fund;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Takes note of the close links between the Financing for Development Conference, the UN Sustainable Development Goals summit and the 21st Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC in 2015; recognises that the impacts of climate change will seriously undermine attempts to achieve the planned post-2015 sustainable development framework, and that the overall development financing framework will need to be aligned with and able to support a low carbon and climate resilient world;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Emphasises that additional climate change mitigation commitments by EU Member States provided to the developing countries in the form of international agreements would potentially free up parts of public foreign assistance which might be then spent on adaptation and resilience measures which constitute a political priority for a number of the poorest developing countries;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls for active support for the elaboration of comprehensive adaptation plans in developing countries based on the practices of local actors and the knowledge of indigenous peoples;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on major developed economies to harness their existing advanced infrastructure to promote, enhance and develop sustainable growth and to commit to support developing countries to build their own capacity to ensure future economic growth in all parts of the world is achieved at no further cost to the environment;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Stresses the importance of the role that the Development Community, OECD and OECD DAC should play in working closely with stakeholders and relevant organisation to assess and mitigate the worst human impacts of climate change, which are expected to be challenging even below a 2°C warming level;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Recalls the principle of EU Policy Coherence in this, the European Year for Development, which seeks to take account of development objectives in all policies that are likely to affect developing countries and therefore calls on negotiators to aim with their COP strategy to minimise contradictions and ensure synergy between the EU negotiating position and different EU policies to benefit developing countries and increase the effectiveness of development cooperation;