Activities of Jytte GUTELAND related to 2016/2251(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Reiterates that there is a lack of data available on ELD cases and comparable incidents treated under national legislation; notes that the ELD provides an obligation for notifying the competent authority of imminent threat of, or actual environmental damage; regrets however that there is no obligation to publish such notifications or information about how the cases were dealt with; Notes that some Member States have identified this limitation in their national legislation and thus set up databases about the notifications/incidents/cases. However, the practice varies broadly from Member State to Member State and is rather limited;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Points out that there is still lack of awareness and information about the ELD, insufficient resources and expertise to implement the Directive and uncertainties concerning definitions such as ‘significant’ threshold and under-use of complementary and compensatory remediation. Calls on the Commission to support Member States in the development of tools to support a better implementation of the ELD regime, such as guidance documents for operators, competent authorities, civil society organisations and insurers;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Reiterates that according to the ELD, persons adversely affected by environmental damage should be entitled to ask the competent authorities to take action; believes in this regard that a compensatory collective redress mechanism should be available to any individual or organisation that has suffered due to environmental damage or impairment of right within the scope of the ELD.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15d. Taking into account that the European law stipulates that European citizens should be guaranteed effective and timely access to justice (Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Regulation, Article 6 TEU and relevant provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights) and that the costs of the environmental harm should be borne by the polluter (Article 191 TFEU), calls on the Commission to come up with a legislative proposal on compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States based on breaches of provisions of Union environmental law;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for the ELD to be reviewed as soon as possible and the definition of ‘environmental damage’ laid down in Article 2 of the directive to be revised and to broaden the definition in order to extend the scope of application to damages caused to human health and the environment caused by air pollution generated by the car industry; reminds that if car manufacturers would be held financial liable for remedying the environmental damage they cause, it would increase the level of prevention and precaution;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to check whether it is possibleReiterates that air pollution harms human health and the environment and according to Eurostat, Nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter pollution pose serious health risks while Europe’s sensitive ecosystem areas are affected by acid deposition of excess sulphur and nitrogen compounds (SOx, NOx, NH3); Calls on the Commission to extend the scope of the ELD also to damage to the air15, which can have significant health risks, and to damage caused by electromagnetic pollution16; __________________ 15 This option was considered in the Commission document of 19 February 2014 ‘Study on ELD Effectiveness: Scope and Exceptions’ p. 84. 16 The effects of continuous exposure to electromagnetic fields were considered in a study by STOA, ‘The Physiological and Environmental Effects of Non-Ionising Electromagnetic Radiation - 03-2001’; furthermore, there are still no data available on the effects of long-term exposure to intense electromagnetic fields.
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Reiterates that article 4.5 of the ELD stipulates that Directive shall only apply to environmental damage or to an imminent threat of such damage caused by pollution of a diffuse character, where it is possible to establish a causal link between the damage and the activities of individual operators; Reiterates that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) already in its 2013 Report established a rigorous causal relationship between gas emissions and damage related to climate change and the environment.1b __________________ 1bIPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F. et al. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Takes seriously the research published by Environmental Research Letters, which estimates that 1,200 people in Europe will die early, each losing as much as a decade of their life, as a result of excess emissions generated between 2008 and 2015 by affected cars sold in Germany1a; Calls on the Commission, to include, in the next review of the ELD, damage to human health and the environment caused by air pollution emitted by cars violating the EU car emissions legislation; __________________ 1aChossière, Guillaume P et al. Public health impacts of excess NOx emissions from Volkswagen diesel passenger vehicles in Germany. 3 March 2017. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 12, Number 3
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls for the establishment of a European register of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD; Calls on the Commission and all the Member States to develop public available databases for reporting on ELD cases in order to create better trust in the ELD system and better implementation; Publication of public databases would enable stakeholders, operators and the public to become more aware of the existence of the ELD regime and its enforcement and thus contribute to better prevention and remediation of environmental damages;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. In order to be effectively accessible, public databases of ELD cases could be established according to the following criteria: – they should be available online. Furthermore information should be granted also upon request; – the database should be central for every country, not separate register for every region; – notifications about new incidents should be immediately published online; – the database should include information about the name of polluter, nature and extent of the caused damage, prevention/remediation action measures taken, proceedings carried out by/and or with authorities;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Suggests that tax relCalls on the Commission to introduce subsidiefs or other favourable arrangements be introduced for companies whichinstruments for operators who pursue an occupational activity, as defined in Article 2(6) of the ELD, and who successfully endeavourtry to prevent environmental damage;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Commission to step up its training programme for the application of the ELD forin the Member States and to set up helpdesks for practitioners providing information, assistance and assessment support for risk and damage evaluations;