39 Amendments of Josianne CUTAJAR related to 2020/2074(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
- having regard to European Environment Agency Indicator Assessment on Economic losses from climate-related extremes in Europe published on 20 December 2020,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas European Environment Agency estimated that between 1980 and 2019, climate-related extremes caused economic losses totalling an estimated EUR 446 billion in the EEA member countries; whereas this is equivalent to EUR 11.1 billion per year and the cumulative deflated losses are equal to nearly 3 % of the GDP of the countries analysed;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas sustainability should be seen as a balanced approach to bring sustainable growth, social progress and environment together;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Cohesion Policy is key to support less developed regions or areas, suffering from natural and geographical handicaps, which are often at the forefront of the impacts of climate change and have less resources to face it;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas Cohesion Policy is a crucial tool to deliver a fair transition to a climate neutral economy that leaves no one behind;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas an increase of 1.5 degrees is the maximum the planet can tolerate; should temperatures increase further beyond 2030, we will face even more droughts, flood, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people; the likely demise of the most vulnerable populations - and at worst, the extinction of humankind altogether as pointed out in the EU interinstitutional report Challenges and Choices for Europe;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas islands, outermost and peripheral regions have an enormous potential in the production of renewable energy and are strategic laboratories to implement innovative policy measures and technical solutions to deliver the energy transition, reduce CO2 emissions and boost the shift towards the circular economy;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
Ic. whereas the transition to a climate neutral economy by 2050 can be achieved through a combination of public financing at EU and national levels and by creating the right conditions for private financing;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the crucial role for Cohesion Policy in fighting climate change and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest and the intermediate target by 2030, as well as the role of local and regional authorities in mitigating and adapting to climate change, in particular through a far-reaching reform of investment policies; stresses in this regard that many European citizens still face energy poverty; calls to promote further actions aiming at fighting this phenomenon;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recognises the need to support the territories most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality, avoid regional disparities growing and empower workers and local and regional communities;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that sustainability and the transition to an economy that is safe, climate neutral, climate resilient, more resource efficient and circular are crucial to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the Union economy; and to preserving its social cohesion;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Points out that it is paramount to fully uphold multi-level governance and partnership principles under Cohesion Policy, as local and regional authorities not only have direct competencies on the environment and climate change, but can also develop actions aiming to promote climate-friendly behaviour among citizens, including those linked to waste management, smart mobility and sustainable housing;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Urges holistic regional integration strategies to guarantee sustainable development and mitigate the consequences of climate change by supporting energy transition to renewable sources, biodiversity and climate adaptation; believes that these regional strategies should support civic engagement, locally initiated and owned projects and should boost the cooperation between the regions, also trough cross- border projects; calls on the Commission to provide support and facilitate the cooperation between the regions and exchange of know-how and best practices;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines the key role of local and regional authorities in achieving a fair transition to a climate-neutral economy for all, with social and economic cohesion at its core; recalls that this process would not be possible without a strong focus on skills; is of the opinion that regional environment strategies should also aim at enhancing the administrative capacity of the local and regional institutions and at developing their potential as enablers of economic, social and territorial competitiveness;
Amendment 148 #
11. Calls on the Commission to monitor the progress of national governments and local and regional authorities in addressing climate change; emphasises that an effective involvement of local and regional authorities at national level should be put in place when the European Commission assessment on climate change policies and climate targets is done in the context of the European Semester; stresses the need to enhance the effectiveness and complementarity of ESI Funds in tackling climate change;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 11 – point 1 (new)
(1) Welcomes policy objective 2 (PO2) of the proposed new Common Provisions Regulation which aims to establish ‘a greener, low carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation and risk prevention and management'; recalls that ERDF thematic concentration for PO2 would be best served if applied at regional level in order to reflect the different regional specificities when it comes to climate;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Is concerned by the economic losses due to natural hazards and the damage of the EU funded infrastructure projects caused by the weather and climate-related extremes; calls for the support of activities and infrastructure projects that respect the climate and environmental standards and that are more resilient against the natural hazards;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Stresses that it is of the utmost importance to respect in all relevant Cohesion Policy legislation horizontal principles such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a fair and socially inclusive transition, a legally binding climate-related spending target of 30 % and a biodiversity-related spending target at 10 %; stresses, therefore, that a transparent, comprehensive and meaningful tracking methodology should be adopted swiftly, and adapted if necessary during the MFF mid-term revision, for both climate-related spending and biodiversity-related spending;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the proposal to top up the Just Transition Fund, including with additional funds from Next Generation EU, and the two additional pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism, namely a dedicated scheme under Invest EU and a public sector loan facility, which will contribute to alleviating the economic effects of the transition to climate neutrality on the Union’s most vulnerable regions; regrets the fact, however, that the top-up amount proposed by the Commission has been cut by more than 2/3 - from 30 to 7.5 billion euros - under the Council agreement on Next Generation EU; underlines that these cuts would jeopardise the fund’s core objectives;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Reaffirms that the specificities of all regions as defined in Article 174 of the TFEU need to be fully reflected in the transition process so that no region is left behind; is of the opinion that, in order to ensure the overall harmonious development of these areas; calls in this regard to evaluate the specificities of the regions as listed in Article 174 of the TFEU in case of any revision of the State Aid guidelines;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. EUnderlines the key role that islands, in particulars mall islands, outermost and peripheral/remote regions can play in the transition towards climate neutrality, as innovation laboratories for the development of clean energy, if their full potential is unlashed by adequate tools, support and funding; emphasises that islands, in particular small islands with limited governing autonomy, should be able to access sufficient economic resources in order to deliver integrated, sector-coupled and innovative interventions for infrastructure and local economic development;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Emphasises that islands, in particular small islands with limited governing autonomy, should be able to access sufficient economic resources and adequate training in order to deliver integrated, sector-coupled and innovative interventions for infrastructure and local economic development; considers that these territories can represent a formidable laboratory for sustainability practices in sectors such as clean energy, smart mobility, waste management and circular economy;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Highlights the need to capitalise on the outcome of initiatives such as New Energy Solutions Optimised for Islands (NESOI) and Clean Energy for EU Islands (CE4EUI) to ensure a functional transition between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods; in this regard, calls on the Commission to produce a user friendly guides for Regional and local governments to have the opportunity to acknowledge and capitalise on consolidated best practices on energy transition and decarbonisation of economies; welcomes the Memorandum of Split, which recognises the leading role for island communities in the energy transition;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Highlights the need to capitalise on the outcome of initiatives such as New Energy Solutions Optimised for Islands (NESOI) and Clean Energy for EU Islands (CE4EUI) to ensure a functional transition between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods; welcomes the Memorandum of Split, which recognises the leading role for island communities in the energy transition; underlines in this regard the importance of exchanging best practices and of promoting mutual learning;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises that all sectors need to be represented and supported in the transition towards climate-neutral industrial processes, while maintaining international competitiveness; and preserving economic, social and territorial cohesion among different European regions;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls on national and regional programming authorities to maximise the transformational impact on climate and environmental protection during the ongoing development and national and regional EU funds spending plans;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Calls on the Commission to benchmark draft spending plans against highest possible climate ambition;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16d. Welcomes the proposal on REACT EU as it continues and extends the crisis responses and crisis repair measures with additional resources to existing cohesion policy programmes;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)
Paragraph 16 e (new)
16e. Welcomes the efforts of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to revise its energy lending policy and to devote 50% of its operations to climate action and environmental sustainability; calls on the EIB to commit to the sustainable transition towards climate neutrality while devoting particular attention to the regions most affected by the transition;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 f (new)
Paragraph 16 f (new)
16f. Welcomes the presentation of the 'Renovation Wave Strategy' as one of the crucial strategies contributing to making Europe climate-neutral by 2050; emphasizes the need to address energy poverty through a programme of building renovation targeting vulnerable and low income households, as part of a wider European Anti Poverty Strategy;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 g (new)
Paragraph 16 g (new)
16g. Calls on the Commission to consider referring to the Taxonomy Regulation for private and public investments; points out the need to enshrine the ‘do not significant harm’ principle;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 h (new)
Paragraph 16 h (new)
16h. Calls for further investments on sustainable mobility such as railways and sustainable urban mobility for greener cities with better life quality for citizens;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 i (new)
Paragraph 16 i (new)
16i. Calls on the Commission to link the assessment of the Paris agreement every 5 years with an assessment of further necessary adjustments in Cohesion Policy;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Underlines the urgent need to further support the principles of circular economy and to prioritise the waste hierarchy;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Promotes a strong involvement of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the transition process as well as in the design and in the implementation of the regional environment strategies since these actors are not only well-grounded in the local economic fabric, but will also be affected by the policies of the Green Deal; believes it crucial to help MSMEs grasp the opportunities of the environmental transition through tailor-made support in the upskilling and reskilling process;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Is of the opinion that effective regional environment strategies will be also beneficial to the tourism sector since they could help enhance the appeal of many European regions as sustainable destinations and could overall promote a new kind of responsible tourism;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Recalls that the success of the regional environment strategies also depends on robust research and innovation policies also at the local and regional level; encourages the collaboration among local authorities, research institutions and enterprises such as the initiatives within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and its Knowledge and Innovation Community (KICs);