4 Amendments of Jutta PAULUS related to 2020/2091(INI)
Amendment 129 #
8. Notes that confinement measures to control the spread of the pandemic led to a drastic decrease in emissions and air pollution, thus clearly showing the impact of human activities on the environment; notes with regret that continuous exposure to air pollution may worsen the impact of respiratory virudiseases such as COVID-19; underlines that fighting air pollution must be at the core of the EU recovery plan, and that mandatory and effectively enforced air quality requirements are key to guaranteeing citizens’ health and improving their resilience against future health threatsis concerned with the risk that pollution may bounce back to pre- lock-down levels or, worse, to even higher levels, and cautions against the postponement or cancellation of local measures aimed to reduce air pollution, particularly from road traffic; points that fighting climate change by transitioning from fossil fuel combustion in power plants and transport to renewable energy brings added value also through the reduction of air pollution; underlines that fighting air pollution must be at the core of the EU recovery plan, and that mandatory and effectively enforced air quality requirements are key to guaranteeing citizens’ health and improving their resilience against future health threats; urges Member States to step up the ambition of their clean air policies, including through the targeted use of funding from the EU National Recovery and Resilience Facility; urges the Commission to ensure that in line with the ‘do no significant harm principle’ no funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plans will be spent on activities that lead to a significant increase in the emissions of pollutants into air, water or land and to make approval of the Plans conditional on their alignment with the zero pollution ambition of the European Green Deal;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the announcement of the Commission’s Zero Pollution Action Plan; emphasises that air pollution is a burden that requires a holistic approach; alerts that any new measures will be worthless if air quality is not properly prioritised and mainstreamed in all EU policies, including EU emission source legislation, such as on climate, energy, transport, industry, agriculture and waste, while ensuring that there are no contradictions and better synergies between all policy areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate more closely in all areas and at all levels in order to help local authorities achieve cleaner air; points to the growing link between air pollution and climate change, as shown by growing ozone concentrations triggered by temperatures rise and more recurrent heat waves; highlights the need to more seriously regulate emissions of methane and black carbon, which contribute to both air pollution and global warming; welcomes the recently published “EU strategy to reduce methane emissions”, however encourages the Commission to step up its ambition particularly in terms of action to minimise emissions, especially from agriculture and waste;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10 d. recalls that tyre wear generates more than 500,000 tonnes of microplastics in the EU per year and that more than 25,000 tonnes of these microplastics are released as PM10 into our air1a; recalls that tyres consist not only of rubber but also of a blend of different materials and chemicals, which can also include endocrine disruptors, carcinogens and mutagens, which, due to abrasion, ultimately end up in our nature and water cycles and can cause health threats; urges the Commission to adopt a delegated act amending Regulation (EU) 2020/740 as soon as possible, in order to include parameters or information requirements for tyre abrasion and mileage; urges the Commission to set binding abrasion standards for tyres and ban the most polluting tyres, as soon as reliable, accurate and reproducible methods to test and measure tyre abrasion and mileage are available for use by European or international standardisation organisations; _________________ 1aInvestigating options for reducing releases in the aquatic environment of microplastics emitted by (but not intentionally added in) products, ICF & Eunomia, 2018
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 e (new)
Paragraph 10 e (new)
10 e. highlights that air and waterborne transport are also important sources of air and noise pollution, adversely impacting citizens and the environment, particularly close to airports, ports and coastal areas; emphasises that air pollution from maritime transport is responsible for over 50 000 deaths annually in the EU and must therefore be further reduced1a; points out that a scientific study commissioned by the Commission concluded that without further action, maritime NOx emissions will likely match land-based NOx emissions within a decade1b, while another study has concluded that luxury cruise ships alone, a small segment of maritime transport, already emit more disease-causing sulphur oxide emissions than all of Europe's passenger cars in a year1c; calls for the strengthening of European climate and environmental legislation covering the maritime sector; demands to declare the Mediterranean Sea a nitrogen- and sulphur-emissions control area (NECA/SECA); calls on the Member States to strictly control NECA and SECA zones in their territorial waters; points out that land- and sea-bound emission measurements should be accompanied by satellite detection; calls on the Commission to further issue reduction requirements to seaborne air and climate pollutants, and requirements aiming for zero-emission ports; requests that any European measures aimed at reducing ship air pollution should also reduce GHG emissions, especially CO2 and methane; _________________ 1aBrandt, J., Silver, J. D., and Frohn, L. M., ‘Assessment of Health-Cost Externalities of Air Pollution at the National Level using the EVA Model System. CEEH Scientific Report No 3’, 2011 1bThe potential for cost-effective air emission reductions from international shipping through designation of further Emission Control Areas in EU waters with focus on the Mediterranean Sea, IIASA, 2018 1cOne corporation to pollute them all, Transport & Environment, 2018