Activities of Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ related to 2023/2073(INI)

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Carlos ZORRINHO, Robert HAJŠEL

Motion for a resolution
Citation – a (new)

– having regard to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – b (new)

– having regard to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU/2023/1185) of 10 February 2023 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a minimum threshold for greenhouse gas emissions savings of recycled carbon fuels and by specifying a methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions savings from renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non- biological origin and from recycled carbon fuels,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – a (new)

– having regard to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU/2023/1184) of 10 February 2023 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a Union methodology setting out detailed rules for the production of renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – c (new)

– having regard to the Commission communication of 16 March 2023 entitled ‘on the European Hydrogen Bank’ (COM/2023/156),

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – d (new)

– having regard to the Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021– 2025 (GAP III),

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – b (new)

– having regard to the policy brief of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations of 2018 entitled “Policy Brief 12 Global Progress of SDG7-Energy and Gender”,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – e (new)

– having regard to the report of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) from May 2022 entitled “Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean: access, renewability and efficiency”,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – c (new)

– having regard to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Citation – d (new)

– having regard to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC),

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas SDG 7 stipulates the aim to achieve sustainable access to affordable and clean energy by 2030~~12 ; _________________ 12 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ‘The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition – July 2023’, New York, USA, 2023.~~; whereas recent progress is not on track and more efforts are needed to achieve universal access by 2030;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas, according to the UN, as of mid-2023, approximately 733 million people worldwide, 80 % of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa, still do not have access to affordable, reliable, clean, high-quality energy13 ; whereas the access is even lower in rural areas; whereas even in the regions that have better access to energy as Asia and the Pacific or Latin America and the Caribbean there is big inequalities between countries and among its populations in access to energy; _________________ 13 The International Renewable Energy Agency, ‘Basic Energy Access Lags Amid Renewable Opportunities New Report Shows’, 6 June 2023.

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas without additional measures 565 million people will still be without access to electricity and around one billion to clean cooking by 2030, concentrated in low and middle income countries;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas overlapping crises, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences on the prices of energy and other commodities are affecting the energy systems of many developing countries, being the least developed countries the most affected; whereas this is a call for the European Union to increase the finacing of renewable energies;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas access to affordable, reliable, clean, high-quality energy is even more difficult in countries affected by conflict, natural disasters;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas access to energy is essential for humanitarian and development organisations to deliver efficient humanitarian aid, especially medical and emergency care;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas globally women are strongly underrepresented in the energy sector workforce, especially in management roles;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas low access to energy makes it difficult for countries to attract businesses and entrepreneurship and whereas it impacts negatively national, regional and local economies;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas traditional cooking fuels (solid biomass, kerosene and coal) are the main contributors to carbon emissions, deforestation and climate damage and represent a threat to people’s health causing around 3.7 million premature deaths a year with women and children being the most affected; whereas EU funding for clean cooking fuels is marginal;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas it is calculated that 2.3 billion people worldwide lack access to clean cooking, whereas the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in energy prices have slowed the progress in access to clean cooking, whereas less than 10% of people who lack access to clean cooking live in countries that have effective policies and sufficient funding to reach universal access by 2030;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas lack of access to clean cooking increases the time women and girls spend cooking, whereas this reinforces the unequal share of domestic work between men and women, whereas it is calculated that access to clean cooking would give women and girls an average of 1.5 more hours per day they could dedicate to leisure and/or education;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas developing countries, especially the ones considered as least developed, have an abundance of renewable energy sources, but often lack an enabling policy and regulatory framework for sustainable energy development and use;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EU together with its Member States provided the vast majority of Official Development Assistance financing for SDG 7 projects in Africa amounting to EUR 13.8 billion between 2014 and 2020; whereas an estimated 53 % of the disbursements were in the form of loans; whereas this is still not enough and more efforts need to be made to attain by 2030 universal access to affordable, reliable, clean, high-quality energy;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas financial flows for energy remain concentrated in a small group of countries often leaving least developed countries behind;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the Gender Action Plan III stipulates that 85 % of all new actions throughout external relations should contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment by 2025 and this should be taken into account when designing and implementing energy programmes in partner countries;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the countries most affected by the negative consequences of climate change bear the least responsibility for emissions, whereas Africa accounts for less than 4% of the world’s energy-related CO₂ emissions;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas what is labelled as low carbon hydrogen may also include power generated by nuclear power and natural gas, consequently not necessarily meaning it is emissions-free; whereas green hydrogen from renewable sources is the only type of hydrogen that can truly contribute to climate neutrality in the long term;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas green hydrogen has the potential to accelerate the path to decarbonisation, provided that does not slow down local energy transition and it is part of a broader strategy to reduce the overall consumption of energy;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas 2030 and 2050 climate objectives will not be achieved without decarbonisation of key hard-to-abate sectors, and without imports of green hydrogen from third countries;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas decentralised mini-grid and off-grid public renewable energy offer good solutions for remote communities, but need to be accompanied by public support to create a viable business model;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas the expansion of renewables based on solar ~~and wind power~~, wind and the production of renewable hydrogen, as well as the construction of hydroelectric dams, also raises challenges as they require large areas of land, thus interfering with existing land use and local needs, in particular regarding access to water, and may cause the displacement of local and indigenous communities, as well as of natural habitats harming ecosystems;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

La. whereas Africa has a promising future for renewable energy systems, having 60% of the best solar resources globally yet only 1% installed solar capacity ; whereas Latin America is one of the world’s leading regions for renewable energy use and production;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. whereas agri-food systems consume about 30% of the world's energy and a third of its emissions of greenhouse gases come from energy use; whereas energy transition and the transformation of agri-food systems are entwined;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that universal and public access to energy is a basic human right; stresses that a net-zero carbon future and the development of renewables must go hand in hand with poverty reduction and a human rights- based approach;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that energy poverty disproportionately affects women and girls; highlights their daily involvement in collecting firewood and charcoal far from their homes; calls for the EU to step up its support in mainstreaming gender in the energy transition with particular attention to least developed countries and middle income countries with important intra- country inequalities in access to energy and clean cooking;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Urges the EU to incorporate access to clean cooking as a priority within its energy partnerships with developing countries to promote a more equal sharing of unpaid care between women and men in line with the concept of care society, to decrease the deaths related to air pollution and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; urges the EU and its Member States to include clean cooking as a priority in its multi-annual indicative programmes in partner countries at local, regional and national level and to do so in consultation with civil society on the ground, especially with women-led organisations that work on access to clean cooking to push for change and make access to clean cooking a priority;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Points out that affordability support for energy costs is crucial to expand access to electricity, especially in Africa where 30% of its population cannot afford an essential bundle of electricity services;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Carlos ZORRINHO, Robert HAJŠEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Expresses concern over the increasing energy needs among refugees and internally displaced persons living in camps; calls the EU and Member States to increase energy investments for refugees and displaced people within national regulatory and host government processes; stresses the importance of scaling-up the efforts to guarantee that humanitarian organisations on the ground have access to energy to perform basic humanitarian aid, especially medical and urgent care; calls to explore all possible options to better guarantee access to energy for humanitarian organisations including off-grid, mini- grid and renewable energy;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – introductory part

9. Highlights the risks of land-use and water-use conflicts – forced resettlement and expropriation for large-scale renewable energy installations; urges the EU to support governments of developing countries to:

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point a

a) conduct independent and unbiased mapping of traditional land and water use , including for temporal grazing, indigenous cultural heritage and high-value biodiversity systems, prior to the development of renewable energy projects;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point c a (new)

ca) ensure the protection of its climate activists;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Is worried about the impact that water-intensive energy conversion practices, such as hydropower plants and hydrogen production, have on agricultural communities;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Stresses the role renewable energy can play in efforts to end hunger and increase the adaptation and efficiency of agri-food systems so that they reduce drudgery, especially of women and girls, reduce its gas emissions and lessen the environment impact of the food sector; calls the EU and its Member States to make the use of renewables in the agri- food systems a priority in their partnership agreements with third countries including it as a binding rule;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Calls on the EU and its Member States to include education and training programs for the local population in their energy partnerships with third countries to support energy transition on the ground and change the production matrix of renewable energies to create working opportunities for the local communities moving out from a pure extractivist perspective;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)

15c. Notes the importance of promoting the presence of women in energy sector at all levels, calls the EU and its Member states to prioritise partnerships with energy organisations and business lead by women;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Carlos ZORRINHO, Robert HAJŠEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)

15d. Stresses the importance to gather disaggregated data by gender and ethnicity on access to energy to guide the European Union’s external action regarding energy;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Warns against the possible risk of a new ‘green hydrogen curse’ that would foster developing countries’ reliance on exports and could crowd out investments in the development of local energy markets; is concerned about the lack of required infrastructure, the long-distance transport costs and climate impact, the limited investments and financial capacities and the risks linked to weak institutions and corruption in some developing countries; calls for the EU to support the development of a green hydrogen value chain only when it can guarantee that ~~it equally benefits exporting countries and their population~~social and economic benefits are equal in exporting countries, with particular regard to energy access rate of the country and the access to clean water and its ecosystems;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Acknowledges that the expansion of green hydrogen ~~also~~may hasve negative social and environmental impacts in the Global South, in particular as it relies on mining and the use of raw materials and rare earths; stresses the need to develop a global resource governance system that prioritises sustainability, efficiency and circularity, with a view to reducing global demand for virgin materials;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the proliferation of desalination plants to deal with water scarcity; points out that seawater desalination can have major environmental impacts, in particular on marine biodiversity; highlights that reducing water use and recycling or reusing treated wastewater is often less expensive than desalination, however notes that desalination of water technologies can also unlock a local market for salt and feed back into local communities creating jobs and uplifting local and national economies;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Stresses that investments in renewable hydrogen produced by third countries should be based on international due diligence principles, including but not limited to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC);

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

24. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase the amount of official development assistance it devotes to the energy sector in frame of the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027, especially under Heading 6 to address the challenges of developing countries in access to energy and clean cooking and support them in the fulfilment of their commitment to SDG 7, particularly in Africa, prioritising grants over loans and reorienting financing towards countries with lower rates of access to electricity to support their clean energy transitions and to develop programmes for facilitating the transfer of knowledge and green technologies; calls the EU and its Member States to consider debt-for-climate action swap so that debtor developing countries can use the owed money to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation projects;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls the EU and Member States to increase the funding to help developing countries to adapt to climate change and climate adaptation, making energy systems more resilient against climate risks;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Urges the Commission to increase the programmes under the Global Gateway initiative that prioritise basic access to electricity and to clean cooking, especially in the countries most in need; stresses the importance of the private sector to scale up the funding for basic access to energy and clean cooking while guaranteeing public access and reinforcing national public energy suppliers; calls the Commission to use the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) as an instrument to support investments of the private sector in developing countries to strengthen the energy infrastructure and provide a better access to energy and clean cooking;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point b

b) ensure that independent and unbiased human rights impact assessments are carried out and that all required social and environmental safeguards and remedies are duly implemented and monitored, including the human rights and land tenure guidelines;

2023/10/17
Committee: DEVE