[ParlTrack]

Proposal for a decision
Recital 3 a (new)

(3a) The EEA developed a series of annual indicator-based reports, 'environmental indicators reports', for the period 2016-2019 in order to support the monitoring of the thematic priority objectives of the 7th EAP.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 9 a (new)

(9a) Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by measuring the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given year, is an indicator of market economic output rather than economic or social wellbeing. An exclusive focus on GDP growth as a measure of progress therefore has limitations, as it does not take into account health, social relations, environmental impact, or equality. This limitation is widely recognised and was already acknowledged in the 7th EAP, which called for the development and application of alternative indicators that complement and go beyond GDP to monitor the sustainability of economic and social progress.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 10

(10) The 8th EAP should set out thematic priority objectives in areas of climate neutrality, adaption to climate change, protecting and restoring biodiversity, a toxic-free circular economy, the zero pollution ambition and reducing environmental pressures from production and consumption. It should recognise that these thematic priority objectives are inherently interlinked, addressing both drivers and impacts of environmental damage and that a systemic approach is therefore necessary for their achievement. It should furthermore identify the enabling conditions to achieve the long-term and the thematic priority objectives for all actors involved, as well as laying down actions necessary to achieve these conditions.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 10 a (new)

(10a) Nature based solutions (NbS) are mentioned in a number of EGD strategies including in the Commission's Communication on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 as well as the EU Strategy on Adaptation to climate change, and a significant portion of the EU budget dedicated to climate action is destined for investment in NbS. However, NbS is not a well-defined term at EU nor international level and therefore risks being too broad and ambiguous, leading to misunderstanding and abuse. Moreover, whilst the Biodiversity Strategy emphasises that 'The fight against biodiversity loss must be underpinned by sound science', there is no established science underpinning the use of NbS due to the lack of a scientifically grounded definition. A clear and robust EU level definition of NbS is therefore needed in order to evaluate whether their utilisation will achieve, and to what extent, progress towards the priority objectives of the 8th EAP (in particular those relating to climate mitigation, climate adaptation and protecting, preserving and restoring biodiversity). As a basic principle, NbS should ensure that biodiversity and ecosystem integrity are not compromised. In addition, an EU-level definition should be accompanied by a positive and a negative list of activities, techniques and approaches that do, and do not, qualify, respectively as NbS, as well as by a clear explanation of what problem(s) NbS are supposed to solve. Finally, clarification is needed on whether NbS can play a role in offsetting, and if so, for what, how much, and through what mechanisms.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 10 b (new)

(10b) The term ‘ecosystem approach’ is established under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity as a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way in order to help reach a balance between the three objectives of the Convention (conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing of biological biodiversity)1a. __________________ 1aDecisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its Fifth Meeting (COP5).

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 11 a (new)

(11a) The United Nations Environment Programme and the OECD Global Forum on Environment have highlighted that environmental changes have gender- specific impacts. Therefore, a gender perspective on actions and goals related to the achievement of the priority objectives of the 8th EAP, including gender impact assessments of planned actions and a focus on gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive actions, is necessary in order to ensure that gender inequalities are not perpetuated.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 14 a (new)

(14a) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) methodology, audited and validated by the Union's Joint Research Centre in 2019, measures progress against SDGs based on a “distance to target” (i.e. how far is a country or region from achieving a target). A distance to target approach should be applied to indicators used to monitor progress towards the achievement of the 8th EAP priority objectives.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Recital 14 b (new)

(14b) The notion of ‘Means of implementation’ (MOI), as defined by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on Financing for Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, describes the interdependent mix of financial resources, technology development and transfer, capacity- building, inclusive and equitable globalization and trade, regional integration, and the enabling environment required to implement the 2030 Agenda1a. This notion of MOI is also referred to in SDG17: “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development". The concept can be adapted to the Union and Member States' domestic setting, including to the European Green Deal. MOI can also be used to help assess whether the 8th EAP priority objectives have any chance of being achieved by 2030 and 2050 respectively, by looking at whether means of implementation are adequate. Possible indicators that could be used to measure MOI for the 8th EAP include, for example, references to the 8th EAP priority objectives in Member State legislation and/or the existence of European Green Deal coordination mechanisms at Member State level; the use of implementation scoreboards of Green Deal initiatives and/or 8th EAP priority objectives by Member States; climate and biodiversity mainstreaming within Member State budgets; environmental tax revenues as percentage of total tax revenues; the degree to which fossil fuel and other environmentally harmful subsidies have been identified, phased out and re-purposed; public funding for the just transition; R&D expenditure for sustainability, and green public procurement as a percentage of total procurement. These MOI indicators should complement the indicator set developed to measure progress towards the priority objectives themselves. __________________ 1a https://www.un.org/development/desa/cap acity-development/what-we-do/areas-of- work/means-of-implementation/

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. The 8th EAP shasll have the following six interlinked thematic priority objectives , to be achieved by 2030 at the latest:

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a

(a) irreversible and ~~gradual~~swift reduction of greenhouse gas emissions ~~and enhancement of removals by natural and other sinks~~ in the Union to attain the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target ~~and achieve climate neutrality by 2050~~ as laid down in Regulation (EU) …/…32 ; __________________ 32 COM/2020/80 final.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)

(aa) regularly reviewing the consistency of Union measures and policies, including sectoral legislation, the Union’s external action and the Union budget with the priority objectives set out in Article 2(1) and (2) ; these reviews shall also apply to assessments by the Commission of national or regional plans which relate to the implementation of Union legislation;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – indent 1 aa (new)

– assessing the consistency of any draft measure, including but not limited to any legislative and budgetary proposal, with the priority objectives set out in Article 2(1) and (2);

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – indent 1 b (new)

– strengthening the cooperation between the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions, in the framework of the Technical Platform for Cooperation on the Environment and exploring how to improve dialogue and information pooling;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b – indent 1 c (new)

– promoting communication activities at the EU, national, regional and local level, aimed at raising awareness, especially among young people, about the importance and benefits of a sound implementation of environment policy, as well as about its added value to the citizens, businesses and the planet, in order to increase a sense of ownership and the participation of all the relevant stakeholders in the implementation efforts;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d

(d) mobilising sustainable investments from public and private sources, including of funds and instruments available under the Union budget, via the European Investment Bank and at national level, consistent with the Union's sustainable finance strategy; ensuring that local and regional communities have adequate resources for implementation on the ground;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f b (new)

(fb) ensuring the full participation of, and cooperation with, local and regional authorities across all dimensions of environmental policy-making through a collaborative and multi-level governance approach;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h

(h) making full use of ~~nature based solutions and social innovation;~~ecosystem approaches, defined under the United Nations Convention on Biological diversity1a and social innovation; __________________ 1aDecisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its Fifth Meeting (COP5).

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h a (new)

(ha) establishing an EU-level definition of the term 'nature based solutions';

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. In order to achieve the enabling conditions set out in paragraph 1, the Commission shall take the following actions: (a) establish, by 30 June 2022, and subsequently update, a public database on its website which shows the steps taken by the Commission and Member States in response to judgments of the Court of Justice in environmental matters; (b) carry out the reviews set out in point (aa) of paragraph 1 of this Article and, where it finds, based on such a review, that Union measures and policies are inconsistent with the priority objectives set out in Article 2(1) and (2), it shall as soon as possible take the necessary measures in accordance with the Treaties to remedy this inconsistency; (c) carry out the assessments set out in indent 1aa of point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article and where, based on such an assessment, it finds that draft measures are inconsistent with the priority objectives set out in Article 2(1) and (2), align the draft measure with these objectives before adoption; that analysis shall be included in any impact assessment accompanying these draft measures; (d) develop, for the purpose of carrying out impact assessments, additional tools to assess the environmental impacts of new policies, initiatives and legislation where existing tools are insufficient, including on biodiversity loss and pollution in addition to the sole tool on environmental impacts currently used which focuses on resource efficiency; (e) consider the costs of inaction while evaluating existing policies and carrying out impact assessments for new initiatives, ensuring due regard is paid to the costs on the environment and health; where adequate studies do not exist, the Commission, supported by relevant Union agencies, shall carry out additional research with the aim of creating a more robust picture of environmental feedback loops and future risks; (f) present, by 31 June 2022, a report in which it identifies the interlinkages between the various indicator sets, monitoring frameworks and processes in use at Union level that measure social, economic and environmental progress and which highlights how these can be streamlined and better captured by making use of headline indicators; On this basis, the Commission shall, by 31 June 2023, in consultation with the European Parliament and the Council, develop a comprehensive dashboard of 'beyond GDP' indicators to guide and inform future policy making; (g) systematically present detailed feedback on how stakeholder consultation responses have influenced, and are thereby integrated into new Union strategies, policies and laws; (h) publish impact assessments immediately upon their completion; (i) establish, by 31 December 2021, a public dashboard on its website where it maintains an up-to-date overview of all of the targets established by way of the EGD and sets out an overview of Union and, where applicable, national targets; the Commission shall also add links to the reports of the monitoring framework as set out in Article 4 to the dashboard and shall actively communicate the dashboard towards citizens; (j) present, where appropriate, a legislative proposal, by 31 June 2022, and following a public consultation, on Nature based Solutions (NbS), which shall include, inter alia, a definition of NbS;

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 2

2. ~~Reaching the 8th EAP’s priority objectives will require mobilising broad support by involving citizens, social partners and other stakeholders, and encouraging~~Public authorities at all levels shall work with businesses - in particular SMEs - and social partners, civil society, citizens and other stakeholders in implementing the 8thEAP. Achieving the 8th EAP's priority objectives will require cooperation in the development and implementation of strategies, policies or legislation related to the 8th EAP amongst national, regional and local authorities, in urban and rural areas.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Grace O'SULLIVAN

Proposal for a decision
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point g

(g) helping civil society, public authorities at national, regional and local level, citizens, social partners and the private sector identify climate and environmental risks and take action to prevent, mitigate and adapt to them, and fostering their engagement in closing knowledge gaps.

2021/03/11
Committee: ENVI

Activities of Grace O'SULLIVAN related to 2020/0300(COD)

Plenary speeches (2)

Reports (1)

Amendments (21)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024