40 Amendments of Malte GALLÉE related to 2023/2073(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation – a (new)
Citation – a (new)
– having regard to the African leaders Nairobi Declaration on climate change 2023,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation – b (new)
Citation – b (new)
– having regard to the African People’s Climate and Development Declaration 2023,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas access to energy largely varies across developing countries; whereas in sub-Saharan Africa 52 % of the population lives without access to electricity and it is the only region where the proportion of people without electricity is increasing;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas, as a result of the rural- urban divide, energy insecurity rates also vary within countries; whereas in SSA only 30.4 % of the rural population, compared to 80.7 % of the urban population, have regular access to energy;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas most people without access to electricity live in rural areas; while in urban or peri-urban environments, it concerns populations of large irregular settlements as well as forcibly displaced people or refugees; whereas even when there is access, the quality of services is often poor;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas traditional cooking fuels (solid biomass, kerosene and coal) are the main contributors to carbon emissions and represent a threat to people’s health; whereas 2.4 billion people worldwide rely on these fuels; whereas in 2019 alone Africa recorded 700,000 deaths from household air pollution; whereas EU funding for clean cooking fuels is marginal;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas developing countries have an abundance of renewable energy sources, but often lack an enabling policy and regulatory framework for sustainable energy development and use, while they also face multiple challenges such as climate change, over-indebtedness and a rapid demographic growth, which all affect energy demand and consumption;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU has a long tradition of energy cooperation in Africa; 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 in 2023, 21 low-income countries in Africa are in, or at risk of, debt distress;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Africa-EU Energy Partnership was renewed in February 2022 with explicitto reflect upon the African Union’s Agenda 2063 as well as the EU’s priorities on climate change, energy security, REPowerEU and the Global Gateway, with the objectives to promote renewable energy generation, including for export to Europe;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas according to the International Energy Agency, 99 per cent of globally produced hydrogen is made from fossil fuels;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas green hydrogen has the potential to accelerate the path to decarbonisation, provided that it does not slow down local energy transition and it is part of a broader strategy to reduce the overall consumption of energy in developed countries to respect planetary boundaries; at the same time, however, the necessary infrastructure is highly intensive on capital and technology, the long distance transport and storage of hydrogen is energy intensive, expensive and inefficient, while the production of green hydrogen on a large scale requires vast amounts of land and water;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas according to the Global Hydrogen Review 2023 of the International Energy Agency (IEA), costs challenges are threatening the long-term profitability of the deployment of hydrogen production; whereas the deployment of hydrogen production risks extending fossil fuel use and extractivist practices, including the large-scale appropriation of land, water, and energy in developing producing countries; which can lead to the displacement of communities and human rights violations notably of indigenous people;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas decentralised mini-grid and off-grid renewable energy offer good solutions for remote communities, notably in terms of job creation, education and health, but need to be accompanied by public support to create a viable business model;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas by prioritising the export of renewable energy, developing countries could potentially jeopardise their domestic energy transition and boost fossil fuel consumption in their own electricity mix;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas according to the World Resources Institute, 25% of the world’s population face extremely high water stress each year;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)
Recital M b (new)
Mb. whereas water is central to growing crops and raising livestock, producing electricity, maintaining human health, fostering equitable societies and meeting the world’s climate goals;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M c (new)
Recital M c (new)
Mc. whereas according to the International Energy Agency, global hydropower capacity is set to increase by 17% between 2021 and 2030; whereas most untapped hydropower potential lies in developing economies across Africa, Asia and Latin America; but whereas large-scale hydropower projects are associated with negative social and environmental impact, from the displacement of vulnerable human populations to the destruction of unique biodiversity;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M d (new)
Recital M d (new)
Md. whereas hydropower raises new challenges in the context of climate change, which will dramatically increase the frequency of floods and droughts on the rivers where hydropower projects operate, increasing risks both to their safety and capacity to generate electricity;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is worried about the health and environmental consequences of household fuelwood emissions, such as respiratory diseases, forest degradation and biodiversity loss; draws attention to the risk of a return to emission fuels to serve energy needs of the growing population especially in SSA;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Expresses concern over the increasing energy needs among refugees and internally displaced persons living in camps; regrets that in isolated areas and humanitarian settings energy insecurity prevents local health clinics and schools to fully operate;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the EU to enhance technical assistance to reform the electricity systems and establish regulatory frameworks that guarantee energy distribution and universal service across territories; furthermore calls on the Commission to report on progress achieved in improving energy access and the regulation of the energy sector;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – introductory part
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:
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point a
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;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes, with concern, that large- scale green energy projects (such as wind and solar power) are being set up in dryland areas, for example, without adequate consultation with the customary land users (such as pastoralists); recalls that traditional communal rights have a weak legal status and are often not implemented, thereby increasing the risk of land grabbing; against this background, urges the EU and its partner countries to recognise and protect indigenous people’s rights to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources as set out in the UNDRIP and ILO Convention 169 and to comply with the principle of Free, Prior and Informed consent;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recalls that large hydropower projects face a range of challenges, including often prohibitive upfront costs, major cost overruns and delays, difficulties in attracting finance, enormous social and environmental footprints, vulnerability to climate change, and poor track records of delivering promised power;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that any planning of dams should be evaluated according to five values: equity, efficiency, participatory decision-making, sustainability and accountability, in line with the recommendations of the report of the World Commission on Dams of 16 November 2000; more broadly, urges that the decision-making process on dams takes fully into account the notion of human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the related covenants adopted thereafter, so as to resolve complex issues surrounding water, dams and development;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the EU to ensure that the energy systems to be developed do not involve or rely on the expansion of existing or new fossil fuel projects, in line with the recommendations of the International Energy Agency (IEA);
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recalls that the Glasgow Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition of 2021 commits signatories to end new direct public support for the fossil fuel energy sector; calls on the EU and its Member States to lead by example and to stop financing fossil fuel projects;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Recalls that renewable-based alternatives can increasingly provide a cheaper, more accessible, inclusive and reliable source of energy than fossil fuels;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Acknowledges that the expansion of green hydrogen also has 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, which require large quantities of fresh water and engender water pollution; 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;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses the need to regulate water as a resource for green hydrogen production in a sustainable way, notably in arid regions, so that it does not jeopardise local populations’ access to water or result in rising water costs;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Highlights the potential risks of water grabbing and water pollution associated to foreign direct investments in large-scale land acquisitions for renewable energy; calls on the EU and its Member States to enact water-related mandatory due diligence and reporting standards for corporations;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Insists that green hydrogen strategies must follow strong social and sustainability standards; calls for the EU to establish appropriate monitoring frameworks in its partnership agreements that allow for assessing their broader impact on SDG performance, notably through the definition of environmental, social and governance indicators and measurable targets; calls for mandatory environmental impact studies to be conducted, including for desalination, and for biodiversity hotspots to be excluded as sites for green hydrogen facilities; believes that green hydrogen production should demonstrate reliance on materials sourced under environmental and human rights standards for extractive activities (for instance, from countries that are signatories to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative);
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that EU financing for renewable energy should be in line with the principles of equity and climate justice, which should comprise, inter alia, financial support, debt assistance, debt relief and cancellation, as well as the fund for Loss and Damage;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Highlights that many African countries’ electricity sectors present particularities (sharp growth in demand, small grids, fragile national utilities and customers’ limited ability to pay) which call into question the development model that prioritizes the private sector for production;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Welcomes the 2023 COP28 Presidency programme priorities to fast track the energy transition to phase out GHG emissions by 2030 and to globally promote a people-centred approach to climate finance and energy infrastructural projects;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Calls on the EU to play a key role in negotiations on mitigation measures for developing countries in order to combat the harmful effects of the use of polluting fuels, while promoting sustainable and clean energy development;