Activities of Jo LEINEN related to 2011/2012(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Greenhouse gas emission reductions and risk of carbon leakage (A7-0219/2011 - Bas Eickhout) (vote)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. Whereas, the Commission’s Low Carbon 2050 Roadmap implies that stepping up to 30% will have a positive effect on Member States’ revenue from auctioning of allowances if the 2020 goals on renewable energy and energy efficiency is fulfilled as confirmed by the Head of States on February 4th 2011.
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that delaying climate action would result in higher costs for achieving the 2050 target due to stranded investment in high-carbon capital stock and slower technological learning as documented by the Commission in the 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises that investment in green technologies depends heavily on the price signal delivered by the carbon market and concludes therefore that, under the current 20% target, the ETS will have a very limited role in driving emission reductions and deployment of low-emission technologies in the sectors it covers, thereby risking a lock-in in carbon intensive installations and infrastructure for the coming decades;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Points out that if the EU delivers on its current policies, including its commitment to reach 20% renewables, and achieve 20% energy efficiency by 2020, this would enable the EU to outperform the current 20% emission reduction target and achieve a 25% reduction by 2020; underlines that this would require the full implementation of the Energy Efficiency Plan, which identifies measures which would be necessary to deliver the energy efficiency target.
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Supports the idea of setting aside 1,4 billion allowances from the EU ETS prior to 2020 as a possible solution for maintaining the incentives in the ETS and to ensure the level of stringency foreseen at the time of the legislative procedure; calls also for a significant number of allowances to be auctioned at EU level to support a technology accelerator and to fund a just transition mechanism for the European workforce; calls on the Commission to present a proposal for how this policy could be organised in practice.
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. underlines that a comprehensive range of measures, such as incentives for additional investment, growth-oriented fiscal policy and public procurement is necessary to ensure that economic growth and the reduction of both unemployment and greenhouse gas emissions reinforce each other; points to the Council Directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy product and electricity that already allows for certain exemptions or reductions in the tax level; i.a. because of competitiveness or environmental considerations
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recalls the Joint Declaration of CEOs of leading European Utility Companies calling the EU to move to a 25 % domestic reduction target from February 2011, and the Joint Business Declaration from October 2011 calling for a 30 % reduction target in 2020. Major voices in the European Industry thereby say that now is the time to act and to go beyond the 20 % reduction target in 2020;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Considers that in order to secure long terms investments in renewable energy the EU should adopt a trajectory for binding renewable energy targets after 2020; recalls that the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has called for renewable energy targets for the period after 2020; calls on the Commission to put forward a proposals for setting such targets
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Stresses the need to curb CO2 emissions in the transportation sector through the provision of standardized European infrastructures for electrical vehicles and more incentives for sustainable second- generation biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuels;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Notes that the Commission has identified investment needs of €1 trillion to upgrade the EU's energy infrastructure by 2020, mainly to be financed through energy tariffs; calls for these investments to be made, with a view both to completing an interconnected internal energy market and substantially decreasing the carbon intensity of the European energy system; but underlines that in raising the necessary finance, low income consumers suffering from energy poverty must be protected from increased tariffs;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Welcomes the fact that the EU is well on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy goals, but emphasizes that the Commission needs to promptly monitor the actual national implementation of the plans so ensure that progress actually occurs as planned;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Stresses that the development and deployment of breakthrough technologies hold the key to fighting climate change and, at the same time, convincing the EU's partners worldwide that emissions reductions are feasible with positive effects for competitiveness and jobs; considers it essential that Europe should lead by example by substantially increasing expenditure devoted to research on climate-friendly and energy- efficient industrial technologies under the 8th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation that should be properly aligned with the strategic energy technologies set out in the SET-Plan;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 2 (new)
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 2 (new)
Options and tools to move beyond the 20% target Calls upon the Commission and Member States to secure that the full revenues from auctioning of EU ETS credits are effectively used to improve energy and resource efficiency in society, in particular in the energy and industry sectors concerned, instead of being withdrawn to the general budget of the Member States.
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 3 (new)
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 3 (new)
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Considers that, if EU is to meet the 2050 long-term target of domestic reductions between 80 - 95% as agreed by the European Council and confirmed in the Commission's Low Carbon Economy 2050 Roadmap, the EU would have to speed up its efforts after having achieved 25% domestic emissions reductions in 2020; requests, therefore that the Commission put forward a proposal for binding reduction targets for the period after 2020 at least in line with the trajectories presented in the Low Carbon Economy 2050 Roadmap designed to achieve long-term targets in the most cost- efficient way;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls for additional quality criteria for the use of international offsets within the EU, through the introduction of stringent project quality standards guaranteeing respect for human rights and reliable, verifiable and real additional emissions reductions that also support sustainable development in developing countries;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that European eco-industries employ approximately 3.4 million (FTE), which is ten times the figure for direct employment in the EU steel sector in 2007; points out that, according to recent studies, raising the EU climate target to 30% can foster up to 6 million additional jobs in Europe;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that European eco-industries employ approximately 3.4 million (FTE), which is ten times the figure for direct employment in the EU steel sector in 2007; points out that, according to recent studies, raising the EU climate target to 30% can foster up to 6 million additional jobs in Europe; recognizes the job creation and competitiveness effects associated with the transition to a low carbon economy in the long term, as the EU becomes a global leader within renewable energy technologies and energy efficient products and services.
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Considers that, while moving to a more ambitious climate target does have primarily a positive impact on job creation, measures should be taken to facilitate structural change and labour-force retraining in communities with a large- scale loss of high carbon employment a, e.g. by using the EU's structural funds or the Globalization Fund, alsond to ensure new growth sectors have sufficient access to appropriately skilled labour;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Emphasises that the co-benefits of emissions reductions only occur for emissions reductions achieved inside the EU and where there is a strong emphasis on increased energy efficiency investment; Stresses that the proposed approach in the new Energy Efficiency Action plan regarding the Member States' voluntary or mandatory targets is not sufficient. Reiterates that the European Parliament calls for mandatory energy efficiency targets for Member States, which have gained even more importance in light of the recently published Roadmap to a low carbon economy.
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Notes that energy-intensive sectors are likely to end up with a very considerable number of unused freely allocated allowances at the end of the second ETS period in 2012, which can then be carried over to 2013-2020 phase, putting them into a comparatively better position for international competition compared with 2008;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Emphasises that in order to mitigate the potential risk of carbon leakage even further, ETS auctioning revenues could be earmarked for capital intensive investments in breakthrough technologies in energy-intensive sectors;