62 Amendments of Cornelia ERNST related to 2020/2242(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the special reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on ʻGlobal Warming of 1.5°Cʼ and on ʻOcean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climateʼ;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
- having regard to the UN Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report 2019,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 c (new)
Citation 2 c (new)
- having regard to the UN Environment Programme's Production Gap Report 2020,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 28 November 2019 on the climate and environment emergency;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU has endorsed the Paris Agreement, the Green Deal and the goal of achieving a cost-efficient and fair transition leading to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, and the European Parliament has endorsed a 2030 target of 60% emission reductions compared to 1990;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas fossil fuels and their use are largely responsible for global warming, and the Paris agreement aims to contain the rise of the global temperature well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels, and to continue the actions taken to limit the rise in temperature at 1.5°C;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas 95% of hydrogen is currently produced by steam reforming hydrocarbons and is responsible for 2.5% of global GHG emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions of the United Kingdom and Indonesia combined;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas so-called carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies have not proven their effectiveness and are still far from ripe;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas 43% of the world's hydrogen production is used to produce ammonia, which itself is mainly used to produce ammonia-based agricultural fertilisers, 52% is used for the refining and desulphurisation of hydrocarbons, and 5% is used for the synthesis of methanol and other uses;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas the production and the use of ammonia-based fertilisers is responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and polluting gases, pollution of water, disruptions of the global nitrogen cycle, and deoxygenation of the oceans, which has nefarious consequences on marine biodiversity;
Amendment 24 #
Af. whereas less than 1% of the current hydrogen production is used as an energy carrier;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas economy requires a cleanpublicly planed energy transition towards a 100% renewable energy system that ensures sustainability, security of supply and affordability of energy;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas hydrogen can be used for industrial, transport and heating applications, decarbonising sectors in which direct electrification is not possible or competitive, as well as for energy storage to balance the energy system, thereby playing a significant role in energy system integration;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas steel production represents around 10% of direct and indirect GHG emissions worldwide, maritime transport emits about 2.5% of GHG emissions, and the development of renewable hydrogen could help cut emissions in those sectors;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is convinced that only cleanrenewable hydrogen is sustainably contributing to achieving climate neutrality in the long term;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that a common legal classification of the different types of hydrogen is of utmost importance; welcomes the classification proposed by the Commission; notes that avoiding two names for the same category, such as ʻrenewableʼ and ʻcleanʼ hydrogen, could further clarify that classificationstresses that the terms 'clean hydrogen' and 'low carbon hydrogen' are misleading; underlines that the distinction must be made absolutely clear and absolute between renewable hydrogen (i.e. using only renewable electricity via electrolysis) on the one hand, and all the other types of hydrogen production which ought to be classified as non-renewable;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the urgent need for European standards, certification and labelling systems for cleanrenewable hydrogen and guarantees of origin for renewable electricity; believes that cleanrenewable hydrogen should be determined according to an independent, science-based review of its lifecycle emissions; calls on the Commission to provide a regulatory framework as early as possible in 2021;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. stresses that only renewable hydrogen should be eligible for guarantees of origin and that any certification be linked to the renewable source of the hydrogen, with the certified green energy remaining attached to the guarantees of origin; notes that if low carbon hydrogen is nevertheless included under a certification scheme, this should not be done under the REDII, but through a separate framework reflecting the transitory nature of any such certification;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’s ambitious goals of increasing the capacity of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and hydrogen production in line with identified priority demand; urges the Commission and the Member States to incentivise the value chain and market uptake of clean hydrogen in order to make it technologically mature and competitive with fossil-based and low-carbon hydrogen14 , while guaranteeing to manage the sustainability impacts of renewable hydrogen production such as on water and land uses; _________________ 14According to the Commission, ʻlow- carbon hydrogenʼ encompasses fossil- based hydrogen with carbon capture and electricity-based hydrogen, with significantly reduced full life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to existing hydrogen production.
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that for a functioning and predictable internal hydrogen market, regulatory barriers need to be overcome and a coherent and comprehensive regulatory framework created; believes that the gas market regulatory framework and the Clean Energy Package could serve as blueprints for that purpose; the rapid and predictable development of renewable hydrogen production and distribution requires democratic public planning, associating producers, workers and their trade unions, scientists and NGOs; believes that strong public services, and particularly a strong publicly owned and democratically managed energy system, are of paramount importance in this regard;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Underlines furthermore that hydrogen, particularly renewable hydrogen, is and will remain, for at least the upcoming decade, a scare and expensive resource; recalls that the development of renewable hydrogen will require a strategic and rapid upgrade of both production and distribution of renewable electricity; stresses therefore that it must be used in a targeted and prioritised way; reiterates, therefore, the absolute necessity of public planning, especially in establishing roadmaps on the deployment of hydrogen facilities and variable renewable capacities and adapting targeted demand sectors;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that, in order to build up a sustainable hydrogen economy fast enough to reach our climate goals, low- carbon hydrogen can play a transitional role; calls on the Commission to assess for how long and how much of this hydrogen would be needed approximately for decarbonisation purposes until solely clean hydrogen can play this role low carbon and renewable hydrogen production have different infrastructure and investment needs; stresses that technologies to render fossil-based hydrogen low carbon are also not established at scale, would require significant R&I and would take years to develop; stresses that the production of low carbon hydrogen would do nothing to tackle life-cycle methane emissions of gas used in the production process and will lock-in investments into gas infrastructures;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Urges the Commission and the Member States to immediately start planning the phasing out of the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels; stresses that this production must irreversibly, predictably and swiftly decrease until its disappearance by 2040 at the latest; underlines that hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, even with CCS and CCUS technologies, must not be eligible for public funding;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Considers that hydrogen, which can be produced by electrolysis from nuclear electricity or by pyrolysis, is a temporary and limited alternative that may be of limited interest for the short- term decarbonisation of industrial hydrogen; underlines that eventually, and by no later than 2030 onwards, these types of hydrogen shall decrease until their ultimate replacement by renewable hydrogen; stresses that these types of hydrogen should not be eligible for public funding;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that a clean hydrogen economy requires significant additional amounts of affordable renewable energy and the corresponding infrastructure, which should not prolong the lifetime of fossil- and nuclear-powered electricity installations elsewhere on the grid; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts in this regard and to abolish taxes and levies on renewable electricity, whilst ending subsidies and tax exemptions for fossil fuels;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Encourages the setting of higher renewable energy targets in the power sector to support the development of hydrogen production from additional renewable electricity;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Underlines furthermore that only the development of renewable hydrogen is compatible with the objective of achieving climate neutrality; demands therefore that renewable hydrogen, and only renewable hydrogen, be eligible for public funding;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Stresses the potential of reconverting some existing industrial sites towards the production of renewable hydrogen; underlines the necessity to publicly plan such reconversions of industrial capacities with the workers and their trade unions; calls on the Member States, when such facilities have been closed, to ease the resumption of these facilities by the workers in the form of cooperative societies;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10d. Underlines that water consumption associated with hydrogen production is due to increase with the development of renewable hydrogen; recalls that fresh water is a critical resource for both human and ecosystem needs; stresses that climate change is exacerbating water scarcity; recalls that simple aggregation of freshwater consumption embedded in hydrogen production could be misleading as freshwater availability and the corresponding freshwater consumption can vary significantly across regions and time of the year; stresses therefore the need for careful spatial planning when establishing renewable hydrogen production facilities in order to minimise the impact of regional freshwater consumption incurred by this production on regional water supply;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Emphasises that the planning of hydrogen networks should focus on connecting priority future hydrogen users, such as industrial clusters with planned production sites for renewable hydrogen;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Notes that the current energy planning framework under the TEN-E Regulation is highly dependent on gas and electricity industry actors; calls for future network planning to be more transparent and to be undertaken or led by democratically responsible public bodies and reviewed by independent scientific bodies;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to assess the possibility of repurposing existing gas pipelines for the transport of pure hydrogen in order to maximise cost efficiency and minimise investment costs and levelised costs of transmission; underlines that any such repurposing should be directly relevant for the use of renewable hydrogen in the priority sectors of emissions-intensive industries such as steel and basic chemicals, shipping and aviation; recognises therefore that hydrogen should not be blended into existing gas networks;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Welcomes the construction of onsite renewables and hydrogen production capacity within industrial clusters to directly cater to industry's hydrogen needs, whilst avoiding overinvestment in unnecessary pipeline infrastructure;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Urges that the financial risk of overbuilding hydrogen infrastructure, which is not relevant for the use of renewable hydrogen, be placed on the industry rather than on taxpayers by means of legally binding financing and legislative provisions;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Underlines furthermore that the blending of hydrogen with fossil gas in the gas grid will not result in emissions reductions but rather preclude dedicated hydrogen processes and retain the transmission and use of fossil gas;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights that, in order to achieve a fast market uptake of cleanrenewable hydrogen and to avoid carbon lock-ins, demand for cleanrenewable hydrogen must increase; acknowledges that the initial focus of hydrogen demand should be on sectors for which the use of hydrogen is close to competitive or that currently cannot be decarbonised by other means; believes that for these sectors roadmaps for demand development, investment and research needs should be established at European level; agrees with the Commission that demand-side policies such as quotas for the use of clean hydrogen in specific sectors and carbon contracts for difference (ʻCCfDʼ) are necessary to promote decarbonisation through clean hydrogenrenewable hydrogen; emphasises that EU support should only be provided to renewable-based hydrogen projects and not to low carbon hydrogen projects which risk becoming stranded assets;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that demand for hydrogen matches the available supply of renewable hydrogen, by developing a hierarchy of applications for renewable hydrogen, in which the sectors with the greatest needs are given priority access to hydrogen resources;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Stresses that it is of uttermost importance to prioritise the substitution of hydrogen of fossil origin used by the industrial sector by renewable hydrogen before considering its use in other sectors and for other purposes;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Considers that hydrogen's main interest lies in its ability to bring flexibility and stability, in particular through electricity inter-seasonal storage, to the energy system in addition to the network vectors; stresses therefore that the development of hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure must be planned alongside with the development of the means of energy production in a logic of technical and economic optimisation in line with a long-term vision of its role;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Stresses that hydrogen use also needs to be targeted at industrial processes which are amongst the most difficult to decarbonise and not easily directly electrified, in particular the production of primary steel via hydrogen direct reduction of iron;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Underlines that hydrogen's characteristics make it a good candidate to replace fossil fuels and reduce GHG emissions for certain types of heavy mobility that require high power and high energy carrying capacity such as ships, aeroplanes or trains operating on non- electrifiable lines; notes regarding ships that, on long-distance transport, the use of green ammonia also has advantages; considers, regarding aeroplanes, that in the near-future the use of green hydrogen-based synthetic kerosene is the most viable solution;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13 f. Considers that the use of hydrogen in road mobility must be considered with great caution; underlines that all road vehicles equipped with hydrogen are now prohibitively expensive compared to other decarbonised solutions; stresses that the absence of a distribution network serving a dense territorial network of service stations represents a potentially crippling handicap for considering mass development of road vehicles equipped with hydrogen; considers therefore that this development should by no means be considered as a priority;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 g (new)
Paragraph 13 g (new)
13g. Stresses that the use of hydrogen for domestic heating is neither economically compatible nor environmentally desirable; underlines that the use of hydrogen-ready or hydrogen-mix boilers for heating buildings will have the sole result of preventing the transition of the home heating systems to more efficient and more cost-effective options such as heat pumps and renewable electricity;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 h (new)
Paragraph 13 h (new)
13h. Underlines that a significant quantity of non-renewable hydrogen, and the GHG emissions embedded in it, could be reduced by drastically diminishing the quantity of nitrogen fertilisers produced from hydrogen; stresses that reducing this production will allow for the use of renewable hydrogen in other sectors in the future; recalls that the reduction of nitrogen fertilisers, within the framework of a transition to an agro-ecological organic and local food production, can have several positive impacts; stresses that nitrogen fertilisers are well known for disturbing the global nitrogen cycle, contributing to the deoxygenation of oceans with its nefarious consequence on marine biodiversity;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importance of research, development and innovation along the whole value chain and of demonstration projects on an industrial scale in order to make cleanrenewable hydrogen competitive; believes that involving SMEs and equipping workers with adequate knowledge about hydrogen are of the utmost importanceaffordable; stresses the importance of preserving and tapping into the potential of workers technical competences in existing industries; underlines the necessity of a strong public and free vocational training system; recalls the right of workers to be trained and upskilled during their working time and with their wages guaranteed;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that significant amounts of investment are needed to make clean hydrogen competdevelop and increase renewable hydrogen production capacitives, and that European programmes and financing instruments such as Horizon Europe, the Connecting Europe Facility, InvestEU and the ETS Innovation Fund have a key role in fostering a clean hydrogen economy; deeply deplores the Council’s cuts affecting these instruments; calls on the Commission to develop a coordinated public investment strategy for clean hydrogen;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance and the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) as important means to enhance investment in clean hydrogen; encourages the Alliance to come up with an investment agenda and a project pipeline that can ensure the implementation of the hydrogen goals set by the Commission as soon as possible; welcomes the Commission’s plan to revise the State aid guidelines to include clean hydrogen;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Expresses its deep preoccupation over the revelation that the hydrogen lobby, whose main players are fossil gas companies, declared a combined annual expenditure of €58.6 million trying to influence Brussels policy-making; stresses that there are reasons to believe this is a gross underestimate;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Stresses that the hydrogen industry met with European Commissioners Timmermans, Simson, Breton, their cabinets and directors general 163 times on energy topics between December 2019 and September 2020, compared with 37 meetings on energy between high-ranking Commission officials and NGOs; considers this situation to be profoundly unacceptable;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Expresses its profound outrage over the revelation that the public relations firm FTI Consulting – the same company exposed in the USA for creating fake pro-fossil fuel grassroots organisations on behalf of Big Oil and Gas –has been key in creating the hydrogen lobby, as it is behind Hydrogen Europe and the Hydrogen Council, the lobby groups most involved in designing the Commission Strategy;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16d. Stresses that the Commission’s European Hydrogen Strategy, published in July 2020, is worryingly similar to lobby group Hydrogen Europe’s demands, including goals and investments needed for hydrogen both inside and outside the EU, which industry costs at €430 billion by 2030;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)
Paragraph 16 e (new)
16e. Stresses that there is a fundamental and irremediable conflict between the interests of the fossil fuel industry and the general interest of the Union to promote the development of renewable hydrogen; demands therefore that fossil fuel industry is forbidden any access in design and development of public policies regarding the development of hydrogen; calls on the Commission and Member States to immediately end any partnerships with the fossil fuel industry on this matter;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 f (new)
Paragraph 16 f (new)
16f. Expresses its deep worriedness over the prevailing influence of gas lobbies in shaping the EU Hydrogen Strategy; denounces any attempt to greenwash the use and funding of fossil fuels through of so-called low carbon hydrogen; urges the Commission to end any loopholes in its strategy which could serve as a basis for funding projects in which natural gas is the source of the hydrogen;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 g (new)
Paragraph 16 g (new)
16g. Expresses its profound outrage at the revelation made that Hydrogen Europe, a fossil fuel-supported lobbying group, is acting as the secretariat of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance; denounces the fact there no civil society organisation, environmental NGOs, independent experts or even renewable energy companies are members of this Alliance; brands therefore this European Clean Hydrogen Alliance as a greenwashed fossil lobby consortium; calls on the Commission to immediately abolish this Alliance;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses the work of the Recalls that the hydrogen industry had access to over €1 billion in public funds for its projects between 2014-2020 thanks to the public-private research partnership ‘Fuel Cells and Hydrogen - Joint Undertaking (FCH JU); asks the Commission to use it as a competence centre for clean hydrogen’ between the European Commission and Hydrogen Europe; stresses that these public funds would have been put at better use if directed towards public research, public development plan and support for the workers;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. BelievNotes that the importing of cleanrenewable hydrogen may become necessary to cater to European demand; calls on the Commission to establish mutually beneficial cooperation with neighbouring regions whilst considering managing sustainability impacts such as on water uses; recognises the technological and efficiency limitations of hydrogen transport via ship;
Amendment 360 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Stresses that any imported hydrogen should be sourced from additional renewable electricity and should not delay the decarbonisation of the power grid in third countries;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Stresses that the development of hydrogen in Europe cannot be made at the expense of third countries, either by relocating potential GHG emissions associated with the production of hydrogen or by monopolising their water resources for European usage;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Considers therefore that the German sponsored project to use the Inga 3 dam hydropower capacity to produce green hydrogen to be transformed into liquid hydrogen and be transported in tanker vessels to the Union, and Germany in particular, to be an absurd grand project; recalls furthermore that tens of thousands of villagers, whose lives depend on the river, could lose their homes if the dam is built, with little compensation or assistance to relocate; considers therefore this project to be an example of ecologically and socially disastrous project pursued in the interest of companies and not of the local people;
Amendment 367 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
18d. Expresses its concerns over the fact that countries like Japan import hydrogen from third countries, such as Australia, which is produced by using fossil fuels, coal for instance; calls on the Commission and Member States to not emulate such development; stresses therefore the need to take into account the carbon content embedded in imported hydrogen; considers that imported hydrogen must be covered by the future European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)
18e. Recalls that the development of hydrogen is intrinsically linked to fuel cells; underlines that fuel cells continue to rely on precious metal catalysts – primarily platinum; points out that the mining required for this development consumes large amounts of water, and that this may compete with the needs of local populations, particularly in regions subject to water stress; stresses that mining activities in countries outside the EU may result in acute pollution affecting the quality of the water, air and earth and leading to deforestation and a loss of biodiversity; points out that mining activities mainly take place in developing countries, where labour standards are far less protective than in the EU, and that as a result, working conditions in mining operations endanger the health and lives of the miners; stresses that the pollution caused by mining has a direct impact on the means of subsistence of local people and may, in the long term, drive them to move away; points out that local people suffer indirect consequences from the contamination of the water, air and earth, with a major impact on their health; stresses therefore the need for imposing a system of due diligence;