27 Amendments of Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY related to 2014/2211(INI)
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas when the emissions permits under the European emission allowance trading scheme (ETS) become more expensive, a full-blown competition crisis is liable to arise; nd as long as no comparable efforts are undertaken in other major economies, a number of industrial sectors in the EU will lose international competitiveness which may lead to carbon leakage, unless specific measures to prevent this risk are taken;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU base metals industry is locked facing a race against time to meet the social and environmental challenges it faces and which it must address while remaining a reference for the world in terms of the social and environmental responsibility of its operations;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Understands that the European Commission has launched discussions which will culminate in the reform of the ETS for the fourth period 2021-2028 and calls, in this connection, for the fight against climate change to focus on efficiency and op30 should ensure that the system is robust and delivers the EU's long-term climate goals in a cost-efficient way, while incentimvising yields rather than on limiting productioninvestments in low-carbon technologies; recalls, in this connection, the importance of energy efficiency;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission, therefore, to amend the system for allocating emissions allowances via extensive application of the assessment used for the reference values applicable to industry, which are based on greenhouse gas emissions per tonne produced and not per facility, as it is the cleanest plants which are needed to produce more; Believes that, as long as no comparable efforts are undertaken in other major economies, continued measures are needed to provide those EU industries which are at risk of carbon leakage with the appropriate levels of support; believes that the best performing installations in these industries should not face undue carbon costs leading to carbon leakage; calls in this regard for the allocation of allowances to be better aligned with changing production levels; at the same time incentives for innovation and emission reduction investments must be preserved, while not increasing administrative complexity;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls also for abolition of the application of the cross-sectoral correction factor to the industries concerned in order to promote the virtuous practices of industrialists and workers who have made the necessary efforts to achieve minimum emissions by adopting the best available techniquesin this context for a well-focussed carbon leakage approach which will prevent the need to apply a cross-sectoral correction factor for carbon-leakage industries as this imposes additional costs on those sectors that are genuinely exposed to carbon leakage;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Believes that, instead of abolishing the compensation for indirect emissions for the base metals industry, increasing the recycling of base metals should be the principal way to ensure environmental progress for the sector, keeping in mind that the process of electrolysis is highly energy intensive; stresses that most base metals can be recycled many times against a fraction of the energy used for primary production; is concerned by the large energy loss for Europe caused by the legal and illegal export of aluminium and copper to countries like China and India, states which have installed aluminium export bans themselves; (Faraday´s law of electrolysis states that the volume of base metal produced by electrolysis is directly equal to the amount of electricity consumed in the process. Achieving much higher levels of energy efficiency is therefore impossible for the base metals industry. Recycling some base metals, on the other hand, consumes much less energy. As an example, recycling aluminium costs around 5% of the electricity used to produce it; in the case of copper this is around 15%. Therefore, aluminium and copper can be seen as 'energy banks'.)
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the two dimensions of competitiveness and emissions cuts are becoming complementary since, if European production becomes carbon- virtuous, preservation of its share of the European and world markets is an effective means of contributing to an overall limitation of greenhouse gas emissions of industrial origin; adds that the same applies to the production of imported goods, for which the same approach should be followedindustrial competitiveness, resource efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions are complementary objectives since reduced material and energy use will reduce costs and emission, and eco-innovations create new product markets; adds that as other economies are investing heavily in resource-efficient and low-carbon solutions and the demand for sustainably produced materials will increase, the EU should retain its first- mover advantage; emphasises in this context the large potential of product and material substitution and increasing the use of scrap metal in inter alia steel and aluminium production;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises firmly that, ever since the crethat the negotiations of the In an international Negotiating Committee that prepared the Rio Convention in 1992, the EU has been seeking to negotiate with third countries an international agreement aimed at protecting against climate change, but so far without successagreement against climate change, to be completed in Paris in December 2015, must lead to a legally binding agreement with economy-wide targets for all parties, respecting the agreed objective of limiting global warming to below 2°C; underlines that a comprehensive international agreement will level the playing field for industry and reduce the risk of carbon leakage from the EU;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the fact that an international agreement on combating climate change that creates circumstances of fair competition for all base metal producers would render considerations of a border adjustment unnecessary;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that by taking both imports and exports into account, the adjustment mechanism brings European regulation closer to a consumption-based territorial approach and that this kind of bottom-up approach has the advantage of offering a universal solution that enables each state to decide in a sovereign manner how ambitious its climate policy is to befurther considerations of options for carbon inclusion mechanisms on imported goods, based on thorough analyses, should be undertaken in case negotiations on an international agreement to curb CO2 emissions should fail; underlines that under no circumstances should such measures risk undermining the international efforts to reach a comprehensive global agreement;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. MUnderlines that any measures affecting trade must respect international trade agreements; maintains that the climate policy objectives of protecting the life and health of humans, animals and plants, and of the conservation of finite natural resources, are consonant with the exceptions set out in Article XX of the WTO Agreement; specifies that the global nature of the climate issue, and the fact that an atmosphere with a low carbon content (clean air) is a global public good, means that it is already viewed as a natural resource that can be exhausted;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that it would be possible to envisage partial reallocation of the revenue derived from auctions to the Green Fund provided for in the Cancún Agreements and other international climate finance instruments;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that knowing the carbon content, which is assessed on an industry- wide basis, is essential for building an international system for combating greenhouse gas emissions; points out that the establishing of border adjustment measures is thus the precursor of an international system to combat CO2 emissionsagreed standards on the calculation of the carbon content and the life-cycle emissions of products increases transparency and can facilitate the promotion of sustainable production and consumption, including in the metals industry;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4
Subheading 4
Compensation for indirect emissions: unfair competition among European countries
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Regrets that compensation for indirect costs has created a new factor in competitive inequality in Europe among producers in electricity-intensive sectors, who cansome of whom receive financial support from the authorities in their countries; adds that this compensation, which was devised as should be a transitional measure, should swiftly be reduced and, especially, be gran to be reduced over time and should strictly adhere to the applicable stated at European level in order not to distortid rules; takes the view that a more common approach to the payment of such competinsation among European producersMember States would minimise competition distortions in the internal market;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the fact that in case a border adjustment makes it possible to scrap compensation for indirecteasure is introduced in the future, it would replace the emxissions as a means of addressing carbon leakage, which is why this measure was adopted in the first placeting measures to address the risk of carbon leakage, in order to prevent double regulation;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that the differentiated carbon impact on electricity prices arising from the energy mix of each supplier is a legitimate factor in competitiveness and depends inter alia on the choices made by each sovereign state;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5
Subheading 5
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges that free allowances be allocated strictly on the basis of programmes for investment in new equipment, R&D and the training of workers, as soon as possible and at all events during the fourth stage, covering the period 2021-2028Supports the plans under the 2030 climate and energy framework to establish a facility (NER400) for carbon capture and storage, innovative renewables and low carbon innovation in industrial sectors as laid down in the Conclusions of the European Council of 23 October 2014; underlines the importance of the use of Member State revenues generated from an increased share of allowances to be auctioned to fund inter alia R&D;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6
Subheading 6
Financial and accounting and transparency
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Suggests that the revenue obtained from the sale of emissions allowances should be traceable so that the public can see how it isUnderlines the importance of transparency in the use of allocation revenues by Member States; refers in this regard to the obligation of Member States to inform the Commission as to the use of ETS revenues; underlines that increased transparency would help citizens see how ETS revenues are being used by the national authorities;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Suggests that any facility classified as subject to the ETS should make compEmphasises that installations and companies must respect all legal requirehmensive information available every year, including in respect of combating climate change and compliance with EU environmental directives, and that this be accessible tots on reporting in order to ensure equal and effective implementation of environmental regulations and ensure that competent authorities and stakeholders, including workers' representatives and to the representatives of the civil society from local communities; and local communities, have access to all relevant information; underlines the right of access to information in environmental matters as laid down in the Aarhus Convention and implemented in EU and national legislation, including Directive 2003/87/EC;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that it remains possible to conclude long-term contracts, under certain conditions, which must be compatible with a return on investment, the duration of which must be no less than 15 years in the case of highly capital-intensive industries;there is today no single market for energy in Europe and that a more integrated single market in energy could result in efficiency gains of some 50 billion euros1 a; urges to remove barriers to a well-functioning European energy market, so that energy costs for energy intensive sectors will be reduced; __________________ 1aStudy of the European Parliamentary Research Centre entitled 'Mapping the costs of non-Europe, 2014-19'
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20