Fuldstændigt Forhandlingsreferat

Onsdag den 13. marts 2019 - Strasbourg

8. Klimaændringer (forhandling)

  President. – The next item is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on climate change (2019/2582(RSP)).

For this debate there will be no catch-the-eye procedure, and no blue-card requests will be accepted.

  Melania Gabriela Ciot, President-in-Office of the Council. – Mr President, I would like to thank the European Parliament for letting me take the floor to speak on behalf of the Council on this vital topic.

We are all aware of the scale and urgency of the challenges posed by climate change, as witnessed by the lively debates on the issue in both the Council and Parliament. Yet, global action to fight it remains insufficient, as confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report, Global Warming of 1.5°C.

The European Union is determined to lead the way in the global response to climate change. It stands firmly behind its commitment to fully implementing the Paris Agreement and the objective of holding the global temperature increase to well below 2°C. The EU also remains committed to maximising contributions in the fight against climate change from other relevant multilateral processes, notably in the areas of aviation and shipping.

The EU is broadly on track to achieve its 2020 greenhouse gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. Furthermore, it has already translated into legislation its own ambitious commitments for 2030, which will enable it to achieve emission reductions of at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. The finalisation of the main elements of the 2030 climate and energy legislative package was the result of work which started in 2015 and recently culminated in intensive negotiations and agreement between the two co—legislators.

In particular, the rules of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) were revised to ensure the necessary emission reductions in the industrial and power sector, and ambitious, binding reduction targets for 2030 were set for all EU Member States in other sectors, such as buildings, transport and waste. In the land use and forestry sector, Member States have to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions on their territory do not exceed removals by sinks.

Combined with other sectoral policies, among others, on the deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, CO2 emissions from cars, vans and trucks, as well as from fluorinated gases, it is estimated that these policies will have an impact on our level of achievement. In addition, robust overall governance rules were recently agreed at EU level to help ensure coherence between Member States’ long-term energy and climate policy plans and to facilitate reporting on and monitoring of progress.

However, we know that more needs to be done to contribute to the long-term temperature goals set in Paris. In line with the Paris Agreement, the EU will submit a long-term strategy to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by 2020, while calling on all other parties to submit their long-term strategies on time. With this in hand, both the European Council and the European Parliament invited the Commission to present a proposal for a strategy for long-term EU greenhouse gas emissions reductions by early 2019, which resulted in the Commission’s November 2018 communication, A Clean Planet for all.

The Council welcomes the communication and underlines the need to focus discussions on different pathways to achieve climate neutrality, in line with the Paris Agreement. The communication has already been discussed at the meetings of the Ministers responsible for environment, energy and competitiveness, and further sectoral debates are planned to take place in the coming weeks and months. The debates held so far have highlighted the shared recognition of the need for action and of the importance of developing the EU long-term strategy in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

Indeed, the Council believes that concerted and transformative action must extend to multiple levels of governance, with an essential role for non-state actors and regional and local governments in implementing ambitious solutions on the ground. The preparation of the EU’s long-term strategy should also take into account the integrated national energy and climate plans of Member States, which in turn have to be consistent with their long—term strategies.

Let me recall here that the Paris Agreement recognises just transition as an imperative to ensuring that the consequences of climate change actions for the workforce are taken into account in regions and communities which stand to be particularly affected by them. This should be taken into account when preparing long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies at EU and national level.

Despite undeniable challenges, the transition to low—greenhouse—gas—emission and climate—resilient economies has already created – and has the potential to create – additional employment opportunities, for example, in renewable energy, construction and building renovation. Technological innovations will need to be scaled up in all sectors. Research, development and demonstration are expected to reduce the cost of breakthrough technologies significantly, but an enabling framework is needed to support them, and private investments need to be scaled up and the right signals provided to the markets, with the mobilisation of finance from a variety of sources. To achieve further emissions reductions, in line with the EU’s commitment to fully implementing the Paris Agreement, major changes will need to be made at society level in our choices, investments and consumption and production patterns for the next decades.

The Presidency looks forward to further discussions on the Commission’s communication, including at the highest political level. The European Council will discuss the topic at its meeting next week in order to provide guidance on the overall direction and political priorities. Based on that guidance, the Council will continue and deepen the focus of debates in order to contribute to the overall process. The Council also looks forward to the high-level events planned at international level in 2019, which provide an opportunity to mobilise political will to raise global ambition, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretary-General’s climate summit, A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win, in September 2019.

  President. – Once again, for those colleagues who arrived slightly late, no blue-card requests will be accepted, and there will be no catch-the-eye procedure.

  Miguel Arias Cañete, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, it is a pleasure to address you this morning in this priority debate on climate change. Your action and commitment has brought to wider public attention the necessity and urgency to act on climate change. As the world’s leading climate scientists told us in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on 1.5 degrees, we must act urgently and collectively now. And political will is vital in driving this action.

In this year of European Parliament elections, we should look ahead at what else can be done. In Europe we can be proud of what we have achieved so far. The campaign for the European Parliament elections offers a great opportunity to tell our citizens what has already been achieved and have each European political party present their individual positions for the future.

As you know, but probably the majority of our citizens are not yet aware, we have adopted an ambitious legislative framework for 2030. This would not have been achieved without the excellent work, commitment and determination of the Members of this House. The Energy Union, with a forward-looking climate action, is now in place. This was one of the priorities of the Juncker Commission that you endorsed almost five years ago.

The correct implementation of the European Union’s climate and clean energy legislation should allow the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 beyond our current 40% target to around 45% compared with 1990. But targets are not ceilings. With the right incentives we can reach even more. This will be achieved thanks to the clean energy transition framework recently adopted, based on a greater deployment of renewable energy sources and by putting energy efficiency first on the agenda: our target of 32.5% of energy savings by 2030 could even be revised upwards in 2023.

This shows our citizens that climate and energy issues are on top of the European Union agenda, that this priority is making real progress in Europe; then to our international partners that the European Union is leading by example and that we turn our pledges into concrete action.

But now is also the moment to look ahead to 2050. We will have to upscale further our policies beyond 2030. The crucial thing is that we can only do it within a deep transformation of our model of economic development, one that delivers both climate neutrality and prosperity and fairness for European citizens. A model that is just for our citizens and fair for our industries.

That is why the Commission adopted in November last year its Communication ‘A Clean Planet for all: A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy’. By proposing this vision, we have responded to the call by the European Parliament and the European Council. The Commission’s vision intends to set a clear direction of travel for the European Union’s climate policy and contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

To see what the European Union should do we studied eight scenarios in detail. Five scenarios achieve at least 80% reductions by 2050 with varying different technologies or introduce circularity and energy efficiency. Let’s be clear, these are not enough to meet the 1.5°C objective, and they are not what the Commission proposes to do. To get to the 1.5°C objective we will need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. That is why we have developed two scenarios that effectively reach this aim of climate neutrality. One is focused on technology deployment. The other contains more elements of behavioural change, circularity and increased natural sinks.

The analysis clearly shows that a climate neutral economy by 2050 is possible, following different pathways, but that it will require an ambitious combination of technologies and action. This is not only to protect our environment, but also to modernise the European Union economy for a sustainable future, increase investment in competitive technologies and defend our citizens’ better quality of life. It means investing in a much more efficient economy, an economy that relies less on imported energy, an economy that provides for more local, higher-quality jobs.

I am happy to see that the resolutions adopted in the parliamentary committees confirm this long-term ambition. I hope this is also the case in the plenary vote tomorrow. It is a big responsibility for all of us to lead and demonstrate that a socially fair transition to climate neutrality is not only possible, but also opens enormous economic opportunities.

A transformation on this scale requires an open and inclusive debate. We all need to engage widely with citizens and civil society across Europe to reach a common understanding on the way forward. Together with my team I have already started our outreach to all European countries to launch the public debates, and I invite all of you to contribute to our 2050 vision for Europe. Here is where the impulsion that our young Europeans are giving us comes in and is a fundamental part of this debate. It is really the moment to speak out.

We are all beginning to suffer the consequences of climate change. Many of us will not be here to see what a profoundly changed planet will look like in 2050. But the young Europeans that are taking to the streets, and are doing so in growing numbers and in more and more cities across Europe, will be in the prime of their adult life in 2050. I welcome their engagement – they have the biggest stake in the fight against climate change.

We must embark in a process of transformation with a much greater sense of urgency than I see today. We have a little time left to stabilise climate change and fulfil the goals of the Paris Agreement. We have not yet run out of time, but we cannot afford to hesitate anymore. The actions and the words of these young Europeans are a precious spur to action now, and we have a duty to act. We have sketched out how this can be done and presented a solid analysis of why and how Europe can achieve climate neutrality; why this model can be replicated by other countries in the world; how climate neutrality, economic prosperity and social fairness can and must go together.

We must listen to what the very great majority of Europeans – and especially our future generations – are telling us. We must agree on the objective of a climate neutral, prosperous and fair Europe in 2050, and on that basis, take the measures and actions that we know can make it happen.

  Peter Liese, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Der frühere sozialdemokratische deutsche Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt hat einmal gesagt: Wer Visionen hat, soll zum Arzt gehen. Ich finde aber, in der Politik brauchen wir Visionen, und gerade in der Europapolitik brauchen wir Visionen. Die Europäische Kommission hat eine Vision vorgelegt: Wir wollen bis 2050 klimaneutral werden. Und das Gute an dieser Vision ist, dass sie durch Fakten und Szenarien untermauert ist. Die Aussage der Kommission ist klar. Wir können sogar zusätzliche Arbeitsplätze schaffen und zusätzliches Wachstum in Europa generieren, wenn wir dieses Ziel anstreben.

Europaweit gehen Schülerinnen und Schüler für den Klimaschutz auf die Straße, und ich glaube, sie haben, wenn wir morgen diese Entschließung annehmen und das Ziel der Klimaneutralität mit großer Geschlossenheit unterstützen, schon einen ersten Erfolg errungen. Aber ich fürchte, die Schülerinnen und Schüler müssen weiter demonstrieren – ich hoffe, dann auch außerhalb der Unterrichtszeit –, denn wir sind ja nicht allein entscheidend. Der Rat muss dieses Szenario annehmen, und das wird sicherlich sehr viel schwieriger als hier im Parlament. Gerade um den Rat zu bewegen, dieser Strategie und dem Ziel zuzustimmen und auch konkrete Schritte einzuleiten, müssen wir jetzt sehr genau überlegen, was wir tun. Wir als EVP sind kritisch, dass wir ein 55 %-Ziel für 2030 jetzt beschließen, denn wir haben gerade die Klimagesetzgebung angenommen. Planungssicherheit ist auch ein wichtiges Gut. Einen Beschluss, den man gerade gefasst hat, sofort über Bord zu werfen, hilft uns nicht. Und ich fürchte eben auch, dass, wenn wir jetzt bei dieser Entschließung übertreiben, die Mitgliedstaaten im Rat, die die Klimaneutralität eben grundsätzlich nicht wollen, Argumente bekommen, die wir ihnen nicht geben sollten. Deswegen glaube ich, wir haben einen guten Kompromiss gefunden in den Verhandlungen zwischen den Fraktionen, und wir sollten den morgen durchtragen.

Ganz wichtig ist für die EVP ein gerechter Übergang zu Klimaneutralität – just transition. Wir müssen den Menschen in den Kohleregionen helfen, Ersatzarbeitsplätze zu finden. Wir müssen die energieintensive Industrie in den Stand versetzen, CO2-frei zu produzieren, zum Beispiel die Stahlindustrie in den Stand versetzen, CO2-frei Stahl zu produzieren. Das ist technisch möglich, aber wir brauchen sehr viel Unterstützung. Unser Berichterstatter, Christian Ehler, verhandelt gerade heute im Trilog über dieses Thema, nämlich, dass wir von der Europäischen Union diese Technologien auch wirklich unterstützen. Wir sollten ihm dabei den Rücken stärken.

Ich habe die Schülerinnen und Schüler, die in meinem Wahlkreis demonstrieren, zu einer Diskussion eingeladen, und selbstverständlich haben die Schülerinnen und Schüler dabei das erste Wort. Selbstverständlich findet diese Diskussion nachmittags statt und nicht während der Unterrichtszeit.

Mir ist es wichtig, dass wir da auch mit den Unternehmen in einen Dialog kommen. Ich treffe immer noch viele Unternehmer, die sagen: Wir schaffen das nicht, wir können das nicht leisten. Deswegen müssen wir zusammenarbeiten. Denn wir sind auch kein Vorbild für die Welt, wenn wir dann am Ende zwar klimaneutral sind, aber die Industrie in anderen Teilen der Welt produziert. Deswegen kann die Devise nicht „Klimaschutz statt Arbeitsplätze“ oder „Arbeitsplätze statt Klimaschutz“ sein. Wir als EVP wollen Klimaschutz und Arbeitsplätze, und deswegen kämpfen wir dafür, dass die Entschließung, die jetzt auf dem Tisch liegt, morgen ohne wesentliche Veränderung angenommen wird. Ich glaube, dann geben wir das richtige Signal.

  Udo Bullmann, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, we have guests in this House today, 60 young people from 20 countries up there on the Tribune. We welcome them because they are great and they are the representatives of the Youth For Climate movement.

(Applause)

It’s good that all parliamentarians have the chance to see young people in their constituencies but today we have the chance to see them here, which is even better. The movement was started last August by schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who decided to strike in front of the Swedish Parliament, holding up a hand-painted sign, but today it’s a social movement. Hundreds of thousands, in more than 70 countries, in more than 700 cities, are going to manifestations on the movement’s Fridays For Future. This is a social revolution that has now started everywhere and we the politicians, we the parliamentarians, have to be part of that. This is my firm conviction.

One element more: I think they should be here in our place today and talk to us. They should come forward with their demands, they should question us and we should be giving answers. Indeed this was also the idea of some Groups, to invite them to speak today, but unfortunately it was not possible to have a majority for that in the Conference of Presidents. I regret very much that Conservatives, Liberals and the far right denied us this chance for an open debate today.

(Applause)

Unfortunately, they blocked an open discussion with the young people who are going on the streets each week. Perhaps we can do better sometime.

So the conclusion was that the Groups who supported that – we the Socialists and Democrats, the Greens and the GUE/NGL Group – invited them to our group meetings this week and we listened to them. We wanted to know what indeed they are longing for and the answer was completely clear. It was a call to action. It’s highly urgent that we do something. ‘Please do not postpone. Please don’t be cheap in your political answers. Please, no more delays because you are dealing with the biggest threat in human history’. And yes, the young people are right because they want to have a life without fear, a perspective for themselves and their future families, and a life without devastation.

Deswegen will ich den jungen Leuten sagen: Es reicht nicht, dass wir hier lächeln, es reicht nicht, dass wir so tun, als würden wir zuhören und keine Konsequenzen ziehen. Nein, Konsequenzen müssen radikal gezogen werden, wenn wir diesen Planeten retten wollen und wenn wir dafür sorgen wollen, dass alle auf diesem Planeten eine Zukunft haben. Wir nehmen das sehr ernst. In meiner Fraktion haben wir dafür gesorgt, dass wir unsere politischen Programme überprüfen, und heute sind wir felsenfest entschieden, unsere Politik jetzt, heute und morgen an den Nachhaltigkeitszielen der Vereinten Nationen auszurichten.

Das bedeutet, es darf nie mehr eine Debatte über Wirtschaft geben ohne Umwelt. Aber es darf auch keine Debatte über Umwelt geben, ohne die soziale Sicherheit in unseren Gesellschaften mitzudenken und dafür zu sorgen, dass alle Menschen etwas davon haben, von dem zukünftigen Bild unserer guten Gesellschaft, die wir zusammen bauen wollen. Das heißt, Ökologie ist nicht nur für die happy few. In der Tat, dort wo Arbeitsplätze wegfallen, müssen wir uns kümmern. Wir müssen investieren, mit einer engagierten Regionalpolitik, mit einer engagierten Sozialpolitik, und wir müssen dafür sorgen – fragen Sie Herrn Macron, der gerade dabei ist, seine Lehrstunde zu bewältigen –, dass Gerechtigkeit einkehrt in unserer Gesellschaft. Es kann nicht sein, dass die arbeitenden Menschen alleine die Transformation bezahlen müssen. Ganz im Gegenteil, wir werden die ökologische Wende nur schaffen, wenn wir die soziale Wende mitdenken und mitpraktizieren, und es wird nur eine gute soziale Zukunft geben, wenn wir eine vernünftige Transformation unserer Industriegesellschaft schaffen und wenn wir dafür sorgen, dass diese Welt in Frieden mit ihren natürlichen Ressourcen leben kann. Das muss unser Programm sein.

Ich habe gehört, was die Kommission gesagt hat, ich habe den Kollegen Liese gehört, der sich in der Tat engagiert für diese Themen, aber, Freundinnen und Freunde, das ist doch ganz einfach! Wenn Ihr alle entschieden seid, dann machen wir das im neuen Mandat. Dann machen wir ganz einfach aus dem Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspakt einen Nachhaltigkeitspakt. Dann machen wir aus dem Semester nicht mehr nur eine Wirtschaftsüberlegung, sondern wir machen eine Nachhaltigkeitspolitik. Und den jungen Leuten: Keep on fighting! We are with you!

  President. – If I may, on behalf of the President’s Office and on my own behalf, I can easily imagine that once the next Parliament is sitting we can have a special event here in the Chamber, with young people, on climate change issues. I am sure the vast majority of us would support it, and had it been brought to the attention of the Bureau I would definitively have supported it.

  Jadwiga Wiśniewska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Porozumienie paryskie wyznacza drogę do czystego środowiska. Potrzebujemy strategii opartych na niskoemisyjności. Jest to trudne, ale też stwarza nowe możliwości. Musimy stawiać na badania i innowacje, starać się o odpowiednie finansowanie dla regionów przechodzących transformację klimatyczną, szczególnie dla regionów węglowych, takich jak mój region – Śląsk.

Dlatego mam nadzieję, że socjaliści i ALDE poprą moją rezolucję, w której mówię o sprawiedliwej transformacji – transformacji, która nie wyklucza nikogo, nie wyklucza państw członkowskich mających bardzo trudny mix energetyczny, zdominowany przez węgiel. Polski mix energetyczny w osiemdziesięciu procentach opiera się na węglu, francuski zawiera tylko dwa procent węgla. Chcemy czystego środowiska? Dajmy więc szansę krajom, które mają mix energetyczny obciążony węglem. Proszę poprzeć poprawkę mówiącą o sprawiedliwej transformacji i o wsparciu regionów górniczych. W przeciwnym razie nasze dyskusje będą jałowe, będą umizgiwaniem się do młodzieży, podkręcaniem jej nastrojów. A ja wiem, że młodzież jest mądra. Jeśli powiemy, że mamy wykluczenie energetyczne, to oznacza ono biedę, nędzę, bezrobocie. Z tego powodu Francuzi wychodzą dzisiaj na ulice. Stawiajmy na sprawiedliwą transformację, bo tylko ona ma sens. Proszę o poparcie mojej rezolucji.

  Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, today is a very special day because not only is the future generation literally knocking on our doors but they’re watching us, they’re looking over our shoulders to see if we are taking care of their future. By organising the climate marches for children they made it clear to us that it’s their future that we are destroying at the moment. And are we fully aware of that and do we act accordingly? I’m afraid the answer is no – and not only on climate but also on the systematic destruction of nature. The EU will by far miss its own objectives on the biodiversity strategy but neither the Commission nor the Council have taken any measures in order to turn the tide.

But then climate – yes, we have legislation in place, and yes, we do increase the part of the EU budget dedicated to climate change, but is that sufficient? No, we all know it’s not. We should move towards the 55% in 2030. That is something that is absolutely clear. But we should also act in all other policy areas and this Monday, I’m afraid, again, we proved that we are letting the future generation down.

We voted on sustainable finance and I’m afraid that, by the right-wing parts of this House, we voted out all ambition and that is extremely important because all human action starts with investments and we applaud every percentage of green investments. But it’s worth nothing if we do not green all the other investments; it’s fighting a running battle. As we say in the Netherlands, it is mopping up with the tap open. We will only succeed if all investments are green and that is the way forward.

Today, the future generation is sitting there. We only have a limited amount of time. In a few years’ time they will be sitting here and let’s avoid that we will be sitting there and shamefully watching how they are trying to clean up our mess.

(Applause)

  Bas Eickhout, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, thank you for this debate. It’s about time we talked again about climate change. But I think a lot of people who are here now are getting a bit tired of people saying ‘Oh, we want to thank you, thank you for being here, thank you for telling us’. They don’t want thanks. They want action. They want politicians to act.

Ten years ago, I went into this European Parliament – coming from science, going into politics – because I noticed that politicians were not acting, and I thought it’s about time that they started acting.

And sorry, Commissioner, sorry, Council, you were only talking about 2050. If I follow all those marches on the street, the last time I checked I didn’t see anyone ask: ‘We want a 2050 vision’. All are asking: ‘We want action now’.

We need to do more as Europe, we need to step up our ambitions now and what we hear is only: ‘we are going to talk about a long-term strategy’. Mr Liese is even saying: ‘Let’s do first a long-term strategy, don’t talk too much about action, because maybe that will shake up some countries!’ That’s the purpose! We’re talking about a climate crisis here. We are talking about action that needs to be done.

(Applause)

As one of the slogans says: if climate had been a bank, it would have been safe by now.

(Applause)

So it really is about time also that we need to do more and I think this is really what we can see – it’s the climate marches we see on the streets, not just the strikes by the youth, but also the big marches. Last Sunday in Amsterdam, 40 000 people on the street; in Brussels two times 70 000 people; people on the streets asking for more action. That is a social movement, a social movement that we should not let down. They are calling on Europe to do more. And if you want to talk about the future of Europe, this is about the future of Europe. The future of Europe is green jobs and that is another comment to my dear colleague Peter Liese.

When you are talking about future jobs you should talk about the green transition.

(Applause)

Other regions in the world are moving, are investing – look at California, but also look at the solar investments in India. Look at the electric transportation in China. They are moving. The German car industry is investing more in electric transportation in China than in Germany and that’s because there they do policies and not in Germany.

(Applause)

So we need to step up and we need to take action and we don’t only need to talk about targets – and by the way it’s good that people are getting annoyed because this is the debate, right? Because everyone is always saying that we do the same and we all have the same targets, but this shows we don’t, because if we go beyond the targets then suddenly you see that the vested interest of the fossil industry is still hugely protected by this side of Parliament.

(Applause)

As my colleague said, on finances we still only try to say ‘okay, don’t talk about the negative impact of our financing, only talk about a little green corner’. On agriculture we don’t manage to really make sure that agriculture becomes green. On transportation, we are still lagging behind on new and future transportation, and on climate proofing of our investments we’re not delivering.

We really need to step up. Tomorrow is our first vote for higher targets. But after that, these elections, these European elections, will be about climate – about real action, because it’s time to act instead of talking.

(Sustained applause)

  Lynn Boylan, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – Mr President, Greta Thunberg was blocked from addressing this Parliament because she speaks truth to power, and that truth is that we are failing on climate change – failing to take the bold steps that are required, failing to lead.

There are some in this Chamber who are more upset that young people would strike from school than they are about the fact that we have 12 years left to sort this mess out. Our Paris Agreement targets are already behind the science. Two degrees is no longer adequate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has told us that we need to stay under 1.5 degrees if we want to limit climate catastrophe.

Rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented change is what is required. Rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented is not what we are offering in this joint resolution. We might as well have a meteor heading straight for us, and we’re putting up an umbrella. It goes nowhere near far enough to setting out what we need to do.

This is not about political compromise, it’s about following science, and failure tomorrow to support the amendments calling on the EU to reduce emissions by at least 55% is not only an insult to the activists who are watching us from the gallery but it is also telling them that their future is irrelevant. Colleagues, it’s time to lead.

(Applause)

  Eleonora Evi, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la metafora della rana bollita ormai la conosciamo tutti, e la conoscono molto bene i cittadini fuori dalle istituzioni europee, che stanno manifestando per proteggere il loro futuro. Tuttavia è la metafora che meglio descrive quello che sta succedendo, perché stiamo letteralmente cucinando il nostro pianeta a fuoco lento.

La domanda che dobbiamo porci è la seguente, dal momento che le responsabilità sono molteplici, a livello globale: ma noi, l'Europa, abbiamo fatto abbastanza? Abbiamo fatto a sufficienza per garantire un futuro a questo pianeta e per garantire una vera transizione verso un'economia che sia davvero a zero emissioni, in termini di produzione e di consumi, in termini di società intera? Io purtroppo non credo. Non lo credo, anche perché gli obiettivi che ci siamo dati fino ad oggi sono solo ancora sulla carta e non sono sufficienti a garantire un abbassamento della temperatura, e quelli da venire devono ancora essere decisi.

Io faccio solo un appello: chiedo ai colleghi, alla Commissione e al Consiglio di dire basta alle politiche del rigore, basta limitare gli investimenti in efficienza energetica e in rinnovabili, perché sono quelli che ci salveranno per il futuro, basta contabilizzarli come debito, dobbiamo scorporarli dal patto di stabilità. Io venerdì sarò in piazza a manifestare insieme a tutti i giovani.

  Joëlle Mélin, au nom du groupe ENF. – Monsieur le Président, les changements climatiques constatés posent un problème crucial à tous les habitants de la planète.

Il faut donc les aborder de manière responsable pour les anticiper et les traiter. Et pour être efficace, il convient d’être conscient de l’intrication de deux phénomènes. Le premier relève de la seule responsabilité humaine, après 200 ans d’industrialisation sauvage et de course à la productivité, avec une débauche d’énergie carbonée incontrôlée. L’autre relève des cycles climatiques naturels prouvés par l’étude des glaces polaires et a provoqué, à la fin de la dernière glaciation, une hausse de la température de plus de 4°C et une montée des mers de 120 mètres. L’homme n’y était pour rien. Alors que faire?

Cesser de dire que l’homme et les organismes vivants sont responsables de tout; sortir de l’angélisme de l’accord de Paris; rattraper le retard phénoménal de l’Union européenne en matière technologique et de solutions alternatives innovantes; cesser de nouer des accords de libre-échange non écologiques; refuser la mondialisation et la marchandisation de l’eau, de l’air, de la terre et anticiper leur gestion; limiter les contraintes pseudo-environnementales qui plombent les coûts des voitures, des logements et de la nourriture, et qui justifient des taxes de plus en plus insupportables pour les peuples.

Sortons en urgence du dogmatisme et passons à des... (le Président retire la parole à l’oratrice)

  Miguel Arias Cañete, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to thank all the Members for their contributions, their ambition and their capacity to listen to young people. But when we speak to young people we have to put things straight on the table. To say that there has been no action from the Commission on climate change during these past five years is simply not fair. In these five years more has happened on climate action than ever. We agreed in Paris the first binding international climate treaty and the European Union was instrumental in delivering that agreement, leading the high-ambition coalition.

The first point is that we have an agreement which establishes the objectives needed to stop climate change. We have delivered all the necessary legislation, with the support of this House, which has raised the level of ambition, for sure, and I thank all the Members of the parliamentary political groups for having raised ambition levels in relation to renewables, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, and CO2 targets for cars and light vans, and for heavy-duty vehicles. Good work. A good job done. We are on track.

And the Commission framework for 2030 has review clauses. Action will be enhanced, but to enhance action you need a sense of direction of travel. Young people are saying that they want fast action and ambition. What the Commission has proposed in this communication is that we will become climate neutral by 2050. That’s at least 10 years before what science is saying. The International Panel on Climate Change says that climate neutrality globally will have to be achieved by 2061, and developed countries have a responsibility to act faster, I fully agree. But now we are in a situation where we have legislation and we have review clauses.

It is not enough, and the next Parliament and the next Commission, have a huge responsibility. I expect that the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ and the political groups in the campaign will be ambitious in their electoral programmes, because if we all agree that we have to raise the level of ambition there should not be problems in the Council when it comes to taking decisions supporting the 2050 climate neutrality objective. If we have that objective, the next Commission will have to raise the level of ambition beforehand. That is the exercise in which we are engaged here.

I expect there to be a huge debate in the campaign for the European elections – and that young people, industry and workers will be listened to, because this has to be a fair, social transition. We cannot fight climate change when there are so many people unemployed. It is impossible. We need the involvement of citizens in order to change behaviour patterns, to have electric mobility accepted, and to change the way we are using resources. And that is a revolution. I am conscious that what the Commission has proposed is very ambitious. It touches all sectors of the economy. It requires structural changes that are bigger than those of the industrial revolution. It has to have the support of all our citizens.

So now we have the opportunity to answer the demands of the young people, and the European Council has to endorse ambitious trajectories that will be the guidelines for the policies that the next Commission and the next Parliament will have to agree.

In the street, people are making demands, but we have to answer our young people, the workers in the automotive industries, the workers in the steel industry, the workers in the coalmines, in order to engineer a fair and social transition. The energy transition, fighting climate change, will be achieved with success if nobody is left behind – and that is our responsibility during the campaign, after the campaign and in the future.

  Melania Gabriela Ciot, President-in-Office of the Council. – Mr President, again let me thank the honourable Members for this useful debate and for their comments, and to greet the young people in the gallery. I note that, in general, Parliament and the Council share many of the same aspirations and the same concerns on this topic. It is essential to reflect on how we can transform the EU’s economy in a way that ensures the best possible future for our environment, our citizens, businesses and industry.

The EU has long been a front-runner on climate action and it should continue to lead by example. Under the Romanian Presidency, the Council will continue its work on all aspects of the vision presented by the Commission, with a view to providing clear, coherent and focused inputs to facilitate further discussion.

  President. – I have received nine motions for resolutions tabled in accordance with Rule 123(2).

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on Wednesday, 13 March 2019.

Written statements (Rule 162)

  Adam Gierek (S&D), na piśmie. – Mniej „ambicji”, a więcej skuteczności. Myślę, że obecne propozycje są zbyt „rewolucyjne”, a to odwrotnie, wbrew zamiarom, może jedynie opóźniać celowe działania zamiast je przyspieszać. Potrzebne jest myślenie, a następnie działanie o charakterze ewolucyjnym, tj. takie, które będzie budowało swoiste pomosty w dochodzeniu do skutecznych dla ochrony klimatu celów. Transformacja energetyczna UE nie może być tak chaotyczna, jaką jest teraz, zaś odchodzenie od paliw kopalnych winno być stopniowe. Chodzi również o mniej błędów merytorycznych ze strony KE utożsamiających efektywność energetyczną z ograniczaniem konsumpcji energii. Trzeba zainwestować w rzeczywistą efektywność energetyczną, ale to kosztuje. Nie można nierozważnie doprowadzać do ubóstwa energetycznego, a ono przecież rośnie i będzie rosnąć, m.in. w związku z narzucanymi w UE rozwiązaniami np. w obszarze ETS. Zbliżający się w sposób wykładniczy kryzys cywilizacyjny pokrywa się wprawdzie z kryzysem klimatycznym, ale generalnie rzecz biorąc również z kryzysem demograficznym i wymaga nie tylko transformacji energetycznej Europy i świata, ale całkowitego odejścia od dotychczasowej cywilizacji konsumpcyjnej. Wniosek - ochrona klimatu to nie tylko problem Europy, ale całego świata i wymaga innego, bardziej kompleksowego niż dotychczas wspólnego podejścia wszystkich państw.

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE), napisan. – Statistički podaci pokazuju da oko 90 % Europljana žive u gradovima izloženi razinama onečišćenja zraka koje se smatraju štetnim za zdravlje ljudi. Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija i da Europska agencija za okoliš (EEA) procjenjuje da se svake godine u EU-u zabilježi oko 400 000 slučajeva prerane smrti koji se mogu pripisati onečišćenju zraka. Smatram da su to alarmantni podaci na koje trebamo obratiti pozornost i djelovati što efektnije. Upravo sam zato podržao ovaj dokument koji apelira na Europsku komisiju da bi trebala postrožiti uvjete kontrole te poziva države članice da na svim razinama i u okviru svih sektora prednost daju provedbi koordiniranih djelovanja i politika za poboljšanje kvalitete zraka u gradovima i urbanim područjima kako bi se postigao krajnji cilj zaustavljanja preranih smrti i bolesti prouzročenih izloženošću onečišćujućim tvarima u zraku.

Trenutačno se u 20 država članica vodi 29 postupaka zbog povrede graničnih vrijednosti kakvoće zraka EU-a. Oko dvije trećine država članica trenutačno ne poštuje granične vrijednosti PM10 i NO2 te jedna od pet država prelazi ciljnu vrijednost PM2.5.

Onečišćenje zraka ima lokalnu, regionalnu, nacionalnu i prekograničnu dimenziju te iziskuje djelovanje svih razina upravljanja, što duboko vjerujem da će se poboljšati jer druge alternative nemamo.

  Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), kirjallinen. –Tapasin 10-vuotiaan Lillyn äitinsä kanssa Strasbourgissa. Satuimme majailemaan samassa hotellissa. Olimme molemmat iloisia toistemme tapaamisesta. Lilly asuu Hollannissa, ja hän on yksi nuorimmista ilmastolakkoilijoista, jotka ovat osoittaneet mieltään viikko toisensa jälkeen perjantaisissa koululakoissa. Hän oli yksi Euroopan parlamenttiin tällä viikolla kutsutuista kuudestakymmenestä nuoresta ilmastoaktivistista.

On kertakaikkisen hienoa ja upeaa, että nuoret tekevät tätä – lakkoilevat ja ottavat kantaa ilmaston puolesta. Lasten ja nuorten pitäisi pystyä luottamaan tulevaisuuteen, asennoitua siihen myönteisesti ja suunnitella valoisalla mielellä omaa elämäänsä. Poliitikkojen vastuulla on taata tämä. Politiikan kyvyttömyydestä kertoo se, että riittävät päätökset jäävät vuodesta ja vuosikymmenestä toiseen tekemättä, jolloin nuorten on otettava vastuu ja osoitettava mieltään maapallon pelastumisen puolesta.

Tiedämme hyvin, että ilmastopolitiikan kunnianhimo pitää tuplata nykyisiin päätöksiin verrattuna ja että tältä pohjalta vuoden 2030 ilmastotavoitteet on korjattava vastaaviksi. EU:n tulisi asettaa vähintään 55 prosentin päästövähennystavoite vuoteen 2030 mennessä.

  Carolina Punset (ALDE), por escrito. – Aunque el Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (GIECC) advirtió al mundo de la necesidad urgente e imperiosa de atajar las emisiones de GEI, en la UE gastamos toneladas de papel y ríos de tinta en negociaciones interminables para llegar a acuerdo mínimos que apenas cumplen con el Acuerdo de París. Además, nos ponemos una venda en los ojos y, en aras de proteger el libre mercado, aceptamos los productos de terceros países, sin tener en cuenta las emisiones generadas en su fabricación o transporte, al mismo tiempo que se deslocaliza nuestra industria porque es más barato producir sin impuestos al CO2 que pagar el precio exigido en Europa por contaminar. La acción demanda no solo autoimponer a nuestras economías limitaciones en sus emisiones; se debería iniciar el ajuste de carbono en frontera en cualquier transacción, lo que evitaría la deslocalización de nuestros sectores productivos y promovería una reducción de emisiones en los países origen de estas mercaderías. Nadie paga los efectos adversos del consumo barato, por lo que estas medidas deberían aparecer en una estrategia real que pretenda limitar el calentamiento global, más allá de los escenarios planteados por la Comisión en su comunicación.

  Evelyn Regner (S&D), schriftlich. – Zehntausende junge Menschen gehen für den Schutz unseres Planeten auf die Straße, und das zu Recht. Wir müssen uns ein Beispiel am Verantwortungsbewusstsein der jungen Generation nehmen, denn es geht um ihre Zukunft. Wäre das Klima eine Bank, wäre es inzwischen gerettet worden. Ein „Weiter so“ kann es nicht mehr geben. Im Jahr 2017 war der CO2-Ausstoß so hoch wie noch nie zuvor. Wir brauchen radikale Maßnahmen in allen Bereichen, vom Verkehr über die Industrie bis zur Energieversorgung – und das auf europäischer Ebene. Denn der Klimawandel macht nicht an der Grenze Halt. Die EU muss Klimaschutz-Superpower werden. Die EU-weite, sozial ausgewogene CO2-Steuer muss rasch eingeführt werden, Plastikmüll wesentlich reduziert werden und Glyphosat endlich komplett verboten werden. Außerdem können Sie sich ein Vorbild an Österreich nehmen – 70 % unseres Stroms kommen aus erneuerbarer Energie ohne Atomstrom.

  Tibor Szanyi (S&D), írásban. – A fiatalok tüntetnek a klímaüggyel kapcsolatban. Azt üzenik, hogy nem elég 2050-es célszámokat lobogtatni, most kell látható és hatékony lépéseket tenni! Nagy örömömre szolgál, hogy az MSZP 2019-es európai parlamenti választási programja és az általam kezdeményezett Okosfalu program is összhangban vannak ezekkel. Az okosfalvak koncepció EU szinten egy fenntartható keretet kíván biztosítani, a technológia vívmányok vidéki területekre történő kiterjesztésével. Sajnálatos, hogy míg az EU-ban hosszútávú célokat, programokat és forrást rendelünk a klímaügy mellé – Európai Tanáccsal együtt –, ugyanezen tagállamok és gyakran a magán-szektor mégsem támogatja egyhangúan a fenntartható átmenetet. Szavak szintjén igen, gyakorlatban nem teljesen. Gyakorlatban ez Magyarországon például uszítást, az EU-s források teljes pályás lerohanását és lenyúlását, az oktatás és a szociális ellátás elhanyagolását jelentik. Európai szintű megoldások és azonnali tagállami válaszok kellenek a globális kihívásokra! Támogatok egy igazi és okos fenntarthatósági paktumot, amely a fiatalokat és a dolgozó embereket, az okos és fenntartható technológiát, az innovációt, körforgásos gazdaságot helyezi középpontba. Javaslom az okosfalvak újabb fázisainak azonnali indítását, és egyetemben az indítvánnyal a fosszilis üzemanyagok igen magas támogatásának eltörlését, valamint ezen összeg megújuló energiára fordítását. Helyesnek tartom továbbá a következő többéves pénzügyi ciklus sorai klíma-próbájának a bevezetését is.

(The sitting was suspended at 9:48)

PRESIDENZA DELL'ON. ANTONIO TAJANI
Presidente