A better environment for a better life

A healthy environment and a high level of environmental protection are prerequisites for guaranteeing the quality of life as well as preserving the stability of the ecosystems.

Environment Action Programmes have guided the development of EU environment policy since the early seventies. They have been a powerful driver for the adoption of strong EU environment legislation, notably in areas such as air, water, waste and climate.

Protection of our environment increases the quality of life notably by safeguarding ecosystems and their services, halting the loss of biodiversity, ensuring better air quality, less noise, as well as by creating jobs and growth, and by ensuring well-being for current and future generations.

The current 6th Environment Action Programme (6EAP), which was the first one to be adopted by co-decision, will expire in July 2012. Its final assessment, published on 31 August 2011, concluded that on balance, the 6th EAP has provided an overarching framework for environment policy, during which environmental legislation has been consolidated and substantially completed, and that its adoption by co-decision has increased its legitimacy and has helped create a sense of ownership for subsequent policy proposals.

However, we are still far from a satisfying situation regarding the state of the environment. Scientific evidence clearly shows that business as usual is not an option, as it puts too much pressure on the planet’s capacity to sustain demands for resources or ecosystem services or to absorb pollution. Urgent action by all stakeholders is needed for a transition towards a sustainable future.

It is therefore essential to adopt as soon as possible a 7th EAP in order to enable this transition towards a sustainable future, to ensure continuity and avoid any gaps.

As regards the format, although several individual documents and roadmaps have been recently published by the Commission, we strongly believe that a 7th EAP should give a strong overarching framework that would ensure coherence. It should ensure that all existing environment-related 2020 targets for the different policy areas are included and examined in conjunction with each other.

In addition, the future 7th EAP should provide for a clear ambitious vision for 2050, in order to give a long-term perspective for all stakeholders.

We propose that the future 7th EAP focuses on the 3 following “I “s:

- Implementation and Strengthening of environmental legislation

- Integration of environmental objectives into all sectoral policies

- International dimension of environment protection

We therefore call on the Commission to present as soon as possible its proposal for a 7th EAP, and to take into account our suggestions as described in the present own-initiative report.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy calls on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Highlights the importance of integrating environmental objectives into all Union policies; stresses the need to translate broad thematic strategies into robust legislation with clear targets and timetables in order to ensure that the 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP) paves the way for the EU to halve its ecological footprint by 2030;

2.  Urges the Commission, when reviewing the EIA Directive and Directive 2001/42/EC, to strictly apply criteria for protection of landscapes and the natural environment when selecting locations for energy and industrial sites and other facilities; takes the view that the Commission should create indicators to assess their potential adverse impact and should pay full attention to the articles in the TFEU relating to the protection of cultural and natural heritage;

3.  Underlines the fact that the 7th EAP should provide for concrete measurable targets, as well as detailed timelines and implementation-monitoring mechanisms in the form of indicators and scoreboards, that would guarantee the achievement of its objectives at both EU and Member State level;

4.  Considers that the EU will need to offer more support for research, innovation and development activities in order to secure, in the medium term, an increase in the availability and performance of the technology which is necessary for more efficient resource use and increased energy efficiency and for maintaining competitiveness in the EU;

5.  Believes that the Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe must be translated into concrete actions in the 7th action programme;

6.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop within the next Research Framework Programme a research and innovation programme targeting new materials and resources which could in the future replace existing raw materials that are in short supply;

7.  Emphasises the need to invest in the recycling of raw materials and rare earths, since mining, refining and recycling rare earths can have serious consequences for the environment unless managed appropriately;

8.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the ‘green economy’ globally, integrating environmental, social and economic aspects such as poverty reduction;

9.  Requests that the financing of Natura 2000 be provided for in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020, and that new management methods be established enabling agreements with owners and the private sector to be reached and compatible and fruitful uses for the preservation of the habitat and biodiversity to be found, and calls for efforts to integrate biodiversity policy into other policy areas to be stepped up;

10. Considers that due account should be taken in the Habitats Directive and in the Natura 2000 network of the aesthetic and visual qualities of landscapes for the purpose of interpreting these programmes;

11. Underlines the importance of demonstrating to the citizens of the EU, especially in the current economic climate, that protection of the environment is not contradictory to sustainable economic and social development; advocates, to this end, the promotion of successful projects and the dissemination of information to the public on the feasibility of environmentally benign economic development in important natural and cultural heritage areas like the Natura 2000 network;

12. Believes that it is necessary to find new formulas for soil regulation in line with Member States’ criteria, establishing measures to avoid disasters, prevent flooding and create a transparent and clear internal market with regard to soil pollution;

13. Takes the view that the objectives of Roadmap 2050 can only be achieved if complementary strategies are implemented, including assessment of agriculture, reforestation and the introduction of policy incentives for innovation and rapid implementation of solar, geothermal and marine energy;

14. Takes the view that the LIFE+ programme should be managed by the Commission, with the emphasis being placed on international projects of innovation and excellence, promoting SMEs and R&D institutions and prioritising the maintenance of biodiversity with a systematic and integral approach and agricultural technologies compatible with the preservation of the soil and the food chain of animals’ ecosystems; believes that the EU’s LIFE + programme should be more widely promoted in all regions of Europe in order to encourage innovative practices at local level and enhance the impact and awareness of the ‘Environmental Policy and Management’ section of this programme;

15. Stresses that strong European research, development and innovation is a prerequisite for protecting the environment while at the same time achieving social and economic development in the European Union;

16. Urges the Commission, in its review of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Groundwater Directive and the Blue Print programme, to maintain a scientific and systemic approach, taking into account water cycles, the relationship between water and land, the fight against desertification and the need for transparency and efficiency in water management;

17. Calls on the Commission to provide a more detailed evaluation of the results of the action plan and the real obstacles to the full and proper implementation of its objectives;

18. Takes the view that, in assessing measures to combat climate change, the EU institutions should take proper account of the role played by grass on lawns in capturing CO2;

19. Believes that the 7th action programme should also focus on maritime emissions and non-CO2 emissions;

20. Calls for special attention to be paid to objectives and action regarding the human environment in urban areas, focusing specifically on noise and air quality;

21. With a view to implementing pollution reduction strategies in the urban environment, calls on the Commission and the Member States to examine the possibility of creating a European support framework for the progressive implementation of urban mobility plans in European cities, establishing procedures and financial support mechanisms at European level for preparing urban mobility audits as well as urban mobility plans, and setting up a European Urban Mobility Scoreboard;

22. Considers that the Commission and the Member States should commit themselves to creating integrated strategies that make it possible to determine the natural assets of each geographical area and the characteristics of its natural heritage, as well as what needs to be done to preserve them, taking account of the specific ecosystem required to preserve biodiversity and individual species, which includes agriculture, water and other necessary minimum conditions;

23. Calls on the Commission to put in place impact assessment criteria for water desalination plants which include their energy costs and destructive effect on the sea bed and biodiversity;

24. Takes the view that the Commission should include binding quality criteria and traceability requirements in food and agriculture agreements with third countries;

25. Stresses that the 7th EAP should be more ambitious, paving the way for binding legislation to establish clear goals with definite timelines and indicators to measure progress, including a specific date for the mid-term review of the programme;

26. Concludes that the integration of environmental considerations in other relevant policy areas, such as energy, agriculture, fisheries, transport, research, cohesion policy and regional development, should be the top priority in the 7th action programme.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Regional Development calls on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Recognises that climate change, biodiversity loss and overconsumption of natural resources are challenges which affect every EU citizen, and that action is needed at every level of government to mitigate their effects; believes that it is necessary to ensure synergies between cohesion policy and environmental, health and spatial planning policies and to improve cooperation among local authorities and regions and at crossborder level, as well as in macro-regions, in order to achieve a balance in development encompassing urban and peri-urban, forested and rural areas; stresses the potential of sustainable land management, and considers that measures governing any change in the intended purpose of land, particularly with a view to monocultures and the production of eco-fuels, need to be analysed carefully;

2.  Believes that it is particularly important to improve cooperation between national, local and regional authorities and local community groups and other stakeholders, in order to encourage public-private partnerships for the better application of the EU legislation on waste management; recommends adoption of a local development methodology based on local partnerships, in particular for projects related to urban, rural and crossborder issues; encourages - where needed - the use of European funding to create integrated waste management systems; stresses the need to ensure close collaboration with universities, researchers, companies and other interested players for the rapid design of innovative technologies that increase waste recycling and resource efficiency and improve planning to reduce the effects of the extraction of minerals and aggregates, as well as to create alternative waste disposal systems that are environment-friendly and comply fully with the Waste Framework Directive;

3.  Recommends that an equitable balance be found between the need to combat climate change and to halt or mitigate biodiversity loss and the Seventh Environment Action Programme, so that the European Union can achieve the EU 2020 targets and avoid unnecessary costs resulting from climate change and biodiversity loss; stresses in this context the importance of cohesion policy post-2013; also emphasises, with prevention policy in mind, the need to see costs as investments for the future and for new jobs and to launch information, awareness and other campaigns so as to allow best practice to be exchanged at all levels; underlines the need for better use of technical assistance at national, regional and local levels in order to increase administrative capacity where needed; considers it necessary to efficiently match research and innovation objectives with local and regional development needs;

4.  Considers it necessary to improve cooperation among local authorities and regions and at crossborder level (particularly in cooperation with third countries) by setting up joint action groups, so as to prevent major pollution incidents and other natural or human-made disasters and thus avoid long-term effects; urges the Commission to plan legislation for a sustainable chemical industry;

5.  Stresses that the integration of environmental policies must be guaranteed in a visible and consistent way in all sectoral policies, an important responsibility which is incumbent on local, regional and national authorities; underlines the importance of ensuring the involvement of territorial authorities and national representatives in the conception and decision-making processes for the design and implementation of policies, in order to achieve the EU’s objectives; stresses the importance of the correlation between specific features at local and regional level and the strategies required to implement those policies;

6.  Underlines the need for EU financial support at local, regional and national level in order to address the complex environmental challenges and risks involved; stresses the need to encourage the development of regional, local and crossborder projects/programmes that are closely tied to the preservation of biodiversity in the areas concerned, and emphasises the importance of involving NGOs, the academic world, and both public and private sector in the process of preserving and restoring biodiversity;

7.  Considers that, in order to achieve meaningful results, implementation of the programmes at regional and local level must be assured, and the process must be inclusive of all interested parties; calls for attention to be paid to the situation of regions and territories with special geographical features, such as islands, mountain regions and sparsely populated regions; welcomes the Commission’s proposal to strengthen the use of Environmental Impact Assessments and Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments in local and regional decision-making;

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE