MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

4.9.2006

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Satu Hassi and Raül Romeva i Rueda
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on natural disasters (forest fires and floods)

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0460/2006

B6‑0466/2006

European Parliament resolution on natural disasters (forest fires and floods)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 11 December 1997 and the Community's approval of the Kyoto Protocol by the Council Decision of 25 April 2002[1],

–  having regard to Commission report No 21553 of March 2005 on 'Climate change and the European water dimension',

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas southern Europe, and particularly the Iberian peninsula, has yet again experienced drought and extensive forest fires,

B.  whereas central Europe, and Poland and Romania in particular, has again suffered from extraordinarily heavy rainfall and flooding,

C.  whereas climate change is one of the major challenges of the 21st century, having significant negative global environmental, economic and social consequences including increases in the incidence and intensity of extreme weather events across the globe,

D.  whereas the European Environment Agency (EEA) has predicted that southern Europe will experience increased drought stress, more frequent forest fires and increased heat stress, while northern Europe will experience increased precipitation, and most regions of Europe will encounter increases in flood magnitude and frequency due to climate change,

E.  whereas Europe's vulnerability to drought is increasingly due to unsustainable use of water, soil and biological resources as well as to climate change, which also puts the European food supply at risk,

F.  whereas developed countries have a major responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and should therefore play a leading role in the process of reducing emissions; whereas Parliament has consistently called for the EU to maintain such a leading role,

G.  whereas the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol are an essential condition for a global strategy on climate change, but further targets need to be set for the period after 2012; whereas global emissions should be reduced by half by 2050 in order to contain global warming so that it peaks below 2°C above pre-industrialisation levels; whereas, as stated in Parliament's resolution of 18 January 2006, reductions of the order of 30% by 2020 and of 60-80% by 2050 for industrialised countries are necessary to achieve that goal,

1.  Expresses its solidarity with the inhabitants of the areas devastated by extreme weather within the EU;

2.  Welcomes the positive levels of cooperation and assistance offered by other Member States to the affected areas, facilitated inter alia by the Community Civil Protection Mechanism;

3.  Notes that the damage caused by the natural disasters could have been partly prevented and should provide an incentive for developing and implementing prevention policies and adequate legislation on conservation and appropriate land use, including sustainable farm and forestry practices and efficient risk management;

4.  Calls on the Commission to support actions, including measures to raise public awareness, in support of more sustainable use of water, soil and biological resources in Europe;

5.  Notes with interest the reports on climate change and its direct effect on ecosystems and the water cycle; calls on the Commission and the Member States to draft and coordinate regional plans in order to adapt to and take account of such effects, and to ensure transborder cooperation and dissemination of rescue plans;

6.  Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the regions affected to set up joint restoration and rehabilitation plans for the affected areas, and to use Community funds, particularly the Structural Funds, the EAGGF and the Cohesion Fund, to cofinance their implementation;

7.  Notes that the limited margins under the ceilings of the financial perspective for 2007-2013 do not provide sufficient leeway for significant new common responses from the EU budget, apart from those foreseen under the Civil Protection Instrument;

8.  Calls for the reforestation policy for the affected areas to be based on respect for their bio-climatic and environmental features, using species and varieties adapted to local conditions;

9.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support farmers, rural entrepreneurs and forest owners in adapting farming practices that can reduce the risks related to extreme climatic conditions;

10.  Interprets the recent extreme weather conditions as further evidence of the negative effects of climate change, and stresses that these extreme weather conditions are another sign of the need for ambitious world action to halt climate change;

11.  Believes that the damage caused by recent events further emphasises that mitigation will be much less costly than the consequences of global warming; recognises also that many of the policies required to stop dangerous climate change will offer win-win situations in terms of reducing oil dependency, improving air quality and generating savings;

12.  Strongly believes that the European Union should retain its leading role in international efforts to fight climate change; expects the EU, therefore, to make proposals in the context of negotiations under UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol for a future regime which is consistent with maintaining the average global temperature increase below 2°C above pre-industrialisation levels, with global greenhouse emissions peaking within the next two decades, and which respects the principles of equity, responsibility and ability or capacity to act;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, and the governments of the Member States affected by the natural disasters.

• [1]  OJ L 130, 15.5.2002, p. 1.