European Parliament resolution of 4 February 2009 on "2050: The future begins today – Recommendations for the EU's future integrated policy on climate change" (2008/2105(INI))

P6_TA(2009)0042 A6-0495/2008

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its decision of 25 April 2007, adopted pursuant to Rule 175 of its Rules of Procedure, on setting up a temporary committee on climate change(1),

–   having regard to existing EU environmental legislation making a positive contribution to combating climate change in various policy areas (Annex A) and to its resolutions on climate change, particularly those adopted during the current sixth parliamentary term (Annex B),

–   having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2007 on limiting global climate change to 2 degrees Celsius – the way ahead for the Bali Conference on Climate Change and beyond (COP 13 and COP/MOP 3)(2),

–   having regard to its resolution of 31 January 2008 on the outcome of the Bali Conference on Climate Change (COP 13 and COP/MOP 3)(3),

–   having regard to its resolution of 10 April 2008 on the Commission Green Paper on "Adapting to climate change in Europe – options for EU action"(4),

–   having regard to its resolution of 21 May 2008 on the scientific facts of climate change: findings and recommendations for decision-making(5),

–   having regard to its resolution of 21 October 2008 on building a Global Climate Change Alliance between the European Union and poor developing countries most vulnerable to climate change(6),

–   having regard to the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP 14) and the Fourth Conference of Parties serving as a meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 4), held from 1 to 12 December 2008 in Poznań (Poland),

–   having regard to the Citizens" Agora on Climate Change, held on 12 and 13 June 2008,

–   having regard to the Joint Parliamentary Meeting of the European Parliament and the national parliaments, held on 20 and 21 November 2008 to debate energy and sustainable development,

–   having regard to the results of the Eurobarometer Special opinion poll No 300 on Europeans" attitudes to climate change,

–   having regard to the public hearings and exchanges of views with senior figures held by the Temporary Committee on Climate Change and the outcome of delegation visits,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Temporary Committee on Climate Change (A6-0495/2008),

Guiding political ideas

A.   whereas the task of preserving nature and humanity is passed on from one generation to the next,

B.   whereas global warming and climate change are recognised as a very serious, urgent and man-made threat,

C.   whereas, particularly in the current sixth parliamentary term, the European Parliament's work on climate change has been a source of inspiration and a mandate for action to shape an integrated European policy to combat climate change and to reconcile climate change with sustainable economic growth,

D.   whereas the Lisbon Treaty explicitly lays down the objectives and competences of the European Union in the field of climate change and, if ratified, will strengthen the Union's role in promoting sustainable development and fighting climate change,

E.   whereas the leading role of the European Union in the international fight against global warming and its particular responsibility as a union of developed countries contribute to its sense of identity and imply an obligation, vis-à-vis the citizens of Europe, not only to formulate medium- and long-term climate objectives but to achieve those objectives through forward-looking political measures, as well as through political dialogue with developing countries,

F.   whereas a key objective of the European Union as regards both its internal policy and its external relations is promoting respect for human rights, and whereas, in particular, the European Union recognises the rights to life, security, health, education and environmental protection as fundamental, as well as the protection of persons particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities,

G.   whereas parliamentary representatives of the citizens of Europe, not only now but in the future, should be guided by these climate policy principles and by the principles of sustainability, social responsibility and equity between the generations and people, and should not cease from putting the necessary global climate objectives into practice,

H.   whereas human society is facing a dual challenge as regards threats to the earth's life-supporting system, namely climate change and the overuse and destruction of many of the most important ecosystems; whereas there are many interlinkages between the climate system and ecosystems – in particular the capacity of oceans and terrestrial ecosystems to sequester carbon – and whereas climate change can only be addressed effectively within the context of healthy ecosystems,

I.   whereas climate change has a particularly damaging and costly impact on some areas, such as upland and coastal areas,

J.   whereas the impact of climate change on human societies is already being felt in many places, such as the Sahel, where desertification is having a major effect, Bangladesh, which is subject to repeated flooding, certain parts of Europe, and several Pacific islands which are destined to disappear underwater,

K.   whereas climate change is a challenge to which there is no single political solution, but whereas the combination of existing opportunities and a dramatic increase in efficiency in all areas of the economy and society may make a contribution to resolving the problem of resources and distribution and pave the way for a third industrial revolution,

L.   whereas urgent measures are needed to tackle energy and fuel poverty,

M.   whereas according to data for 2006 supplied by the European Environment Agency (EEA), energy production accounts for 30,9% of total greenhouse gas emissions within the EU, transport for 19,4%, private households and services for 14,6%, building trades and industrial production for 12,9%, agriculture for 9,2%, industrial processes for 8,1% and the waste sector for 2,9%, the other emissions being caused by chemical solvents and non-specific combustion processes,

N.   whereas many sectors are already making a contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and many cost-efficient climate change opportunities and efficiency-improving technologies are already available, though their comprehensive application is being blocked by market access barriers, bureaucratic obstacles and high funding costs,

O.   whereas measures aimed at greenhouse gas reductions in production, land use and waste management are of the highest priority; whereas however it will not be possible to overcome climate change solely by emissions reductions in each individual sector; whereas, instead, a systematic approach to the problem will be needed in order to seek cross-sectoral political solutions and to achieve changes to production, consumption, lifestyle and trade patterns throughout society by coherent legislation and adaptation to unavoidable change,

The international dimension: post-2012, external climate policy and international trade

P.   whereas the negotiations towards a post-2012 agreement are being carried on under UN leadership in accordance with the Bali roadmap in the following core areas: emissions reductions and new binding reduction targets, adaptation measures, forest clearance, destruction and degradation, development of technology for mitigation and adaptation measures, the necessary financial resources and, finally, the review of the flexible mechanisms under the Marrakesh Accords on the Kyoto Protocol,

Q.   whereas the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should also be deeply involved in the mitigation effort,

R.   whereas the negotiations on a post-2012 agreement need to be concluded at the Copenhagen climate conference (COP 15) at the end of 2009 in order to avoid a gap between the first and second commitment periods,

S.   whereas the European Council of March 2008 stressed the need to speed up the negotiations on the Bali roadmap with a view to adopting a new climate change agreement by 2009, in accordance with the EU's 2°C objective,

T.   whereas climate change may exacerbate the potential for conflict in international relations, for example through climate-induced migration, loss of land and border disputes arising from floods and receding coastlines, as well as conflicts over resources owing to shrinking arable land, growing water scarcity or deforestation,

U.   whereas the European Council of March 2008 requested the Commission to draw up a European strategy for the financing of measures to combat climate change, aimed at the reduction of emissions and adaptation linked to research into, and development of, low-carbon technologies; whereas the transfer of such technologies is an essential precondition for the successful implementation of global emissions reduction and adaptation measures to combat climate change,

V.   whereas mitigation and adaptation efforts are both of paramount importance; whereas industrialised countries have an historical responsibility for climate change; whereas developing countries have contributed little to climate change and yet are the most affected by it; whereas the available funding to combat climate change in developing countries is inadequate and should be substantially increased,

W.   whereas technology transfer is being hindered by concerns about the protection of intellectual property, by weak political institutions and the absence of the rule of law, and by a general lack of capital,

X.   whereas the WTO does not represent an alternative negotiating forum for international action on the climate, and whereas without a successful conclusion to the post-2012 negotiations world trade cannot be expected to help in combating climate change,

Y.   whereas the EU's carbon footprint includes the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of goods consumed in Europe but produced elsewhere,

Energy

Z.   whereas oil is the most important source of energy worldwide, accounting for some 35% of primary energy consumption, followed by coal at 25% and natural gas at 21%; whereas, however, the age of cheap and abundant fossil energy is coming to an end,

AA.  whereas, according to Eurostat data, in 2006 33,5% of the EU's crude oil imports originated from Russia, 15,8% from Norway and 27% from Arab countries, and whereas 42% of the EU's gas imports came from Russia, 24,2% from Norway and 25,9% from Arab countries,

AB.   whereas the International Energy Agency predicts an increase of at least 60% in world energy requirements by 2030, some of which will be engendered by the emerging countries,

AC.  whereas developments on the energy markets help the pursuit of climate objectives, since market-driven increases in energy prices form important incentives to sustainable use of resources and thus to low carbon consumption,

AD.   whereas in the medium to long term there can be no question of covering the increasing need for energy solely with fossil fuels, and whereas investment decisions over the next few years will determine the structure of the energy system and the composition of the energy mix for the coming decades,

AE.  whereas the growing need for energy requires a number of complementary measures, such as the urgently needed modernisation of the existing fossil-fuel-fired power stations and transmission networks with a view to a massive improvement in overall energy efficiency, the construction of new power plants and the constant expansion of renewable energy sources,

AF.  AF whereas energy savings are in the long term the most cost-effective and cleanest way of saving resources and thus combating climate change, and whereas committed and sustained efforts to enhance the EU's energy efficiency will bring about widespread structural solutions across the economy, thereby paving the way towards a green low-carbon economy,

AG.  whereas the use of nuclear energy – irrespective of the availability of uranium – still raises the issue of the safe final storage of nuclear waste and the spread of the technology to undemocratic states,

AH.  whereas the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project has become a capital-intensive development centre for nuclear fusion as a possible new energy source for the future, and whereas any contribution to the energy market can only be expected in the ultra-long term,

Biofuels

AI.  whereas current policy on biofuels must be seen in a global perspective, where on the one hand there is growing competition for productive land and on the other there is an increasing need for renewable energy, in particular in the transport sector,

AJ.  whereas the production of biomass offers many developing countries new economic opportunities for energy production and as a fuel, and will make them less dependent on energy imports, provided that such production is sustainable and does not lead, for example, to monocultures or to competition as regards food production,

AK.   whereas the emissions reduction potential of many first-generation biofuels in comparison to conventional fuels has been revised downwards, in some cases substantially, following a comprehensive life-cycle analysis, and whereas issues of sustainability, environmental impact and the availability of arable land in competition with food production have still not been satisfactorily resolved,

AL.  whereas a sustainable biofuels policy should be geared not only to setting sustainability criteria for the manufacture of biofuels but also to promoting the most rapid development possible of second-generation biofuels,

AM.  whereas the petroleum industry will only put in place the necessary comprehensive infrastructure for new fuels when there is a sufficient demand for biofuels, but whereas the motor industry has made technological advances permitting any mixture of petrol and biofuels to be detected by a sensor in the vehicle, a device which will also enable older vehicles to run on biofuels, thus achieving CO2 emissions reductions over the whole range of existing vehicles,

AN.  whereas the potential of biofuels can only be realised if they are seen as a component in the development of sustainable transport systems, including the development and use of highly fuel-efficient vehicles,

Energy efficiency

AO.  whereas several Member States do not have a clear strategy for energy efficiency,

AP.  whereas the Member States should improve and expand the use of energy-efficiency certificates, and link the recommendations to financial incentives,

AQ.  whereas decreasing energy consumption together with energy efficiency at an individual and community level creates new commerce and jobs and combats energy poverty,

AR.   whereas the construction sector accounts for 40% of final energy consumption, and 33% of all greenhouse gas emissions are thus generated by the built environment,

AS.  whereas the building sector (residential buildings, commercial and public buildings) has an enormous cost-efficient potential for reducing CO2 by modernising thermal insulation and heating/cooling systems, electrical appliances and ventilation systems and by installing sun protection,

AT.  whereas low-energy houses are attractive, fashionable and cost-effective,

AU.  whereas decoupling growth in energy consumption from economic growth by investing in energy efficiency in all sectors of society is a key objective of the EU,

AV.  whereas there is a need to develop financial instruments, to allocate the necessary budgetary resources for the improvement of energy efficiency and to constantly review and adjust efficiency standards for electrical and electronic appliances in line with market developments, as well as to extend standards to cover large industrial appliances and to consider making it compulsory for devices to have a switch-off function,

Mobility and logistics

AW.  whereas the separation of transport growth from economic growth as a whole is a key objective of EU transport policy, but whereas demand for transport services has nevertheless outstripped GDP growth and the already high share of transport in EU greenhouse gas emissions is thus continuing to rise,

AX.   whereas transport currently accounts for approximately one third of final energy consumption in the EU and the transport sector is almost completely (97%) dependent on petroleum-based fuels (petrol and diesel),

AY.   whereas the EU's greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2005 would have fallen by 14% instead of 7,9% if the transport sector had achieved the same reductions as other sectors,

AZ.   whereas 80% of Europe's population live in urban areas, where 40% of all transport emissions are produced, with congestion – which is also concentrated in urban areas – costing the EU some 1% of its GDP,

BA.   whereas on the one hand urban mobility is directly linked to individual quality of life, while on the other hand it is individual transport in cities that contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems such as air pollution and noise, so that instead of enhancing the quality of life for many citizens it can considerably detract from it through negative effects on health,

BB.   whereas half of all journeys made by EU citizens are shorter than 5 km,

BC.   whereas 60% of all car journeys and 90% of all rail journeys in daily regional and commuter traffic are no longer than 30km,

BD.   whereas the transport of freight by rail and waterways decreased between 2001 and 2006 (from 18,6% to 17,7% and from 6,5% to 5,6% respectively) while freight transport by road increased (from 74,9% to 76,7%),

BE.   whereas the transport of passengers and goods by water is one of the most energy-efficient transport modes and the proportion of goods transported by water in the EU is around 40%,

BF.   whereas it is estimated that the energy consumed per tonne of goods and km of travel by inland waterways transport amounts to one sixth of the energy consumption of road transport and half that of rail transport,

BG.  whereas programmes such as Marco Polo and NAIADES have been insufficiently used by Member States to shift the transport of merchandise to inland waterways and to seas,

BH.   whereas trade on overseas routes is on the increase and the trend is towards larger container and passenger ships which consume more heavy-grade oil and thus pollute the environment more severely than in the past, and yet international shipping forms no part of international efforts to combat climate change,

BI.   whereas on the one hand the gradual liberalisation and deregulation of the aviation sector over the past decade was an essential precondition for the dynamic growth of European air transport, with a 49% increase in passenger flights within the EU from 1999 to 2004, while on the other hand CO2 emissions from the sector as a whole rose by 79% from 1990 to 2005,

BJ.   whereas the growth of the air transport sector continues to increase its environmental impact in spite of technical and operational improvements, but whereas there has as yet been only limited debate on binding emission standards for aero engines aimed at bringing about technological improvements in their propulsion mechanisms, and there are no studies on implementing possibilities,

BK.  whereas the Commission and the Member States have launched the "Clean Sky" Joint Technology Initiative and the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR), European Satellite Navigation System (Galileo) and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programmes, as well as research projects for intelligent transport systems, with a view to improving energy efficiency in the transport field,

BL.   whereas air transport emits into the atmosphere not only CO2 but also nitrogen oxides, water vapour, sulphates and carbon particulates which, according to estimates by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), intensify the overall effect of aviation emissions by a factor of two to four, estimates which do not take account of the additional effect of cirrus cloud formation,

BM.  whereas the inhabitants and economies of the outermost regions are extremely dependent on air transport for their mobility and development,

BN.  whereas it should be stressed that, in the long term, the most efficient way of reducing transport-based emissions is to decrease transport growth as a whole by making public transport a more attractive alternative to passenger cars, increasing the volume of rail transport and ensuring that urban and infrastructure planning takes into account the absolute need to reduce the use of passenger cars,

Tourism and cultural heritage

BO.   whereas a study by the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Centre states that one tenth of all world cultural heritage sites and traditional landscapes are threatened by the effects of climate change,

BP.   whereas, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Europe is the most important tourist region in the world, accounting for 55% of all international tourist arrivals in 2006,

BQ.   whereas climate change may alter tourist flows, which would involve major economic disadvantages for the holiday regions affected,

Industrial emissions

BR.   whereas the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is a unique instrument for achieving emissions reductions with maximum efficiency and may act as a model for similar schemes, though the compatibility of such schemes would have to be guaranteed,

BS.  whereas the industrial sectors are key to meeting the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set by the European Council and whereas they should be encouraged to reduce their industrial greenhouse gas emissions further, whilst remaining competitive,

BT.  whereas the idea underlying the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), namely the dissemination of modern and efficient technologies, should work in reality; whereas CDM/JI should be limited to high-quality projects which provide documented additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,

Agriculture and livestock breeding

BU.   whereas changes to agricultural practices, EU environmental legislation and the most recent structural reforms in the common agricultural policy aim at sustainability and thus indirectly – via improved use of available resources – bring about a reduction in emissions,

BV.  whereas agriculture is an emitter of greenhouse gases but also contributes positively to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and also suffers directly from the negative effect of climate change leading to different economic and social consequences across regions of Europe,

BW.  whereas the widespread cultivation of feedstuffs for livestock production contributes substantially to the total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture,

BX.   whereas specific climate objectives – such as binding requirements for the reduction of methane and nitrous oxide emissions – are lacking in agriculture, as are incentive schemes to exploit existing emissions reduction potential,

BY.   whereas the rearing of livestock in a more nearly natural way has significant benefits for the environment in terms of care for the landscape and the conservation of grazing areas, while also reducing energy input and emissions,

BZ.   whereas livestock numbers should be adapted to suit the land areas available and whereas sustainable grazing practices could help to prevent soil erosion in pasturage areas,

Forests

CA.  whereas forests are very valuable for the biosphere and have many functions in the global eco-system, and whereas the current economic value assigned to forests is not able to take into account their eco-system or social/societal value,

CB.  whereas forests have three-dimensional roles in climate change mitigation: as carbon stocks through sustainable use and protection of forests, as carbon sinks through forestation and as a substitute for fossil fuels and fossil products as a renewable raw material,

CC.   whereas over 30% of the world's landmass is covered in forest, which is home to more than two thirds of all species living on earth, and whereas some 30% of annual greenhouse gas emissions are absorbed by forests,

CD.   whereas on the one hand forests play a vital role in holding back climate change while on the other hand at least a third of the world's forests are affected by the consequences of climate change,

CE.  whereas the most serious problem underlying forest destruction lies in related socio-economic factors such as poverty and under-development, weak political institutions and absence of the rule of law, as well as unjust property ownership conditions and corruption which can, amongst other consequences, lead to the illegal logging and clearing of forests,

CF.   whereas forest destruction through deforestation, unsustainable logging or fires caused inter alia by heat waves contributes significantly to CO2 emissions,

CG.  whereas there are not enough strategies and programmes for the reforestation of forests that have been cleared,

CH.  whereas the make-up of forest plantations in the EU does not reflect the natural mixed woodland characteristic of Europe,

Soil protection

CI.   whereas the soils of Europe are undergoing irreversible damage at a faster rate than ever before, and the extent of this damage is being intensified by climate change,

CJ.   whereas the thawing of permafrost soils is altering the nature of soils in the northern hemisphere and releasing significant additional quantities of methane into the atmosphere,

Water management

CK.  whereas the availability of water resources, drinking water and other water supplies, water consumption and the treatment of waste water are closely linked to economic and social conditions,

CL.  whereas the regional disparities in Europe with regard to available water resources, and the occurrence of floods and droughts, are being intensified still further by climate change,

Fisheries

CM.  whereas fish and shellfish are an important source of food, and whereas the ocean is the largest carbon sink in the world and serves as a source of biomass and raw materials,

CN.  whereas the nutritional resources of the sea are already being overexploited,

Waste treatment and resource management

CO.  whereas waste hierarchy is a key principle guiding climate change mitigation in the waste sector,

CP.   whereas it should be acknowledged that EU legislation on waste together with waste disposal innovations and the increased use of recycled products already have a positive impact on the environment and contribute to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector, even though not every potential is yet being exploited,

CQ.   whereas the quantity of waste is regrettably continuing to rise, in spite of all efforts to reduce it,

Adaptation measures

CR.   whereas adaptation measures of all kinds represent an insurance for the future with a view to alleviating damage from past greenhouse gas emissions and the consequent rise in temperature,

CS.  whereas using a pure cost-benefit analysis in the development of adaptation measures is not sufficient to guarantee the necessary minimum protection to all population groups; whereas, with a view to such measures, the local effects of climate change need to be analysed as a matter of urgency,

CT.   whereas according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment the consumption of natural resources currently threatens two thirds of all ecosystems, increases vulnerability to climate change and thus further intensifies the pressure to develop adaptation measures as soon as possible,

CU.  whereas the joint EEA, JRC (Joint Research Centre) and WHO (World Health Organization) report entitled "Impacts of Europe's changing climate" draws attention to the fact that vulnerability to climate change varies widely across regions and sectors in Europe, hitting mountainous regions, coastal zones, the Mediterranean and the Arctic harder, and whereas that report underlines that, in addition to enhanced global greenhouse gas emission reductions, proactive adaptation measures are needed at European and national level in order to moderate effects,

Health

CV.  whereas many of the effects of climate change on health as reported, for instance, by the WHO may be kept at bay by preparing and strengthening health systems by means of appropriate preventive measures, with particular attention being paid to the spread of tropical diseases, and by public information campaigns addressing especially vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborn babies, children and elderly people,

CW.  whereas the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 is definitely inadequate to address the environmental causes which affect health, especially those stemming from climate change,

Growth and employment

CX.   whereas the climate policy goals agreed at the European Council of March 2007 are technically and economically feasible and offer unique business opportunities for thousands of EU undertakings,

CY.   whereas many businesses have not yet sufficiently recognised the scope of the opportunities and risks linked to climate change,

CZ.  whereas committed action to combat climate change is compatible with continued economic growth and prosperity; whereas it could represent an effective investment with an important anti-recession function and must be seen as a challenge for wide-ranging structural changes having as their ultimate objective the development of a truly green economy,

DA.   whereas there is more likely to be a restructuring of jobs within particular industries than between one industry and another,

Promoting technologies of the future

DB.   whereas emissions trading is the essential component of the European climate change programme, being designed to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through improved efficiency; whereas emissions trading alone is not, however, sufficient to find a way out of the CO2 impasse and to spark a widespread revolution in the field of low-CO2 technologies,

DC.  whereas achieving climate change mitigation targets requires appropriate financial steering mechanisms to endorse the development and application of energy-efficient and clean technologies,

DD.  whereas sustainable housing offers enormous potential for job creation,

DE.  whereas improved efficiency alone will not spark off a technological revolution, but will necessitate an integrated strategy at EU, national and local level to boost research and development (R&D) in novel and advanced technologies and processes, and to strengthen their take-up,

DF.  whereas carbon capture and storage (CCS) is already being applied on a small scale in various areas – e.g. in oil and gas extraction – but is still in the early stages as a major technology designed to combat climate change,

DG.   whereas the costs and risks still outweigh the economic advantages, and the effectiveness of power stations using CCS is diminishing despite the use of the latest technology,

DH.   whereas the technology for CCS, as a bridging technology on the way to the decarbonisation of the energy system, may contribute to resolving the issue of reducing CO2 emissions from power stations and could serve to complement renewable technologies, but whereas CCS is an end-of-pipe technology,

Intelligent computer systems and information and communication technology (ICT)

DI.   whereas the ICT sector currently produces 2% of global CO2 emissions, but the industry is potentially capable not only of reducing its own CO2 emissions but also, in particular, of developing innovative and more energy-efficient applications for the economy as a whole,

Financing and budgetary matters

DJ.  whereas the current EU budget is insufficient to achieve the climate objectives, since the political priority of combating climate change has not yet been furnished with the necessary budgetary appropriations,

DK.  whereas in the forthcoming financial framework budgetary appropriations must be allocated to combat climate change and create a European adaptation policy, in order to ensure that the EU has a sufficient "climate change budget" for the next budgetary period after 2013,

DL.  whereas combating climate change must be taken into account in all EU policies; whereas, consequently, the EU can no longer merely redistribute existing resources but should promote the creation of new resources to finance the cross-sectoral nature of the fight against climate change,

Education, training, reporting, labelling and awareness-raising

DM.  whereas economic and social policy measures to combat climate change herald a cultural transformation which will alter established habits and lifestyles, but whereas it will not be possible to achieve genuinely sustainable consumption and use of raw materials in all areas of society without a change of thinking and behaviour, for which new models of consumption and lifestyles must be developed,

DN.   whereas climate change will give a boost to technological modernisation, representing an economic opportunity which can only be exploited if there are enough qualified specialist workers on the labour market,

DO.   whereas the Eurobarometer Special Poll (Special Eurobarometer No 300) clearly shows that climate change is regarded as a very serious problem by a large majority of respondents in Europe, but whereas many complain of a lack of information and personal initiatives to counteract global warming tend to be confined to fairly simple measures such as waste sorting or lower energy and water consumption which do not call for any drastic changes in daily life,

DP.  whereas the information needed to examine one's own mobility habits regarding, for example, the use of private cars and alternative means of transport (walking, cycling or public transport) is available,

DQ.   whereas EU climate requirements and laws help local and municipal decision-makers to improve the quality of life in many towns in the European Union, and whereas local initiatives in metropolitan regions make a crucial contribution to reducing the EU's CO2 emissions,

DR.   whereas it is not the responsibility of retailers alone to bring about alternative purchasing behaviour among their customers; whereas, however, businesses as a whole could set examples of sustainability and resource efficiency through their business models and production processes and could make their staff into a significant disseminator of information about climate-friendly action,

DS.   whereas consumer information concerning the climatic effects of agricultural products is largely lacking, but whereas targeted information campaigns can influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers and thus also achieve health policy objectives,

DT.  whereas the problem of climate change cannot be tackled without the large-scale involvement of the populace in all parts of the world, and whereas, therefore, one of the essential tasks will be to provide people, by every possible means, with the information they require in order to help solve problems and also to protect themselves when adaptation difficulties arise, as they inevitably will,

2050 – The future begins today

DU.   whereas the world population's need for resources already exceeds by one quarter the earth's natural regeneration capacity, thus depriving future generations of the essentials of life,

DV.   whereas the foundations of future production methods and consumer behaviour will be definitively laid by the political decisions of the present, which call for far-sightedness and political leadership, but whereas a more sustainable lifestyle will not be possible without the contribution of the economy, science, the media, organised civil society and the citizens,

DW.  whereas climate change is a global environmental problem the causes of which are structural in nature,

Guiding political ideas

1.  Recalls its abovementioned resolution of 21 May 2008, and in particular the fact that all efforts to curb emissions should aim at staying well below the objective of limiting global temperature increases to below 2°C, inasmuch as a level of warming of that magnitude would already impact heavily on our society and individual lifestyles and would also entail significant changes in ecosystems and water resources; is deeply concerned about the fact that, as indicated by many recent scientific reports, climate change is both more rapid and more serious in terms of its adverse effects than was previously thought; consequently, calls on the Commission to closely monitor and analyse the latest scientific findings with a view to assessing, in particular, whether the EU 2°C target would still achieve the aim of avoiding dangerous climate change;

2.  Stresses that there is an urgent need – pursuing a horizontal approach – to incorporate global warming and climate change as new parameters into all spheres and policies, and to take the causes and consequences of global warming and climate change into account in every relevant area of EU legislation;

3.  Recalls in particular the essential objectives in combating climate change and stresses the importance, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) and as included in the Bali roadmap, of setting, for the EU and the other industrialised countries as a group, a medium-term target of a 25%-40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, as well as a long-term reduction target of at least 80% by 2050, compared to 1990, maintaining the focus on restricting the increase in average global temperature to 2°C over pre-industrial levels and thus achieving a 50% probability of meeting this objective;

4.  Stresses that a nation's impact on the climate is not limited to its physical emissions; urges the EU to take urgent steps at home and in the context of international negotiations to develop accounting principles that also include the full effects of consumption, including the effects of international aviation;

5.  Calls on the Commission to consider the carbon footprints of future European policy initiatives so as to ensure that climate change targets set at European level are met, whilst still ensuring a high level of protection for the environment and public health;

6.  Stresses the political measures, and cooperation at international level (including regional multilateral agreements) and at EU and Member State level, repeatedly proposed by Parliament with a view to combating climate change;

7.  Welcomes the adoption of the EU package of legislative measures (the so-called "climate and energy package") requiring the unilateral reduction by 20% of EU greenhouse gas emissions, setting up a procedure to step up the effort to achieve a 30% reduction in accordance with commitments under the future international agreement and increasing to 20% the share of renewable energy in the EU energy mix by 2020, and calls on the EU Member States to implement those legislative measures smoothly and rapidly; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the "climate and energy package" closely;

8.  Considers that certain principles agreed in the climate and energy package are also useful for the purposes of international agreement, in particular the binding linear pathway for industrialised country commitments, differentiation on the basis of emissions verified in 2005, and the regime of compliance with an annual abatement factor;

9.  Is committed to a leading role for the European Union in international negotiations under the UNFCCC at COP and MOP level, as well as in other international fora, such as the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF; also highlights the urgent need for the EU and its Member States to meet the targets of the Kyoto Protocol in order to play this leading role in a credible way;

10.  Agrees that the development, application and export of modern environmental technologies contributes simultaneously to fulfilling the Lisbon Strategy and meeting the EU's Kyoto targets and other climate objectives, and points out that, in order to achieve the ambitious environmental targets and economic growth to be realised, the Lisbon strategy and the climate and energy package should be fully integrated;

11.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to support the UN's call for a "Green New Deal"; in the light of the financial crisis, calls for the investments aimed at boosting economic growth to do so in a sustainable way, in particular by promoting green technologies which will at the same time advance Europe's future competitiveness and secure jobs;

12.  Emphasises, in this context, that tackling climate change will lead to societal changes that will help to create new jobs and industries, combat energy poverty and dependency on imports of fossil fuels and provide social benefits for citizens; stresses that cooperation at international, regional and local level will be critical if we are to be successful in achieving this goal;

13.  Is convinced, moreover, that climate change can only be successfully combated if citizens are fully engaged in the process and are protected during the period of transition to a carbon-neutral economy; highlights, therefore, the fact that mitigation and adaptation policies will push the European Union towards a new model of sustainable development which should promote its social character in order to secure the social consensus;

14.  Stresses the need, first of all, to achieve dramatic improvements in efficiency in all areas of everyday life and, in parallel, to launch a sustainable production and consumption model with a conscious saving of resources on the basis of renewable energy;

15.  Emphasises in this context the need to examine the EU's budget, and existing and future financing instruments, as to their compatibility with European climate policy, and where necessary to adapt them;

16.  Stresses that a successful R&D policy will only be made possible by the practical application of new technologies via secured market access points;

17.  Calls for research to be carried out into potential trends of climate-induced migration and the ensuing pressures on local services, in order to inform long-term planning and risk-management processes;

18.  Stresses that nearly half of the world's population is under the age of 25 and that today's decisions on climate policy will have far-reaching consequences for the largest generation of young people in human history;

The international dimension: post-2012, external climate policy and international trade

19.  Welcomes the decision taken by COP 14 and COP/MOP 4 in Poznań to move from discussion to real negotiations with a view to a post-2012 agreement and the adoption, in this context, of a work programme for 2009; also welcomes the mandate given to the Chairs to propose a negotiating text to be examined at the June 2009 negotiating session;

20.  Urges the Commission and the coming Council Presidencies to assume a leadership role in the international negotiations aimed at securing a post-2012 agreement and to reach a conclusion by the end of 2009, so that sufficient time remains to ratify the forthcoming climate change agreement and avoid a gap between obligation periods;

21.  Stresses that the new climate change agreement should come into being under the auspices of the UN and on the principle of a "common but differentiated responsibility", with the countries of the industrialised world taking the lead in reducing their domestic emissions while the developing countries also commit themselves, in accordance with the Bali Action Plan, to taking nationally appropriate mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner, by technology, financing and capacity-building from industrialised countries;

22.  Invites those industrialised parties to the UNFCCC who have not yet done so to propose individual emission reduction commitments, thus contributing to the global effort to attain the Convention's objective; welcomes the commitment by developing countries to the UNFCCC process and the independent commitments and policies adopted by several of them;

23.  Urges the incoming US administration to live up to expectations and, as such, to contribute, through the adoption of domestic legislation, to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the promotion of clean technologies, and, through active participation in the international negotiations, to the shaping of an ambitious post-2012 climate change framework;

24.  Stresses that the post-2012 agreement needs to be reconciled with other objectives on the international political agendas of the UN and the EU, such as conservation of biodiversity, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and security issues, so that political synergies can be exploited;

25.  Takes note of the adoption by the Commission of its Communication entitled "Towards a comprehensive climate change agreement in Copenhagen" (COM(2009)0039) on the EU position in preparation for the UN Climate Change COP 15 Copenhagen Conference;

26.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to construct a foreign policy on climate change and to repeatedly draw attention to the EU climate targets in the EU's and the Member States" diplomatic missions; for its own part, undertakes to repeatedly raise the issue of the EU climate targets, and to defend those targets, in its contacts with parliamentarians from other countries;

27.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to incorporate the requirements of emission reductions, and measures to adapt to the consequences of climate change, into development aid programmes, and/or to refer to those requirements in the decision-making processes of international development aid agencies, thus involving the private sector, public authorities and non-governmental organisations in the countries or regions concerned by way of partnerships; stresses that additional resources need to be mobilised to help developing countries to tackle the climate change challenge, and that emerging initiatives in this context must be formally linked to the UNFCCC process and to achieving the MDGs; welcomes the EU's launching of a Global Climate Change Alliance to support adaptation to climate change in poor developing countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, and recalls in this regard its above-mentioned resolution of 21 October 2008;

28.  Welcomes the decision taken by COP 14 and COP/MOP 4 to make the Adaptation Fund fully operational, thereby enabling it to finance projects starting from 2009, and considers this a very important first step in addressing the developing countries' concerns in relation to the financing of climate change measures in those countries; also welcomes the decision to scale up the level of investment for technology transfer through the Poznań Strategic Programme for Technology Transfer;

29.  Welcomes the progress, albeit limited, made in addressing the issues of additionality and of the geographical distribution of CDM, and asks the Member States, in conformity with the Poznań decisions, to purchase by preference credits from projects in countries hosting fewer than ten registered CDM projects, especially in least developed countries, small island developing states and Africa, and to meet the cost of validating those projects;

30.  Recalls, in this context, the supplementarity principle as referred to in Articles 6, 12 and 17 of the Kyoto Protocol and in the Marrakesh Accords, according to which the parties are to meet most of their obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions domestically, before taking advantage of external flexible mechanisms such as CDM and JI;

31.  Underlines that excessive CDM/JI use undermines the credibility of the European Union in the international UN negotiations and thus its leadership role in fighting climate change; encourages Member States to be responsible and to minimise the use of CDM/JI and complete most emissions reductions in their own countries;

32.  Endorses the recommendations set out in the report by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and by the Commission on "Climate Change and International Security", and stresses the need to construct an appropriate multilateral preventive EU climate diplomacy to that end, so that climate issues can be incorporated to a greater extent in the formation of international relations together with other international relations factors such as population growth and climate-induced migration, urbanisation, energy needs, rising energy prices and shortages of food and water;

33.  Calls on the EU and its Member States, in the context of the European Security Strategy and the European Security and Defence Policy, to prevent, monitor, and take action to tackle the effects of climate change and resultant natural disasters on civil protection and human safety as well as possible conflicts caused by changes in water and land supply resulting from climate change;

34.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to strengthen their existing climate partnerships with targeted developing countries, and to enter into new partnerships where these do not currently exist, providing significantly increased financial support for technology development and transfer, protection of intellectual property and institutional capacity-building;

35.  Calls on the Commission and Member States to attach the highest priority to energy efficiency and renewable resources in the context of development cooperation;

36.  Calls on the Commission, in the context of the WTO negotiation rounds and the post-2012 process, to pursue coordinated negotiation strategies in the field of trade and environment policy in order to send its negotiating partners a credible message about Europe's climate targets and the instruments developed to achieve them, to dispel concerns about trade barriers or other disadvantages to trade relations with third countries that have no binding climate objectives, and to implement the reciprocity principle in the interests of combating climate change at a global level;

37.  Calls on the Commission, the Council Presidencies and the Member States to adopt a leading role in the negotiations towards a post-2012 agreement, in order to ensure the success of the climate negotiations aimed at achieving the 2ºC goal;

Energy

38.  Stresses that Europe needs a forward-looking common energy policy, based on solidarity between Member States, both within the EU and in external relations, so as to ensure a high level of security of energy supply meeting the conditions of sustainability, resource efficiency and climate neutrality, and tackling issues relating to climate change and competitiveness in order to prevent potential interruption of the supply of energy;

39.  Calls on the EU to create a European renewable energy community to promote further research and pilot projects in this field as well as the development of the grid so as to allow for the optimal integration of renewable energy resources;

40.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to ensure:

41.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to secure a transitional phase in the energy mix, influenced by politicians and led by entrepreneurs, during which the use of renewable energy sources gradually supplements and subsequently reduces and replaces the use of fossil fuels, by means of active support from the public authorities in the Member States and at EU level, together with the greatest possible degree of cooperation with other countries and international organisations;

42.  Calls on the Member States to support a sense of personal responsibility among regions and citizens and to promote the increased use of locally available renewable energy sources by means of legal and fiscal incentives;

43.  Calls on the Member States to motivate electricity suppliers, by means of depreciation systems and tax incentive schemes, to carry out the necessary modernisation of fossil-fuel-fired power stations in order to achieve substantial efficiency improvements in conventional power production;

44.  Calls on the Member States to secure network access for energy, gas and electricity from decentralised sources, to dismantle barriers to market access for innovative power suppliers in the renewable energy sector and to press for the expansion of local cogeneration and trigeneration, gearing it to medium-term targets;

45.  Proposes the creation, as an essential component of a European external energy policy, of solar energy partnerships with third countries in the Mediterranean region which aim in the initial phase to generate solar power and transfer it to the European Union via high-voltage direct-current cables, and which may in a second phase form the basis for electricity and hydrogen production and thus for the switch to a renewables-based economy;

46.  Calls on the EU, the Member States and the business community:

47.  Calls on the Member States to step up still further, in line with local or regional capabilities, the share in the energy mix of wind energy – which thanks to intensive promotion has already become an established means of energy generation – and of hydro and geothermal power, and to make further use of existing development potential, inter alia through European research initiatives and coordination via networks of excellence;

48.  Stresses the considerable potential of the use of sustainable biomass for energy production with a view to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and calls for a European strategy for the exploitation of sustainable biomass for production of electricity and gas, heating and cooling;

49.  Calls on the Commission to submit a comprehensive analysis of all emissions throughout the entire life-cycle of individual sources of bio-energy in order to determine what role biomass from residues and dedicated cultures can play as an energy source in future; considers that the advantages and disadvantages of the opportunities offered by breeding innovations and the use of biotechnology for improving the calorific value of biomass should be investigated, without prejudging the outcome;

50.  Regards combined heat and power as an effective, economical and environmentally sensible option;

51.  Acknowledges the different approaches of the Member States with regard to nuclear energy and therefore urges the Commission to pay special attention to radioactive waste and its full cycle, with a view to improving safety;

52.  Considers that research into the technological feasibility of nuclear fusion in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is the first step towards the objective of commercial utilisation of this form of energy, and stresses that the achievement of that goal is highly dependent on long-term guarantees of funding for such research;

53.  Urges the Member States and the EU to further the development of CCS technology for coal and gas-fired power plants by giving incentives for demonstration projects and encouraging research;

Biofuels

54.  Notes that certain production-types of biofuels can have an impact on food prices, loss of biodiversity and deforestation, and notes at the same time that biofuels must be produced responsibly and through a verifiably sustainable process;

55.  Considers it essential to involve the developing countries in a long-term strategy for the development and production of biofuels, in order to examine the possibility of their economic planning and profitability, to secure the availability and production of food, to answer the question of their environmental sustainability, including an assessment of all relevant indirect effects, and, not least, to permit social development and a lasting increase in earnings, as well as to ensure that developing countries receive the training needed in order to be in a position to meet the EU sustainability criteria;

56.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up R&D in respect of advanced biofuels, to ensure that they are allocated the necessary funding and to link them to fixed development goals;

57.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to use the experience gained from the development of sustainability criteria within the EU to actively promote the development of a global biofuels standard;

Energy efficiency

58.  Calls on the Commission to propose a binding goal of a 20% increase in energy efficiency by 2020 and to accompany that proposal with concrete interim reduction targets;

59.  Calls for a broad, locally-based public information campaign to improve decentralised energy efficiency, with house and flat owners being offered thermal images and energy performance information for their properties and proposals being submitted for financing possible modernisation work, along the lines of micro-credits;

60.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take active steps to increase awareness of the importance of ICTs for improving energy efficiency, sustainable development and the quality of life of EU citizens;

61.  Calls for synergy to be generated between property owners, financial service providers, tradesmen and other operators in the property sector through trade fairs, open days and seminars;

62.  Calls for clear European coordination with a view to the expansion of electricity cogeneration and trigeneration and their integration into industrial plants, so as to guarantee local or regional starting-points for climate protection measures, whilst at the same time increasing energy consumption efficiency;

63.  Calls on the Economic and Financial Affairs Council to introduce reduced rates of VAT for renewable energy and for energy-saving goods and services; proposes, in particular, that the Member States create incentives to modernisation by means of VAT reductions on modernisation work and the equipment used to carry this out, by gearing land or property taxation to the energy efficiency of buildings and by fully implementing and promoting energy performance certifications;

64.  Proposes, as an incentive for the modernisation of rented property, the reduction of tax rates on rental income in line with investment in renewable heating and electricity systems as well as efficiency gains;

65.  Notes, given the long life of buildings, the paramount importance of ensuring that new buildings are constructed to the highest energy-efficiency standards possible, that existing buildings are upgraded to contemporary standards and that minimum levels of energy from renewable sources are used in all new or refurbished buildings requiring heating and cooling;

66.  Proposes that Member States improve and expand the use of energy-efficiency certificates and link the recommendations to financial incentives;

67.  Calls for minimum EU energy-efficiency standards for new and refurbished buildings; calls on the relevant local authorities and professional associations in the Member States to establish energy-efficiency criteria, guidelines and national legislation or administrative decisions for new buildings as a leitmotiv for architects and building engineers, with building regulations for the energy efficiency of new buildings and major renovation works, and to ensure in this context clean and healthy indoor air;

68.  Stresses the need for minimum energy-efficiency criteria to be included in a comprehensive public procurement policy for public buildings and services at national, regional and local levels, as a means of promoting innovation in new technologies and ensuring market access thereto;

69.  Asks that available studies on the carbon footprint and energy reduction potential of the European institutions be made public and easily accessible for users on their relevant websites;

70.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide active support for R&D relating to lighting technologies and intelligent lighting applications, so that the introduction of more energy-efficient lighting in both indoor and outdoor public spaces – with an emphasis on highly efficient light-emitting diodes – can be more vigorously promoted;

71.  Notes that renovation and improvement of the energy efficiency of tower-block buildings, especially in those countries where such buildings make up the biggest part of the housing market, is the easiest way to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions; calls on the Commission to revise and increase the currently existing 2% structural funds limit applicable to grants for the renovation of tower blocks;

72.  Notes that the long-term target in the building sector in Europe should be net zero-energy performance in new residential buildings by 2015 and in new commercial and public buildings by 2020, and considers that the target should be extended in the long term to cover renovated buildings;

73.  Calls on the Commission to adjust the energy-efficiency requirements for electrical and electronic equipment of all kinds to market developments at least every five years following the "top runner" principle, to update existing labelling programmes or efficiency classifications and thus to prevent the consumer from being given inaccurate information;

74.  Calls on the Commission to set stringent EU targets and establish integrated industrial policies designed to ensure market access and the uptake of energy-efficient technologies, including the development of common technological objectives (such as passive houses), greater use of integrated policy strategies such as lead markets and green public procurement, and supporting regulation in respect of product design and minimum standards;

75.  Calls on the Commission to implement consistently the ban on devices with high stand-by losses and, as a next step in the implementation of the Eco-design Directive(7), to consider making it compulsory for devices to have a switch-off function, and to make automatic switch-off and energy-saving modes mandatory even for installations with large motors and for industrial equipment and machinery;

76.  Urges early and rigorous implementation of the 2006 requirements relating to the installation of smart meters in order to raise consumer awareness of energy use and help energy suppliers manage demand more effectively;

Mobility and logistics

77.  Notes that the European economic and social model is based on securing the mobility and availability of persons and goods, giving priority to efficiency of time rather than efficiency of resources, and that a combined approach using both factors will thus be necessary in future;

78.  Calls on the European Investment Bank and its risk-capital subsidiary, the European Investment Fund, to broaden significantly their support for energy efficiency and renewable energy development;

79.  Reminds the relevant operators that the transport sector must also comply with the EU climate goals of reducing CO2 emissions by 2020 by at least 20%, and if there is an international agreement by at least 30%, below 1990 levels and increasing energy efficiency by 20% during the same period;

80.  Calls for a comprehensive policy mix of mutually supportive measures aimed at a sustainable transport policy comprising the development of vehicle technology (eco-efficient innovation), increased use of alternative energy sources for transport, the creation of distribution networks for clean fuels, increased use of alternative forms of propulsion, intelligent traffic management, changes in driving styles and car use, improved logistics, "green corridors" and ICT for transport, a CO2 tax and the modernisation of public transport in order to achieve the goal of zero emissions without ignoring the increased need for mobility; points out that all of these could be promoted by clear preferences in public procurement;

81.  Considers that special priority must be given to the application of the "polluter pays" principle, and calls for all modes of transport to be fully involved in the internalisation of their external costs; points out that the achievement of this goal will require an adequate economic environment, and therefore calls on the Member States to review the taxes and duties concerned;

82.  Welcomes the Commission's Greening Transport Inventory, which lists both existing and necessary future legislation for sustainable growth in the transport sector;

83.  Stresses the importance of infrastructure projects for the transport sector; however, calls for potential climate impact to be taken into account in future in planning, design and construction;

84.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to exploit the potential of satellite navigation systems with a view to increasing energy efficiency in the transport field by improving the management and organisation of traffic flows, providing real-time information concerning the movement of goods and persons, and optimising the selection of routes and modes of transport;

85.  Regrets that the challenges involved in the delivery of transport-efficient and environmentally friendly town planning with pedestrian areas, cycle paths and flexible links to local public transport have in many places been addressed inadequately or too late, or have only been tackled in a piecemeal fashion;

86.  Calls on the Member States and local authorities to:

87.  Stresses the importance of intelligent traffic management systems in the interests of co-modality and their incorporation into Community, national, regional and local transport policy, since they lead to safer and more environmentally friendly transport; calls for the development and use of intelligent transport systems in order to manage traffic and to reduce traffic congestion;

88.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to work closely together with industry to create the necessary market policy conditions with a view to incorporating intelligent transport systems – particularly as regards logistics and safety management (ERTMS, RIS, eCall) – into transport management;

89.  Calls on the Member States to promote co-modality by introducing transferable number plates following existing examples, making it more attractive for citizens to use rail for long journeys and energy-saving local-use cars at their starting point and destination;

90.  Welcomes the decision to fix, in the context of the recently adopted legislation setting targets for CO2 emissions from cars, a long-term emission target of 95 g CO2/km by 2020;

91.  Stresses the potential of rail transport as a low-carbon, energy-efficient mode of transport, both for long-distance freight haulage and for short- and medium-distance regional and commuter traffic, and asks that such priorities be reflected in the criteria for the support of regional and cohesion funds;

92.  Welcomes the creation and the extension within the EU, as well as to the neighbourhood countries, of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and calls on the Member States to complete the priority projects, in particular those which are most climate-friendly, as soon as possible, since these are vitally important for freight transport logistics and a sustainable European transport policy;

93.  Stresses the important role of inland waterways in goods transport; emphasises the environmentally friendly nature of this sector and the fact that it has plenty of spare carrying capacity;

94.  Regrets that, in spite of the scope, in the interests of the transport sector as a whole, for effecting a modal shift to rail and inland waterways for a large proportion of freight, investment in the expansion of the railways has fallen during the past decade;

95.  Supports the Commission in its plan to designate, together with the Member States, special "motorways of the sea", and has great hopes regarding the ability of the forthcoming "European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers" to promote sea transport in Europe and to boost its efficiency;

96.  Supports the Commission's proposals to increase port dues and berthing fees on the basis of vessels" exhaust levels and to ensure that power for ships in port is supplied from land rather than by the ships' own generators;

97.  Considers that shipyards and ship operators should look closely at new efficiency-boosting technologies such as the use of kite sails, the Air Cavity System, the exploitation of waste heat for electricity production, more efficient motors, better hull and rudder profiles, more accurate weather forecasts permitting course adjustments, and possible fuel savings thanks to hull paint;

98.  Calls on the International Maritime Organization to agree on a reduction target within the shipping industry and to set minimum standards for the use of these modern technologies in the construction of new vessels;

99.  Considers that there is a need for an integrated approach in the aviation sector which will commit the aircraft industry worldwide, airlines and airport operators jointly to an emission reduction target as soon as possible and by 1 January 2013 at the latest; is of the opinion that the integrated approach should cover research and technology, operational improvements and a global emissions trading scheme which should be based on the EU emissions trading system for aviation;

100.  Urges the EU and its Member States to implement and expand both the Single European Sky and the SESAR projects as efficiently as possible before the entry into operation of the ETS for the aviation sector, making the creation of functional and flexible airspace regions and the flexible use of airspace as a whole a priority, with a view to exploiting available reduction potentials immediately and reducing aircraft fuel consumption by up to 12%;

101.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to give all necessary support to R&D in respect of break-through environmentally friendly transport technologies, such as hydrogen, electric, fuel cells, hybrids or advanced biofuels for propulsion and alternative materials, new technologies and IT solutions that could lower the weight and increase the efficiency of vehicles;

102.  Calls on the producers of propulsion systems and motors for the transport sector to work together in accordance with Euro-6 standards, but also beyond those standards, on continually improving the efficiency of their machines, to set targets within the industry for massive efficiency increases and to continue research into alternative fuels, so as to contribute to the more sustainable growth of the industry;

103.  Calls on car manufacturers to shift their fleets towards smaller, lighter, more efficient models in order to allow for individual mobility under the constraints of climate change and limited oil resources;

104.  Calls on the armaments industry also to look at efficiency improvements in their motors and propulsion systems and to carry out research into the possible use of alternative fuels;

105.  Calls on the European Union and its Member States to adopt a hydrogen-specific support framework based on renewable energy sources, so as to ensure that the production of hydrogen vehicles is rapidly speeded up; considers that the framework should address the issues of increasing EU budget support for hydrogen end-use applications, the provision by Member States of support to hydrogen-specific deployment through financial measures such as tax incentives, and creating early markets through zero-emission vehicle procurement within governmental services;

106.  Calls on the Commission to draw up by 2010 a report on the restrictions which still exist on cabotage and other factors in the European Union which lead to unladen journeys and losses of efficiency in the internal market; believes that efficient and effective freight logistics, used as an integral part of the EU transport system, are the key to sustainable mobility in Europe, to economic efficiency and competitiveness, to optimal use of energy resources, to job creation, to the protection of the environment and to fighting against climate change;

Tourism and cultural heritage

107.  Expresses its concern that cultural heritage and traditional landscapes in Europe are threatened by extreme weather phenomena and long-term climate change, and calls on the Member States to draw up a uniform list, coordinated at European level, of European cultural heritage sites threatened by climate change;

108.  Calls on the Commission, Member States and regions, in climate-sensitive seasonal tourist areas where there are no real alternatives on offer, to take comprehensive adaptation and preventive measures – such as securing water supplies, protecting against forest fires, taking precautions against the melting of glaciers and improving coastal defences – to reflect the economic importance of tourism and of the necessary infrastructure for jobs and incomes, and to counteract significant economic damage along the whole length of the value chain;

109.  Considers that in some regions the further growth of tourism is economically sensible and environmentally justifiable only when likely effects of climate change – such as more serious water shortages, lack of snow or the disappearance of glaciers – are taken into account at local level when considering future development;

110.  Calls on the tourism industry, together with local authorities and economic associations, to work on integrated strategies with a view to reducing emissions and improving the energy efficiency of the sector – particularly with regard to transport and accommodation – and to plan measures to promote ecotourism, including the development of social tourism, sport tourism or cultural tourism and destinations of excellence which respect and protect the environment;

Industrial emissions

111.  Calls for the inclusion of workplace climate-change audits in company reporting standards to enhance transparency in the monitoring of greening policies and emissions reductions;

112.  Requires all commercial and non-commercial entities to report publicly, on an annual basis, on the amount of greenhouse gas emitted, measures taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, activities undertaken to re-skill employees (in the event of closure due to proven carbon leakage) and revenues gained through emissions trading scheme operations; asks the Commission to monitor these activities and to report to Parliament on progress made by industrial sectors in curbing emissions;

Agriculture and livestock breeding

113.  Calls on the Commission to consider, without prejudging the outcome, the explicit inclusion of agriculture in a future integrated European climate policy and the elaboration of reduction targets for the emission of greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, from the agriculture sector, exploiting all existing potential;

114.  Points out that optimised land management increases the humus content of soil and that if cultivation management is improved and unplanted fallow land is avoided, areas under cultivation can play a much larger part in carbon storage than hitherto;

115.  Takes the view that optimised storage and application of mineral fertiliser can make a significant contribution to reducing nitrous oxide emissions; calls in this connection for fertilisation with organic mixtures in place of mineral fertiliser to be further stepped up;

116.  Calls for economic analyses to be carried out of the profitability of certain regional cultivation practices under different climatic conditions, in order to identify possibilities of adaptation and to facilitate switching to other cultivars;

117.  Takes the view that agricultural practice must take account of climate change, and calls for funding for R&D in respect of new and more environmentally friendly methods of cultivation and farm management; calls also for research to be carried out in the fields of new technologies, biotechnology for seed, plant breeding, green gene technology and plant protection and asks for a climate protection policy for agriculture which includes seminars and educational programmes, pilot schemes and new land and water management know-how for farmers;

118.  Recognises that the cultivation of cereals and soya as feed for livestock is responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions; recalls the report entitled "Livestock's Long Shadow" issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in November 2006, which states that the livestock industry is responsible for 18% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions;

119.  Calls for feed in dairy and meat production to be reviewed, and where necessary improved, with the aim of achieving a reduction in methane formation in the rumen of ruminants; calls for any feeding and breeding measures in the livestock sector to be subject to an animal health and welfare impact assessment and for such measures not to be introduced if there are any adverse effects on the animals concerned;

120.  Recognises that expansion of biogas systems to obtain energy by processing manure can make an economically feasible and environmentally meaningful contribution to reducing methane emissions from livestock farming;

Forests

121.  Takes the view that the objective of future European climate policy should be not only the conservation of tropical rainforests and of the surviving boreal forests but also the care and reforestation of the European forests; points out that protective woodland belts around large urban areas and industrial centres can play an important role;

122.  Takes the view that, if avoiding the destruction of forests is to be effective in cutting emissions, an ongoing system of compensation must be devised for forestry through the UNFCCC, and calls for a clear economic incentive to be created for permanently preserving virgin forests or large forest areas by using them in a sustainable manner, with the value of a forest area being far more closely assessed according to the "eco-services" and overall social functions it performs;

123.  Calls, in the context of a global CO2 market, for those countries that still have large areas of natural forest to be given particular economic incentives to preserve them by recognising the carbon accumulated each year in a rigorously preserved forest; suggests that consideration be given to the question whether it makes sense in this connection to focus solely on tropical rainforests;

124.  Calls on the EU, in cooperation with the international community, to set up aerial and satellite-based monitoring systems and the necessary infrastructure to secure the long-term survival of tropical forests in particular; calls for the establishment of a global fund under the auspices of the World Bank for the creation of monitoring systems;

125.  Considers that the global monitoring systems for forest protection can only be held to be a success if the necessary institutional support and administrative bodies with qualified staff are put in place and maintained in the long term;

126.  Highlights in this connection the need for monitoring programmes in European forests to permit the early detection of pest damage and for scientific risk modelling in relation to wooded areas prone to heat waves, wildfires and drought, so as to make it possible to take appropriate counter-measures to protect the forests;

127.  Considers that the Member States" national forest inventories are an important source of information with a view to analysing the overall condition of the European forests and their importance as a CO2 sink; calls on the Commission not only to press for the drafting and evaluation by the Member States of the data collected but also to take advantage of existing best practice in the Member States;

128.  Notes that, based on its life-cycle attributes, wood can in principle be a "greener" choice in construction than steel and concrete, since it locks up carbon dioxide and requires much less energy to produce than alternatives, and its by-products can be used to produce renewable energy; realises, however, that this requires that the timber used has been harvested in a sustainable way, which is today often not the case; therefore calls on the EU rapidly to adopt legislation to minimise the risk of placing illegally and unsustainably harvested timber on the EU market;

129.  Highlights the wide range of possible uses and several benefits of forests; calls on the EU to define criteria on sustainable use of biomass;

130.  Stresses that sustainable forest management, which uses very broad social, economic and environmental goals, should be implemented in the EU; notes that sustainable forest management aims in the long term to increase the forest carbon stock; notes further that young, growing and well managed forests are good carbon sinks and hence considers that, where forests are being cut down, new planting should be undertaken to replace those trees which are cut down; considers that, simultaneously, more old forests should be protected, as they play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity;

Soil protection

131.  Recommends that scientific studies of, and monitoring of the condition of, soils be extended with a view to taking measures in good time to counteract erosion, the loss of agricultural land and biodiversity;

132.  Calls on the Council to adopt its common position taking into account Parliament's position of 14 November 2007 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the protection of soil and amending Directive 2004/35/EC(8) (the Framework Directive on soil protection) in order to introduce a genuine Community instrument to combat the effects of deforestation, erosion and desertification;

133.  Calls on the Member States to establish a policy of soil protection by appropriate soil treatment methods, taking account of the importance of organic materials in the soil for its fertility, water retention capacity and ability to function as a carbon sink, and to consider the possibilities of using biochar;

134.  Highlights in this connection the importance of the ecosystem approach in avoiding and lessening the effects of soil erosion, destruction of permafrost, desertification, invasive alien species and forest fires;

Water management

135.  Considers that integrated water resources management should comprise strategies for the improvement of water use efficiency, water saving, rationalisation and limitation of water consumption, and improved consumer awareness concerning sustainable water consumption, and that it should respond to issues concerning the collection and storage of rainwater in natural and artificial reservoirs, as well as to those relating to the risk and impact of floods and droughts; considers that action should be encouraged to establish an effective hierarchy of water uses and recalls that a demand-side approach should be preferred when managing water resources;

136.  Calls on the Commission to assume an important cross-border coordinating role in water management, particularly by network creation and funding of research into innovative technologies for the desalination of sea water, new irrigation systems and agricultural and urban water consumption, and for pilot projects to reduce damage from drought or flooding;

137.  Considers that, in order to provide adequate incentives to use water resources efficiently, Member States should take account in their water policy of the principle of recovery of the costs of water services and of the "polluter pays" principle;

Fisheries

138.  Stresses that some current fishing practices further decrease the resilience of fish stocks and marine ecosystems to the impact of climate change; welcomes in this respect the Commission's decision to establish catch quotas for industrial fishing on the basis of sustainability criteria and insists that the Council and the Member States concerned respect the proposed quotas;

139.  Is convinced that a comprehensive framework plan for the sea, as set out in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive(9), is needed in order to guarantee better and more sustainable management of the marine environment and resources; warns that European marine protection areas will otherwise become the last oases of biodiversity in a lifeless and empty ocean;

140.  Takes the view that environmental changes resulting from climate change could mean that aquaculture has to be relocated, resulting in economic harm to its current locations; warns, however, that the relocation of aquaculture may have negative effects on the ecosystems in question and calls in this connection for compulsory impact assessments;

Waste treatment and resource management

141.  Recognises that the hierarchy of waste forms a leitmotiv in European waste policy; invites the Commission to propose percentage reduction targets on reducing, reusing and recycling waste; demands that the targets be reviewed and tightened when necessary;

142.  Notes that waste prevention, for example by optimising packaging, is the best way of reducing the sector's direct emissions; stresses, however, that waste prevention in the long term demands changes in production methods and consumption habits;

143.  Stresses that separate collection of biowaste and material recycling make a significant contribution to preventing direct emissions from landfill sites;

144.  Considers that, in order to restrict direct emissions from the waste sector, it makes sense to avoid transporting unsorted waste over long distances; takes the view that cross-border transport of mixed domestic waste in the EU should therefore be reduced to a minimum; considers that illegal exports of material suitable for recycling must be combated in order to avoid "exporting emissions" and retain valuable raw materials in the EU;

145.  Considers that, after a phasing-out period, Member States should entirely cease in the medium term to landfill unsorted domestic refuse, since better use of existing recycling systems or the development of completely new systems would improve waste treatment as a whole and exploit existing potential for reducing greenhouse gases using existing technologies; calls in this connection for compulsory methane capture for heat production on existing landfill sites;

146.  Regards energy recovery from residual waste in dedicated waste-to-energy plants and energy recovery from pre-sorted waste, particularly in conjunction with cogeneration systems with strict emissions controls, as a potentially highly effective way of recovering energy which can reliably be used to reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions and replace fossil fuels;

147.  Considers that enhancing R&D in respect of waste treatment and resource management solutions is vital, and stresses the need for the immediate application of new innovative technologies in this field;

148.  Acknowledges, in the context of the negotiations on a post-2012 agreement and the involvement of third countries, that more consistent application of European standards of waste treatment is a possible way of linking development objectives – such as better protection of human health and the environment – with new economic opportunities while making a positive contribution to combating global climate change;

149.  Calls on the Commission to carry out a study on including the waste sector in emissions trading and the compatibility of such inclusion with CDM projects;

Adaptation measures

150.  Recalls the demands made in its above-mentioned resolution of 10 April 2008, and calls on the Commission to publish without further delay its promised White Paper setting out a coordinated EU-wide framework for the planning of adaptation measures;

151.  Underlines the importance of the publication by the Commission of its Green Paper on territorial cohesion, which stresses the need for an integrated approach to sectoral policies in order to improve the combined territorial impact of EU and national and regional policies; therefore calls for the improvement of structural funds procedures to enable them to make an even larger contribution to climate measures;

152.  Stresses that, while the subsidiarity principle must be properly respected and while it is important to recognise the key role played by regional and local authorities, particularly in more vulnerable areas such as upland and coastal regions, action at EU level is essential in order to build resilience for biodiversity by reinforcing the Natura 2000 network and integrating effective adaptation measures into EU cohesion, agriculture, water and marine policies;

153.  Stresses once again the need for coherence and the integrated coordination of adaptation measures at EU level and for the search for possible synergies, including under international agreements covering specific regions or territories to which the European Community is a party; reiterates its call for an EU-wide framework for the planning of adaptation measures;

154.  Stresses the coordinating role of the EU, in particular in creating automatic or continuous pollutant monitoring and early warning systems for heat waves, prolonged frost and flooding, and in improving the systematic collation of health-related, meteorological, environmental and statistical data;

Health

155.  Emphasises that it is of paramount importance to acquire specific expertise on the effects of climate change on human health, especially in relation to certain infectious and parasitic diseases;

156.  Stresses that climate change will play a critical role in the increased prevalence of certain diseases, as a result of the inevitable changes in the nature of ecosystems, which will affect inter alia animals, plants, insects, protozoons, bacteria and viruses;

157.  Highlights that tropical illness spread by parasites or mosquitoes and other pathogenic agents, usually encountered in tropical areas, could appear at higher latitudes and altitudes, representing a new threat to human beings;

158.  Stresses that, although the main objective of the 2008-2013 public health programme is to act on the factors which traditionally determine health (diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and the use of drugs), it should also focus on certain new challenges to health and address the determining environmental factors resulting from climate change;

159.  Stresses the coordinating role of the EU and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in providing advice to the general public on avoiding insect-borne disease through the use of, in particular, protective clothing, bed nets and insect repellent and control products;

160.  Notes that possible measures may include the collection and evaluation of relevant data on the effects of climate change on human health, improving preparedness for natural disasters, public health services and emergency planning, support for measures to promote health in all sectors, and measures to increase awareness, particularly the provision to the public of information about new types of dangers to health, warnings and specific tips on avoiding exposure, with special reference to insect-borne diseases and heat waves;

161.  Considers that there is a need for research in medical science and in the pharmaceutical sector in order to develop drugs and vaccines for new diseases, which should be made available to all affected populations at an affordable price;

162.  Stresses the importance of green zones in urban areas for the health of the general public, air quality and carbon capture, and to help to tackle climate change; calls on the Commission, the Member States and local authorities to preserve and enlarge the existing – and to develop new – green zones in urban areas;

Growth and employment

163.  Considers that Europe enjoys an excellent starting position in the global race for a low-emission economy, and that it should make the most of this position to trigger greater innovation which will create new and competitive businesses and new jobs in the fields of clean technology, renewable energies and green enterprises and green skills in order to counterbalance any possible loss of jobs in high CO2-emitting sectors, in full accordance with the Lisbon Strategy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to identify structural changes resulting from the implementation of climate change policies and calls on the Commission to propose, periodically, measures to support the populations most affected;

164.  Warns against pessimism, which may lead to the EU missing the economic opportunity offered by climate change and the political measures needed to combat it, by stressing the positive role of the social partners who will be directly involved in stimulating the economy and the possibilities of re-education and absorption of workers affected as a result of climate change adaptation and mitigation; considers that public and social consensus will be critical to winning the global race for efficiency, innovation, raw materials and future technologies and markets;

165.  Takes the view that growth and employment potential can only be fully realised if at the same time market access points are secured and bureaucratic barriers to the utilisation of available technology are dismantled;

166.  Invites the Member States to examine the compatibility of existing rules with climate policy objectives and to develop incentives to facilitate the shift to a low-carbon economy;

167.  Invites the social partners and the two sides of industry in the Member States and at EU level to develop common economic strategies for each sector, so as to identify and strategically exploit potential where it exists;

Promoting the technology of the future

168.  Takes the view that a combined approach should be launched and developed comprising emission reductions and a separate process of technological renewal within the framework of an integrated European climate policy designed to secure resources for future generations;

169.  Considers, particularly with regard to the technological neutrality of the EU approach, that the environmentally safe use of CCS should be discussed extensively and with the involvement of private and public stakeholders, without prejudging the outcome; advocates the promotion of international cooperation in order to encourage technology transfer, particularly with those emerging countries which still rely on local coal as a fuel;

170.  Takes the view that creating next-generation technologies and making possible the necessary increase in scale requires considerable financial support for long-term R&D;

171.  Urges the parties to the UNFCCC to recognise CCS as a technology transfer under the CDM provided for by the Marrakesh Accords on the Kyoto Protocol;

172.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to respond by means of research and public awareness measures to possible public scepticism or concerns about the application of CCS;

173.  Proposes that the integrated European climate policy should concern itself with proposals for fundamental incentive mechanisms and support measures, so that the necessary technological renewal can be launched, the running costs for new but costly technologies reduced, and more stringent reduction targets set and achieved in future;

174.  Recommends that Member States consider ways of accelerating the implementation of clean and energy-efficient technologies, such as direct subsidies to consumers investing in technologies, for instance solar panels, ground heath pumps, air heath pumps, water heath pumps and cleaner burning hearth appliance stoves;

175.  Proposes to that end parallel measures such as the participation of economists, engineers and private businesses in an institutionalised and parallel "Kyoto Plus Process", along the lines of the successful method of the Montreal Protocol for protecting the ozone layer;

176.  Calls for the establishment of a European Climate Fund, to be financed by part of the revenues from ETS auctioning, and/or corresponding funds in the Member States, and regards this as a way of creating a capital stock to fund a future climate policy, given that there are limits on how far one can plan now for the individual measures of that policy and the investment they will require;

177.  Proposes that this capital stock be used on the capital market to permit a backflow to the economic operators and (re-)investment in future technologies, thus leaving it to the market to decide which technologies should be used in future to achieve medium- and long-term climate objectives, instead of determining this by legislation;

178.  Stresses emphatically that, in the long term, effective solutions to the problem of climate change will also come from scientific innovations both in the field of the production, distribution and use of energy, and in other, related fields, which will effectively restrict the production of greenhouse gases without creating accompanying environmental problems;

179.  Stresses the importance of the Seventh Research Framework Programme for the development of green energy sources and calls on the Council and the Commission to support this priority in forthcoming research framework programmes too;

Intelligent computer systems and ICT

180.  Suggests to the forthcoming Council Presidencies that they make the future topic of ICT and its importance in combating and adapting to climate change one of the priorities of their periods of office;

181.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to promote the testing, validation, introduction and further dissemination of computer- and ICT-based methods for dematerialisation and vastly enhanced energy efficiency – particularly through improved logistics in freight transport, replacing physical travel with tele- and videoconferencing, improved electricity networks, energy-efficient buildings and smart lighting – in cooperation with industry, consumers, authorities, universities and research institutions;

Financing and budgetary matters

182.  Stresses, in its capacity as an arm of the budgetary authority together with the Council, that the highest priority must be given to climate change and measures to combat it in the next multiannual financial framework;

183.  Calls on the Council to tackle the question of unused, earmarked funds from the EU budget, re-allocating these where necessary for climate policy purposes;

184.  Calls on the Commission to draw up an inventory of all existing funding instruments and their significance for European climate objectives and, on the basis of this "climate audit", to draw up proposals for the future financial framework so that EU budget lines can be adapted in line with the requirements of climate policy, while not excluding the possibility of creating new funds and thus allocating new resources to them;

185.  Considers that the EU should make a financial commitment not only in the core areas of promoting and developing technologies to combat climate change and of climate-related development aid, but also in supporting cross-border adaptation measures, increased efficiency and aid for disasters, in accordance with the Union's solidarity principle;

186.  Recalls the agreement reached in the context of the "climate and energy package" legislation on a 50% voluntary earmarking of the ETS auctioning revenues for the financing of climate change policies, a large share of which should be used for financing adaptation and mitigation measures in developing countries; encourages Member States to make full use of this possibility and even to go beyond that figure;

187.  Recalls that the financing of mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries will be a crucial element for the achievement of a global agreement at COP 15 in Copenhagen, and insists that the European Council, to be held on 19-20 March 2009, make significant progress in finding an agreement on how to ensure independent, predictable EU financing for developing countries;

Education, training, reporting, labelling and awareness-raising

188.  Calls on the competent bodies in the Member States to create new careers and to adapt not only practical work training but also occupational training colleges and courses at technical colleges and universities to the specific employment-related challenges of the structural economic change which is being hastened by climate change and its effects;

189.  Recognises the important role played by workers and their representatives in greening their companies and workplaces, at the national and transnational levels, and calls for Community support for the development, exchange and dissemination of best practice;

190.  Calls on the Commission to develop communication strategies to spread information to the general public on the science of climate change (based on the latest IPCC findings), energy saving strategies, energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy sources; in addition, suggests that EU youth exchange programmes focus on common climate change awareness projects and therefore calls on the Commission to commission annually, via Eurobarometer, an EU citizen survey measuring citizens' attitudes and perceptions towards climate change, and furthermore calls for general and simple efficiency standards for all areas of everyday life, and for the creation of incentives (e.g. of a fiscal nature) for responsible energy consumption;

191.  Calls on the Member States, together with electricity suppliers, to enter into a dialogue with citizens in order to convince the public of the need, for reasons of energy and climate policy, to make modern fossil-fuel-fired power stations more efficient, such dialogue to include a discussion of CCS;

192.  Calls on the Commission to share information with citizens and Member States on successful projects such as the "car-free day" in the context of European Mobility Week, and highlights the need to make citizens think about their urban mobility and hence question their behaviour as road users in their cities, and not to confine the term "individual mobility" to the use of one's own car but extend it to all forms of individual travel in cities and conurbations, such as walking, cycling, car-sharing, car-pooling, taxis and local public transport;

193.  Welcomes the coming together of the world's largest cities under the auspices of C40, particularly as a forum for exchanging proven greenhouse gas reduction processes at global level, and for learning from each other;

194.  Stresses in particular the need to inform and consult citizens on the ground and to involve them in decision-making processes, and encourages urban centres, regions and conurbations to aim for specific reduction targets and implement them by means of local or regional innovative financing programmes with support from the public authorities;

195.  Calls on the Member States, with a view to raising public awareness, to incorporate into the relevant building regulations a provision to the effect that citizens applying for planning permission will receive comprehensive information on what opportunities exist locally for the use of renewable energy sources;

196.  Suggests that local and regional authorities, districts, quarters and municipalities, and in particular public institutions, schools and child and youth care establishments, carry out "energy saving competitions", as well as local campaigns properly resourced at national and EU level, with a view to raising public awareness of savings potential, achieving citizen participation and generating learning effects;

197.  Suggests that the Commission declare a European Year of Energy and Resource Efficiency in order to raise citizens" awareness at all policy levels of more efficient use of resources and to take climate change as an opportunity to hold an intensive debate on the availability and handling of resources; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fight energy poverty as well as to guarantee the development of a water-saving culture and to raise public awareness of water saving through educational programmes; calls on the Commission to look into the possibility of promoting a network of cities to encourage sustainable water use with the aim of exchanging good practice and jointly carrying out pilot demonstration projects; calls on Member States to provide free energy audits, to enable citizens to reduce their energy consumption and to reduce their emissions;

198.  Regards advertising and product information as an important instrument for raising consumer awareness of the environmental costs of consumer goods and changing consumer behaviour; warns, however, of the risk of "greenwashing" and calls on the Commission and the Member States, in consultation with European industrial associations, to draw up an advertising and labelling code for their industries with a view to condemning misleading advertising and incorrect statements about the environmental effects of products, and to comply with existing European advertising and labelling rules;

199.  Considers it important, in the dialogue with citizens and retailers, to focus advertising on regional and seasonal products, and to use consumer information, in particular mandatory labelling regarding the production method of products, as an aid to consumer decisions;

200.  Considers the lack of information among the public on measures to combat climate change to be a serious problem; therefore calls on the EU, its Member States and regional and local authorities and institutions, together with the press, broadcasters and online media, to plan and implement a Europe-wide information campaign on the causes and effects of climate change and growing scarcity of resources, focussing on individual ways of changing one's behaviour in everyday life and giving a better and more readily understandable picture of the work of European and national authorities on measures to combat climate change;

201.  Welcomes initiatives by major undertakings to pursue internal reduction targets with the involvement of their staff and their small and medium-sized suppliers, and to use public communication strategies to promote sustainable production and consumption models; encourages economic organisations in the Member States and at European level to emphasise sustainable business practices as a unique asset in competition;

2050 – The future begins today

202.  Calls for an agenda for action to combat climate change for the period 2009-2014, to be implemented as follows:

203.  Stresses the need to face up to climate change and its effects by means of political and educational measures based on a long-term perspective and by implementing decisions in a coherent way, not subordinating them to short-term political goals; encourages the promotion of lifestyles and consumption patterns geared to sustainable development;

204.  Stresses the need not to capitulate in the face of the complexity of the problem of climate change but to show a visionary desire to make a difference, and to demonstrate leadership in the political, economic and social spheres, in our response to the economic, environmental and social challenges with which we are confronted at this turning-point in energy and climate policy, reflected in a growing scarcity of raw materials;

205.  Stresses the need, on the basis of the founding ideals of the European Union, to take decisions out of a conviction that they are necessary and correct, and to seize the unique opportunity of shaping the future of our society by means of strategic action;

206.  Calls on Parliament's relevant bodies to draw up and publish within three months an edition of this resolution and a presentation of the committee's work for the general public;

207.  Calls on its competent committees to follow up the implementation of the above recommendations in the next legislative term, including in the context of the hearings of the Commissioners-designate for the next Commission term of office and in their contacts with counterparts in national parliaments; calls on the European Parliament's delegations for relations with third countries and on the European Parliament component of multilateral parliamentary assemblies to regularly raise the issue of climate change and the need for actions and initiatives on the part of all countries in their contacts with third countries' representatives;

o
o   o

208.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Secretariat of the UNFCCC, with a request to the latter that it be forwarded to all contracting parties which are not EU Member States and to the observers provided for in the UNFCCC.

ANNEX A

SELECTED EU LEGISLATION MAKING A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE

Legislation in force

–  Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources(10)

–  Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(11), and related legislation

–  Council Directive 93/12/EEC of 23 March 1993 relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels(12), and related legislation

–  Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(13), and related legislation

–  Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC(14), and related legislation

–  Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy(15)

–  Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants(16), and related legislation

–  Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings(17)

–  Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC(18), and related legislation

–  Directive 2003/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances(19)

–  Directive 2004/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste(20)

–  Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 laying down the framework for the creation of the single European sky(21)

–  Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(22)

–  Directive 2006/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC(23), and related legislation

–  Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013)(24)

–  Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information(25), and related legislation

Awaiting publication

–  Directive 2009/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community (2008/0013(COD))

–  Decision No .../2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community's greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020 (2008/0014(COD))

–  Directive 2009/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directives 85/337/EEC, 96/61/EC, Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (2008/0015(COD))

–  Directive 2009/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (2008/0016(COD))

–  Regulation (EC) No .../2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (2007/0297(COD))

–  Directive 2009/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of road transport fuels and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC, as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC (2007/0019(COD))

ANNEX B

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY

–  Resolution of 17 November 2004 on the EU strategy for the Buenos Aires Conference on Climate Change (COP-10)(26)

–  Resolution of 13 January 2005 on the outcome of the Buenos Aires Conference on climate change(27)

–  Resolution of 12 May 2005 on the Seminar of Governmental Experts on Climate Change(28)

–  Resolution of 16 November 2005 on "Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change"(29)

–  Resolution of 18 January 2006 on climate change(30)

–  Resolution of 1 June 2006 on Energy efficiency or doing more with less – Green Paper(31)

–  Resolution of 4 July 2006 on reducing the climate change impact of civil aviation(32)

–  Resolution of 26 October 2006 on the European Union strategy for the Nairobi Conference on Climate Change (COP 12 und COP/MOP 2)(33)

–  Resolution of 14 December 2006 on a European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy – Green Paper(34)

–  Resolution of 14 February 2007 on climate change(35)

–  Resolution of 21 October 2008 on building a Global Climate Change Alliance between the European Union and poor developing countries most vulnerable to climate change(36)

(1) OJ C 74 E, 20.3.2008, p. 652; see also the minutes of the plenary sitting of 18.2.2008, point 7. (2) OJ C 282 E, 6.11.2008, p. 437. (3) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0032. (4) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0125. (5) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0223. (6) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0491. (7) Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products (OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29). (8) OJ C 282 E, 6.11.2008, p. 281. (9) Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p. 19). (10) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1. (11) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7. (12) OJ L 74, 27.3.1993, p. 81. (13) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26. (14) OJ L 350, 28.12.1998, p. 58. (15) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. (16) OJ L 309, 27.11.2001, p. 1. (17) OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 65. (18) OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32. (19) OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 97. (20) OJ L 47, 18.2.2004, p. 26. (21) OJ L 96, 31.3.2004, p. 1. (22) OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29. (23) OJ L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 12. (24) OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1. (25) OJ L 171, 29.6.2007, p. 1. (26) OJ C 201 E, 18.8.2005, p. 81. (27) OJ C 247 E, 6.10.2005, p. 144. (28) OJ C 92 E, 20.4.2006, p. 384. (29) OJ C 280 E, 18.11.2006, p. 120. (30) OJ C 287 E, 24.11.2006, p. 182. (31) OJ C 298 E, 8.12.2006, p. 273. (32) OJ C 303 E, 13.12.2006, p. 119. (33) OJ C 313 E, 20.12.2006, p. 439. (34) OJ C 317 E, 23.12.2006, p. 876. (35) OJ C 287 E, 29.11.2007, p. 344. (36) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0491.

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals (COM(2007)0249 – C6-0143/2007 – 2007/0094(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The proposal was amended on 4 February 2009(1) and approved on 19 February 2009 as thus amended(2).

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 19 February 2009 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2009/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position at first reading corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive 2009/52/EC.)

(1) The matter was then referred back to committee pursuant to Rule 51(2), second subparagraph, read in conjunction with Rule168(2) (A6-0026/2009). (2) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2009)0069.

European Parliament resolution of 4 February 2009 on the challenge of energy efficiency through information and communication technologies

P6_TA(2009)0044 B6-0062/2009

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission Communication of 13 May 2008 entitled Addressing the challenge of energy efficiency through information and communication technologies (COM(2008)0241),

–   having regard to the Commission Communication of 23 January 2008 entitled 20 20 by 2020 - Europe's climate-change opportunity (COM(2008)0030),

–   having regard to the September 2008 study commissioned by the Commission entitled Impacts of information and communication technologies on energy efficiency,

–   having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the European Council meeting of 8-9 March 2007, in particular to the Action Plan (2007-2009) - An Energy Policy for Europe,

–   having regard to Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings(1),

–   having regard to Directive 2006/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services(2),

–   having regard to Regulation (EC) No 106/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on a Community energy-efficiency labelling programme for office equipment (recast version)(3),

–   having regard to Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products(4),

–   having regard to Decision No 1639/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 establishing a Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (2007 to 2013)(5),

–   having regard to Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013)(6),

–   having regard to Regulation (EC) No 683/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on the further implementation of the European satellite navigation programmes (EGNOS and Galileo)(7),

–   having regard to its resolution of 9 July 2008 on the European strategic energy technology plan(8),

–   having regard to its resolution of 31 January 2008 on an Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Realising the Potential(9),

–   having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2008 on CARS 21: A competitive automotive regulatory framework(10),

–   having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2006 on a European strategy for sustainable, competitive and secure energy - Green Paper(11),

–   having regard to its resolution of 1 June 2006 on energy efficiency or doing more with less - Green Paper(12),

–   having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2006 on a European information society for growth and employment(13),

–   having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas the EU has set the target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 20% and of deriving 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and whereas it has also turned its efforts towards achieving a 20% improvement in energy efficiency within the same period,

B.   whereas it has been calculated that the use of technologies based on information and communication technologies (ICTs) could save more than 50 million tonnes of CO2 annually,

C.   whereas the above targets are to be achieved without detriment to the competitiveness and sustainability of the EU economy,

D.   whereas the EU has set itself the goal of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010, and whereas economic competitiveness is greatly dependent on energy efficiency and the use of ICTs,

E.   whereas improving energy efficiency is one of the most economic means of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and whereas energy efficiency can lead directly to savings for consumers,

F.   whereas ICTs have a key role to play in improving energy efficiency locally and globally and amongst the industrialised and the emerging economies (in particular by means of intelligent networks and intelligent buildings and the technological upgrading of the production processes of energy-intensive industries), and having regard to the potential for savings offered by intelligent transport systems in the case of manufacturing industry and transport,

G.   whereas the ICT sector currently produces 2% of global CO2 emissions, and whereas the industry would be capable not only of reducing its own CO2 emissions, but in particular of developing innovative and more energy-efficient applications for the economy as a whole,

H.   whereas technology neutrality should be respected in order to ensure that all relevant ICT-based technologies are available to assist the EU in meeting its greenhouse-gas emissions targets,

I.   whereas the ICT industry offers tools that have a key role to play in monitoring any system's performance as compared with its energy consumption,

J.   whereas there are already several EU programmes and initiatives in existence which support ICT research and innovation in energy matters (Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), the ICT policy support programme and the European operational programmes for intelligent energy); whereas tax incentives and appropriate State-support instruments also provide financial backing and encouragement for intelligent energy-efficiency solutions,

K.   whereas industry and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a key role to play in increasing energy efficiency through ICT and innovation,

1.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to endeavour to increase awareness, for example through demonstration projects, of the importance of ICTs for improving energy efficiency in the EU economy and as driving forces behind increased productivity and growth and cost reductions that make for competitiveness, sustainable development and the improvement of EU citizens" quality of life;

2.  Suggests to the forthcoming Council Presidencies that they make the topic of ICT and its importance in combating and adapting to climate change one of the priorities for their terms of office;

3.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to endeavour to harmonise energy efficiency-related criteria, approaches and changes to the law and to adopt an holistic approach, meaning that Member States should not only think of components but of entire systems (for example, smart buildings); urges the Commission to consider including in its Impact Assessment Guidelines an evaluation of potential energy savings through the use of ICT-based solutions;

4.  Calls on those Member States which have not yet devised a green strategy based on the use of ITs/ICTs which is capable of contributing to a progressive reduction in the EU's CO2 emissions to do so;

5.  Calls on Member States to make further use of "green procurement" in order to encourage the take-up of ICT solutions by their public services, which can set an example in promoting energy-efficient solutions; calls on the public sector, starting with the EU institutions, to make the greatest possible use of "paperless office" policies, document management, e-governance, e-administration, teleworking and video- and teleconferencing; urges the Commission to take the lead by developing an action plan to reduce the energy consumption of EU institutions;

6.  Emphasises that more efforts must be made at every level of decision-making to use all available financial tools (such as FP7, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, the relevant operational programmes supported by the Cohesion Policy, and national and regional programmes) for the deployment and take-up of new ICT-based technological solutions which enhance energy efficiency; calls, further, on the Commission to stipulate that at least 5% of Structural Fund resources be spent on improving the energy efficiency of existing homes;

7.  Calls on the Commission to support a systematic approach to intelligent ICT solutions with a particular emphasis on lower emissions in the development of towns and cities, in particular through the development of intelligent buildings, street lighting and transmission and distribution networks and through the real-time organisation of transport;

8.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the use of financial incentives for smart grid technologies; calls, further, on the Member States to encourage the use of the most advanced remote sensing technologies, which will help to reduce energy losses by identifying leakages, blockages or other problems in major energy infrastructures;

9.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the testing, validation, introduction and further dissemination of computer- and ICT-based methods to improve energy efficiency, particularly improved electricity networks, energy-efficient buildings, smart lighting, industrial process automation, virtualisation, dematerialisation and the replacement of physical travel with tele- and videoconferencing, in cooperation with industry, consumers, authorities, universities and research institutions;

10.  Calls on the Member States to use the potential of ICTs to enable new business models, in particular within the energy market and in connection with electronic trading in energy, but also across the economy as a whole, in order to boost green innovation and entrepreneurship;

11.  Urges those Member States which have not yet introduced adequate incentives to meet the 2006 requirements laid down in Directive 2006/32/EC relating to the installation of intelligent electricity metering in businesses, public services and households to do so as quickly as possible; to that end, calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that, through investment in automated consumer ICTs (intelligent metering and overview of immediate energy requirements, including those of households), such ICTs achieve 100% penetration by 2019;

12.  Calls on the Commission, the Member States and regional and local authorities to invest substantially in ICT-enabled decentralised energy-production systems (including the use of combined heat and power generation advantageously hybridised with renewables such as solar energy-based technologies, with the emphasis on intelligent solar-tracking technologies, and wind technologies), and to amend Community legislation and Member States´ laws accordingly; calls on the Commission, the Member States and regional and local authorities always to consider ICTs in tandem with decentralised energy production and distribution;

13.  Calls on the Member States to create better conditions for the use of ICTs in energy-intensive industries, and in particular in the construction industry (for example through the deployment of advanced embedded monitoring and control technologies on production lines), since 10% of global CO2 emissions stem from the manufacture of construction materials;

14.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States also to focus on the energy efficiency of existing houses and other buildings, as 40% of total energy use is accounted for by buildings; calls, in that connection, for the creation of better conditions for the uptake of ICTs for intelligent buildings; encourages Member States to offer incentives for the restoration of older buildings and the construction of passive houses and zero-emission houses;

15.  Welcomes the launch of the consultation and partnership process on ICTs; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support closer cooperation amongst all the partners in the construction, energy-efficiency and ICT sector, in particular by means of Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) such as the Artemis JTI and the Energy Efficient Buildings (E2B) JTI; calls on all the partners to work together to develop open norms and standards so as to ensure that different technologies are compatible;

16.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide active support for research and technological development and demonstration projects relating to new ICTs and their applications which offer high potential for energy efficiency, especially micro- and nano-electronics and emerging quantum- and photonics-based technologies;

17.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide active support for research and technological development and demonstration activities relating to lighting technologies and intelligent lighting applications, so that the introduction of more energy-efficient lighting in both indoor and outdoor public spaces - with an emphasis on highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) - can be more vigorously promoted; urges the Commission and the Member States to promote research into lighting systems as a whole, and not only into components of such systems;

18.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to exploit to the utmost the potential of the Galileo satellite-navigation system so as to ensure that the broadest possible use is made of the relevant applications in combination with ICTs in the transport field, in particular in connection with the management and organisation of traffic flows, real-time information concerning the movement of goods and persons and optimised selection of routes and modes of transport;

19.  Calls on the Member States to cooperate at national and local level in coordinating an approach to energy-efficient mobility and to environmentally-friendly mobility based on intelligent solutions offered by ICT-based technologies (such as private transport optimisation, smart logistics, efficient vehicles and traffic-flow monitoring, planning and simulation), so as to ensure interoperability, lower costs and greater impact; calls, further, on the Member States to support standardisation bodies in framing and introducing EU and global standards for smart transport systems;

20.  Calls on the Member States to launch programmes and incentives aimed at improving the emissions performance of existing vehicles, in particular by using advanced ICT solutions when retrofitting emissions-control systems and through the deployment of real-time mobile monitoring platforms;

21.  Encourages the Member States to promote information campaigns on energy-saving behaviour aimed at the general public and training in energy-efficient driving behaviour for drivers of road vehicles; notes that, in this context, high priority should be given to the launching of pilot programmes to demonstrate best-practice implementation in transport, especially involving added-value ICT solutions to existing problems at local level;

22.  Calls on the Commission to publish a "best experiences" guide for local authorities concerning energy-efficient solutions to traffic management and to cooperate with industry representatives on a list of "eco-innovations" in order to make eco-driving a reality (such as an indicator showing economic fuel consumption, software that monitors internal tyre pressure, a dynamic eco-navigation system, driving-speed regulation, adaptive cruise control and real-time estimation of environmental impact on the basis of driving profiles);

23.  Urges the Commission to promote initiatives to raise the awareness of local authorities, including the use of ICT modelling tools in city planning and housing management and in the provision of energy-efficient digital services; welcomes the Covenant of Mayors initiative, which brings together in a permanent network the mayors of Europe's most pioneering cities; calls for this initiative to pay particular attention to using ICTs to improve energy efficiency;

24.  Calls on the Member States to pay suitable attention to the use of ICTs in the manufacturing industry and on the Commission to give the Member States greater access to examples of research and development projects which incorporate a key ICT contribution to the manufacturing industry, upon which 70% of jobs in the EU directly or indirectly depend, thereby promoting best practice examples for modernising the EU manufacturing industry;

25.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support and encourage the ICT industry in reducing its carbon footprint by complying with the highest efficiency and innovation standards throughout entire product life-cycles, and by monitoring energy consumption at every stage of its supply chain; encourages the development of voluntary initiatives to reduce energy consumption in the ICT sector; recommends, further, the use of software and operating systems that consume the least energy;

26.  Calls on the Member States to invest in energy-efficiency education, which should start at school by cultivating eco-consciousness among future consumers; calls, further, on the Commission and the Member States to provide massive support for education and training programmes in the interests of supplying an adequate number of trained ICT specialists and to encourage individuals and firms to adopt efficient practices through target-driven education and training aimed at using equipment efficiently, quantifying the resulting energy savings and developing green skills;

27.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to create a more favourable regulatory environment with better access to finance for SMEs that can play a key role in implementing ICT-based solutions for energy efficiency;

28.  Welcomes the extension of the scope of the Energy Star cooperation with the United States and the inclusion in the implementing regulation of a mandatory public procurement provision; urges the Commission to move negotiations on further products forward;

29.  Notes that new technologies and approaches can in certain cases lead to an increase in energy consumption compared to the systems they are replacing; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take steps to ensure that consumers are made fully aware of the energy-efficiency performance of innovative systems compared to the technologies that are being replaced; calls on the Commission to come forward with a methodology for rating the energy performance of systems; notes the crucial role that smart meters can play in alerting consumers who change their behaviour or adopt new systems to the overall consequences of these changes in terms of energy efficiency;

30.  Calls on the Commission to cooperate closely with third countries in order to make ICTs for energy efficiency more widely available; calls also for the establishment of common standards for energy-efficient products, especially for EU-based Energy Star projects with high achievements in energy efficiency and environmental impact which could be transferred to third countries for implementation;

31.  Calls on the Member States to provide active support for the deployment in remote EU areas, such as islands and mountainous and isolated areas, of ICT applications which offer great potential for energy savings;

32.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 65. (2) OJ L 114, 27.4.2006, p. 64. (3) OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 1. (4) OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29. (5) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 15. (6) OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1. (7) OJ L 196, 24.7.2008, p. 1. (8) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0354. (9) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0033. (10) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0007. (11) OJ C 317 E, 23.12.2006, p. 876. (12) OJ C 298 E, 8.12.2006, p. 273. (13) OJ C 291 E, 30.11.2006, p. 133.

European Parliament resolution of 4 February 2009 on the return and resettlement of the Guantánamo detention facility inmates

P6_TA(2009)0045 RC-B6-0066/2009

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the international, European and national instruments on human rights and fundamental freedoms and on the prohibition of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and torture, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984,

–   having regard to the transatlantic cooperation between the United States and the European Union and its Member States, notably in the field of the fight against terrorism,

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 June 2006 on the situation of prisoners at Guantánamo(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 16 February 2006 on Guantánamo(2),

–   having regard to its recommendation of 10 March 2004 to the Council on the Guantánamo detainees" right to a fair trial(3),

–   having regard to its resolution of 7 February 2002 on the detainees in Guantánamo Bay(4),

–   having regard to the resolutions of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly,

–   having regard to the report of the UN Commission on Human Rights of 15 February 2006,

–   having regard to the statements of the UN Special Rapporteurs,

–   having regard to the conclusions and recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture concerning the United States,

–   having regard to the statement by the President of the European Parliament of 20 January 2009,

–   having regard to the statement by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights of 19 January 2009,

–   having regard to the statement by the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator,

–   having regard to the statements by the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security and by the EU Presidency,

–   having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2007 on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners(5) and the Council of Europe activities on the same issue,

–   having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States established a high-security detention facility at Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) in January 2002, where terrorist suspects have been detained,

B.   whereas prisoners at Guantánamo Bay have been denied their fundamental human rights, notably the right to a fair trial, and have been subjected to harsh interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, which amount to torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment,

C.   whereas in a series of judgments by the US courts, including the Supreme Court, partial and limited rights have been recognised, including the possibility of access to US civilian courts,

D.   whereas a list published by the US authorities includes 759 past and present prisoners at Guantánamo; whereas 525 prisoners have been released, while 5 have died in custody; whereas there are now some 250 inmates at Guantánamo, of whom:

E.   whereas the use of torture and other illegal means implies that the "evidence" gathered is inadmissible in court, rendering prosecutions and convictions for terrorism impossible,

F.   whereas it is alleged by the US authorities that 61 former inmates of Guantánamo Bay have been involved in terrorism since their release,

1.  Strongly welcomes the decision by US President Barack Obama to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, as well as other related executive orders, which mark an important change in the policy of the United States towards respect for humanitarian and international law; encourages the new administration to take further steps in this direction;

2.  Recalls that the main responsibility for the whole process of closing the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and for the future of its inmates rests with the United States; affirms nonetheless that the responsibility for respect for international law and fundamental rights rests with all democratic countries, particularly the Union and its Member States, which together represent a community of values;

3.  Invites the United States to ensure that Guantánamo detainees are granted their human rights and fundamental freedoms, on the basis of international and US constitutional law, and:

4.  Calls on the Member States, should the US administration so request, to cooperate in finding solutions, to be prepared to accept Guantánamo inmates in the Union, in order to help reinforce international law, and to provide, as a priority, fair and humane treatment for all; recalls that Member States have a duty of loyal cooperation to consult each other regarding possible effects on public security throughout the Union;

5.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for the CFSP, the parliaments of the Member States, the NATO Secretary General, the Secretary General and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the United Nations Secretary-General and the President and Congress of the United States of America.

(1) OJ C 300 E, 9.12.2006, p. 136. (2) OJ C 290 E, 29.11.2006, p. 423. (3) OJ C 102 E, 28.4.2004, p. 640. (4) OJ C 284 E, 21.11.2002, p. 353. (5) OJ C 287 E, 29.11.2007, p. 309.