Letter to the London Evening Standard:
I voted to remain.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote on Friday in the immediate aftermath of the Referendum vote "I will be pushing the Government to ensure remaining in the single market is a cornerstone of the negotiations with the EU over the months ahead," 'Don't panic- London will continue to be a great successful city,'24 June).
Given that at the moment there is no identifiable Government to lobby, so that makes it difficult. But Mr Khan's proposition is also illogical.
It seems very clear one of the big reasons the majority voted for BREXIT is their concerns over uncontrolled inward migration. It is not possible to be in the Single Market for trade in goods and services without agreeing to the free movement of labour. As a lawyer and former minister, surely Mr Khan must know this.
And there is absolutely no prospect of the other 27 EU governments agreeing to the UK having the benefits of participation in the Single Market without abiding by its core rules.
Think again Mr Mayor!
Monday, 27 June 2016
Labour MP Paul Flynn asks questions on who will be our nuclear watchdog
This important article was published yesterday:
Paul Flynn asks question on who will be our nuclear watchdog
Wales on Sunday, June 26 2016
THE regulation of nuclear power stations in Britain has been thrown into doubt by the UK vote to leave the European Union.
Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn has tabled parliamentary questions to Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, seeking to clarify what will happen to international inspections in a pro-Brexit scenario.
Dr David Lowry, a nuclear expert and an adviser to Mr Flynn, said: “As a member of the EU, the UK is also a member of the European Atomic Energy Community, usually abbreviated to Euratom, headquartered in Luxembourg.
“Euratom has both a supply agency, to provide nuclear fuel and co-ordinate uranium supplies – a sort of multiple five-year Soviet-style nuclear supply plan – for EU member states; and, importantly, Euratom also implements safeguards on nuclear materials and at nuclear plants to verify the UK has not diverted such materials or facilities to military misuse.
“Euratom also does basic radiation protection and reactor safety and nuclear waste management research and development via the EU Joint Research Centres, for which the UK provides annual multi-million-pound donations to the EU.”
The EU Treaty – the document which sets the rules for EU agencies – says one of the main functions of Euratom is to establish uniform safety standards to protect the health of workers and the general public and ensure they are applied.
Each member state is required to provide the European Commission with the general data relating to any plan for the disposal of nuclear waste.
At the same time, the assent of the Commission is required where these plans are liable to affect the territories of other member states.
But, said Dr Lowry, all this will end as the UK withdraws.
There is a UK safety ( and security) regulator called the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), but it is funded by the nuclear industry and reports to the UK Government.
Euratom inspects the Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey.
A quarterly report produced by ONR in September 2015 stated: “During a Euratom inspection of radioactive sources with nuclear material it was discovered that there were two items that were not declared to Euratom but should have been as they contained nuclear material.
“Uranyl Nitrate and Thorium Nitrate were both being held in the redundant bonded source store.
“The inspector requested these items be reported in the next Inventory Change Report as accidental arisings.
“This incident relates to another find of nuclear material. About a year ago Wylfa reported the find of some small radioactive sources. These were brought onto the inventory.
“Euratom wanted to verify these sources during the recent Physical Inventory Verification.
“During this verification the Euratom inspector found another two items in the source store cupboard.
“Subsequent investigation of source stores inside and outside the reactor building has not found any other undeclared items.”
Dr Lowry said: “The unaddressed question is who will replace Euratom in the nuclear safeguards inspections, as the International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna, which undertakes this role for countries outside the EU, is already under-resourced and overstretched, with Iran, North Korea, and other dodgy nuclear nations to keep an eye on.
“So what is going to happen? Who will act as the UK’s atomic watchdog?”
Thursday, 23 June 2016
How public broadcasters let down electorate in referendum campaign
In the wake of the EU referendum result, our public
broadcasters, led by the BBC and Channel Four, especially its flagship news
programme Channel Four News, will hold an inquest and analysis of how they
covered the whole referendum campaign.
And I think both have a lot of searching questions to ask of their
approach, which followed an increasingly narrow agenda, based on the political
outpourings of the self-appointed leadership of the official ‘Remain’ and ‘Leave’
campaigns, and buttressed by the less than impartial and ever-more-poisonous
political reportage of the right wing press: The Sun, The Daily Mail ; The Daily Telegraph, and The Times; along with pernicious
ramblings of right wing web sites, social media sites and twitter feeds
All of this has been done over several months with barely
any interview with, or mention of the
political views and assessments of any MEPs,
or their political groupings in the European Parliament, except for
those from UKIP, such as Nigel Farage.
There has been, as a result, a significant omission of
several important issues that really ought to have been examined, the most
important of which is the environment and the merits of EU-based environmental
regulations in the UK. Of the interviews with political leaders and debates
held during the referendum campaign, the only two instances I can recall when
environmental, climate change or energy issues were raised were by Energy and
Climate Change Secretary, Amber Rudd, in the big TV debate in which she
personally verbally assaulted Bris Johnson, and by Labour leader, Jeremy
Corbyn, in his question and answer with young professionals on Sky News.
The big set piece debates on BBC, hosted by David
Dimbleby, and Channel Four, hosted by Jeremy Paxman, had the issues for
discussion pre-determined by the broadcasters, and excluded any discussion of
the environment.
In the print media, the
environment has barely fared any better. Green MP Caroline Lucas and John Ashton
( who served
from 2006 to 2012 as special representative for climate change for three
British foreign secretaries) did jointly publish an article on the important
role the EU has played in international climate change negotiations, and subsequent
policy implementation, (“If we’re to win the climate struggle, we must remain in Europe,” The Guardian, 13 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/12/win-climate-struggle-remain-europe-paris-summit) –but even
this never made the print edition, solely appearing on the Guardian web site.
The same
newspaper has carried a limited number of letters from readers addressing EU-related
environmental issues, such as from Labour MEP Seb Dance – a member of the European parliament environment
committee (“
The European Union’s record on clean beaches and dirty air,” Guardian letters,
Monday 6 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/05/european-union-record-on-clean-beaches-and-dirty-air),in which he argued :
“The coalition of rightwing
politicians backing Brexit consists of climate change deniers, environmentalist
cynics and no-holds-barred free-marketeers. For George Eustice to claim the
UK’s environment will be top of a list of priorities if Britain decides to
leave the European Union is, frankly, ridiculous (Minister attacks
‘spirit-crushing’ green directives,
31 May).
The big environmental challenges
the UK faces – air pollution, catastrophic climate change, fish stocks,
the hunting of migratory birds – do not respect national borders and can only
be tackled collectively.”
And green campaign group, Greenpeace’s
Energy Blog site author, Damian Kahya,
argued on Wednesday in an editorial (“If your
priority is the UK’s environment, vote to stay in the EU,“ June 22, 2016; http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2016/06/22/comment-if-your-priority-is-the-uks-air-water-and-climate-you-really-have-to-vote-to-stay/)
“When
it comes to our environment Thursday’s vote could be the most pivotal
democratic moment in a generation.A decision to leave the EU and the
single market will undermine not just the
environmental protections we have already created, but also our ability to work
together with others to build on them to end the health risks of air pollution,
avoid the risks of climate change and protect our green spaces.It’s not about
fear, but about our ability to create a better world.”
He
added : “And it’s not just the rules themselves, the EU is also about ensuring
all nations follow democratic processes.As a result companies must carry out
impact assessments, regulators and local authorities must consult communities
and firms must take liability if things go wrong. Leaving the EU then returns
power over things like consultation to Whitehall.”
But these arguments have barely found any place in
our public broadcasters’ coverage of the referendum campaign.
Three days before the referendum
vote, British ministers attended a meeting of EU environment ministers in
Brussels: Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Rory Stewart ( not the Secretary of State, Liz Truss) represented the UK,
supported by Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet
Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform for the Scottish
Government.
I doubt more
than a few dozen of the 66 million UK population knew this meeting ever took
place, yet such meeting are crucial in formulating more sustainable environment
for the EU’s 570 million citizens. So here are the details, as published by
the European Council web site.
It is a pity voters have been left in ignorance over the importance of EU environmental issues by our narrow-minded public broadcasters.
Environment Council, 20/06/2016
Council
of the EU
·
Council of the European Union
·
Meeting n°3476
·
Luxembourg
·
20/06/2016
Press
information
20/06/2016
- Press release
18:00
Council
conclusions on the EU action plan for the circular economy On 20 June the Council
adopted conclusions on the action plan for a circular economy.
20/06/2016
- Press release
The
Council adopted a statement on the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the
global legally-binding agreement on climate change adopted in December 2015.
Main
results
Ministers discussed climate change issues as well as air
quality, circular economy and the fight against wildlife trafficking
Climate
change
The
Council adopted a statement on the ratification of the Paris Agreement.
The global legally-binding agreement on climate change was adopted in December
2015 in Paris. It will enter into force after ratification by 55 countries
representing at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
"With this statement we want to send a
clear political message on the EU's commitment to address climate change. We
are determined to ratify the Paris agreement as soon as possible and to work
for effective implementation of the deal."
Sharon Dijksma, Dutch Minister for the
Environment
The Council adopted a statement on the ratification of
the Paris Agreement, the global legally-binding agreement on climate change
adopted in December 2015
Meeting
information
Dutch
Minister for the Environment and President of the Environment Council, Sharon
Dijksma, said: "With this statement we want to send a clear political
message on the EU's commitment to address climate change. We are determined to
ratify the Paris agreement as soon as possible and to work for effective
implementation of the deal".
Ministers
also took note of the presentation by the Commission of the proposal for the
conclusion of the Paris Agreement by the EU.
Furthermore,
they held a policy debate on the review of one of EU's main tools to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change: the emissions
trading system (ETS).
Air
quality
Ministers
took stock of discussions on new rules and limits for air pollutants,
the so-called NEC directive. The presidency informed ministers of the state
of play of negotiations with the European Parliament.
Circular
economy
The
Council adopted conclusions on the action plan for a circular economy.
This plan aims to reduce waste and keep the value of products, materials and
resources in the economy for as long as possible. The conclusions support this
aim and demonstrate commitment to this transition towards a more sustainable
model, for instance by cutting resource use, boosting recycling and better
managing waste.
Wildlife
trafficking
The
Council adopted conclusions supporting the EU's action plan against wildlife
trafficking. The Council expressed deep concern about the increase in illegal
wildlife trafficking and its detrimental effect on biodiversity and sustainable
development. The conclusions call on all actors to step up efforts to
combat this crime.
Live
streaming, videos and photos
Council conclusions on the EU action plan for the
circular economy
Council
of the EU
·
20/06/2016
·
18:00
·
Press release
·
367/16
·
Environment
·
Enterprise and industry
20/06/2016 | 18:00
Press contacts
Ester Arauzo-Azofra
Press officer
+32 22815361
+32 473630723
Press officer
+32 22815361
+32 473630723
The
Council adopted conclusions on the action plan for a circular economy.
This plan aims to reduce waste and keep the value of products, materials and
resources in the economy for as long as possible. The conclusions support this
aim and demonstrate commitment to this transition towards a more sustainable
model, for instance by cutting resource use, boosting recycling and better
managing waste.
"Council
conclusions on Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy
The
Council of the European Union,
RECALLING:
·
The Europe 2020 Strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth adopted by the European Council on 17 June
2010, and its Flagship Initiative “A Resource-Efficient Europe”;
·
The Decision of the European Parliament and
of the Council on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020
"Living well, within the limits of our planet" (7th EAP)[1]
for a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy;
·
The Report of the European Parliament on
“Resource Efficiency: moving towards a Circular Economy”[2];
·
The UNGA resolution of 25 September 2015 on
"Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"
and The Climate Agreement (COP 21 Paris);
·
The Commission's Communications “Innovating
for Sustainable Growth - A Bioeconomy for Europe”[3]; The
Eco-innovation Action Plan[4]; Green Action Plan for SMEs[5]
and the Green Employment Initiative[6] ; Resource Efficiency
Opportunities in the Building Sector[7]; A Blueprint to Safeguard
Europe's Water Resources[8]; Digitizing the European industry,
reaping the full benefits of a digital single market and related communications[9];
Raw Materials Initiative[10];
·
The Council conclusions on
- Sustainable materials management and
sustainable production and consumption[11];
- Greening the European Semester and the Europe 2020 Strategy[12];
- The Commission's Communication “A Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe”[13][14];
- The Mid-Term Review of the EU-Biodiversity Strategy 2020[15] ;
- The mainstreaming of industrial competitiveness[16].
- Greening the European Semester and the Europe 2020 Strategy[12];
- The Commission's Communication “A Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe”[13][14];
- The Mid-Term Review of the EU-Biodiversity Strategy 2020[15] ;
- The mainstreaming of industrial competitiveness[16].
UNDERSTANDING
that a Circular Economy offers great potential to achieve sustainable growth
and boost the EU's competitiveness, create jobs, decrease the EU's dependency
on non-renewable primary raw materials, achieve resource and energy efficiency
and a smaller environmental footprint, promote locally produced goods, prevent
and minimise waste generation, protect nature and natural capital, strengthen
ecological resilience and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing
to the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and the world-wide efforts
towards a green economy, while maintaining well-being within the limits of our
planet and protection of human health and the environment;
UNDERLINES
the importance of the waste hierarchy in supporting the transition to the
Circular Economy, starting with an increase in prevention, preparation for
reuse and recycling of waste, and minimizing waste disposal, in particular
through a significant reduction of landfilled waste.
INTEGRATED
POLICY APPROACHES
1.
WELCOMES the Commission Communication of 2 December 2015 on "Closing the
loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy"[17]
(hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan") and COMMITS to
supporting its implementation with a view to facilitating the transition to a
circular economy;
2.
UNDERLINES that the transition to a Circular Economy requires long-term
commitment and action, in a wide range of policy areas in the EU, and at all
levels of government in Member States; ENCOURAGES Member States to establish
and adopt measures and/or strategies to complement and contribute to the
EU Action Plan; URGES the Commission to fully integrate the Circular Economy in
all its relevant policies and strategies; further RECOGNISES that with a view
to accelerating the transition, the different conditions and stages in Member
States should be taken into account;
3.
CONSIDERS the active involvement of the private sector and other stakeholders
across Europe and at the global level a key element for a successful and more
effective transition towards a Circular Economy; ENCOURAGES the EU and the
Member States, at all levels of government, to actively engage the private
sector to promote cooperation, innovation and industrial symbiosis projects
within and across sectors and value chains; including by addressing specific
challenges in the transition to the Circular Economy, through agreements
between stakeholders in society and governments such as the pilot on voluntary
“Innovation Deals”[18];
4.
CALLS upon the Commission to ensure that proposals flowing from the Action Plan
are accompanied by a thorough Impact Assessment; and UNDERLINES that policy
measures need to support sustainable development and the long-term
competitiveness of EU industry, with a particular reference to SMEs, and improve
the functioning of the Internal Market; FURTHER UNDERLINES that policy measures
need to be in line with the principles of Better Law-Making as set out in the
inter-institutional agreement of 13 April 2016[19], be proportional,
cost-effective, socially acceptable, easy to adopt with minimal administrative
burden, avoid policy fragmentation to create synergies, take into account
existing national legislation that stimulates circularity, and initiatives that
stimulate consistent and coherent EU legislation such as the Make-it-Work
project;
5.
UNDERLINES the need to ascertain sustainable sourcing and supply of primary raw
materials; EMPHASISES the role of fair trade, in ensuring that prices of
primary raw materials and products reflect their environmental and social
externalities, and that, where relevant, healthy competition between the market
for primary and secondary resources is facilitated; CALLS upon the Commission
to take concrete initatiatives to promote sustainable sourcing and supply of
raw materials within the EU and in cooperation with third (commodity producing)
countries, without creating tariff or non-tariff trade barriers;
PRODUCT
POLICIES AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
6.
SUPPORTS the Commission's approach in the Action Plan to address the entire
life cycle of products and STRESSES that such an integrated, cross-sectoral
approach is essential to effectively 'close the loop' and achieve a transition
to a Circular Economy where the value of products, materials and resources is
maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste
minimised; ENCOURAGES the Commission and the Member States to create an
enabling and coherent policy environment and legislative framework for systemic
innovation to promote a circular economy throughout the value chain, including
opportunities to experiment with such innovations.
7.
UNDERLINES the importance of a coherent product policy framework at the EU
level, in line with the 7th Environmental Action Programme calling for action
by 2020; WELCOMES the Commission's intention to work towards this; STRONGLY
ENCOURAGES the Commission to ensure coherence, enhancement and effectiveness of
existing EU instruments relevant for product policy; INVITES the Commission to
ensure that policy instruments can facilitate systemic innovations in the
future;
8.
STRESSES the need to ensure that products are designed and produced more
sustainably, taking into account their full life cycle and minimising negative
impact on the environment and on human health; in this context; NOTES with
concern that the Commission has failed to meet the timetable indicated in the
annex to the action plan for actions regarding eco-design; REQUESTS the
Commission to follow-up on these actions without further delay; URGES the
Commission to include appropriate measures to improve the durability,
reparability, reusability, possibilities to use recycled materials,
upgradability and recyclability of products in the EU Ecodesign regulations,
and other legislation as appropriate, before 2020; INVITES the
Commission to evaluate before the end of 2018 for which product groups, other
than energy related, it would be possible to take better into account resource
efficiency and impact on the environment and human health, building on
experiences from the Ecodesign directive;
9.
STRESSES the need for action at European level to extend the lifetime of
products, including by addressing planned obsolescence; INVITES the Commission
to develop common methods for assessing and verifying product life time; NOTES
the Commission's proposal on online sales of goods; LOOKS FORWARD to discussing
the possibilities to extend the legal guarantee of all sales of goods on
the basis of this proposal and the ongoing fitness check of the EU consumer and
marketing law; INVITES the Commission to investigate what other initiatives can
be taken at the EU level in the interest of extending the lifetime of products,
for instance by promoting the availability of spare parts;
10.
NOTING the crucial role of consumers in the transition to a Circular Economy;
EMPHASISES the importance of raising awareness, promoting appropriate market
based mechanisms and developing supportive infrastructure, in order to boost
sustainable behavior, consumption and production, both in Business to Consumer
and Business to Business markets; STRESSES that access to reliable, timely and
understandable information regarding the environmental characteristics of
products and services can help make informed choices; CALLS upon the Commission
to develop and propose a methodology to ensure that environmental claims,
including labels, are based on verifiable and transparent information, taking
into account specific conditions in Member States and the lessons learnt from
the ongoing European pilots on the environmental footprint and Environmental
Technologies Verification; ENCOURAGES the Commission and the Member States to
support awareness raising activities directed at consumers in promoting the
Circular Economy;
11.
EMPHASISES the importance of a well-functioning chemicals legislation to
support the Circular Economy and the need to fulfil the various goals in the 7th
Environmental Action Programme; CALLS upon the Commission, when addressing the
interface between EU chemicals, products and waste legislation by 2017, to
develop, in cooperation with the Member States, a methodology to determine
whether recycling, recovery or disposal provides the best overall outcome to
achieve both non-toxic material cycles and increased recycling rates, while
respecting the existing high level of protection of human health and the
environment and taking into account the precautionary principle; in this
context, EMPHASISES the need for adequate information on the presence of
substances of very high concern in materials, products and waste;
12.
STRESSES the importance of a well functioning and efficient market for
secondary raw materials; UNDERLINES the importance of stimulating demand for
secondary raw materials and high quality recycling by, inter alia, promoting
the use of secondary raw materials and improving the confidence in the quality
of secondary raw materials including accessibility of information regarding the
content of substances which pose problems to recycling or recovery; CALLS upon
the Commission to develop uniform EU end of waste criteria where appropriate,
and to promote the development of EU and international quality standards for
secondary raw materials, in order to facilitate cross border movement, while
safeguarding the environment and human health;
13.
CALLS upon the Commission to explore possibilities to encourage that used
products that are exported from the EU will be recycled in an environmentally
sound and safe manner once they become waste inside or outside the EU;
13a
RECOGNISES that export of waste can make it harder to achieve higher recycling
rates; CALLS for reinforcement of controls within the EU and at its borders to
prevent illegal transport of waste, in line with the revised waste shipment
regulation[20].
14.
REITERATES the need for preventing marine litter, and in particular plastics,
from ending up in the environment in order to achieve a significant reduction
by 2020; CONSIDERS eco-design of plastic and plastic products, as well as sound
management of plastic waste essential for pollution prevention; WELCOMES the
voluntary initiatives taken by industry; CALLS upon the Commission to propose
robust measures to reduce discharge of macro- and micro-sized plastic debris in
the marine environment as part of the announced plastic strategy by 2017 at the
latest, including a proposal for a ban on micro-plastic particles in cosmetics,
and proposals to address other products generating marine litter as
appropriate, while taking into account developments within regional sea
conventions like OSPAR, HELCOM and Barcelona;
15.
EMPHASISES the contribution of efficient water use to a Circular Economy; in
this regard STRESSES the importance of integrated water management as well as,
enhanced and cost-effective recycling and reuse of water taking into account
regional conditions, and recycling of resources in waste water, in line with
the EU environmental acquis; CALLS upon the Commission to ensure that the
legislative framework supports, where appropriate, the reuse of treated
wastewater while respecting the existing high level of protection to human
health and the environment[21];
16.
SUPPORTS efforts of all actors to reduce food waste, which will contribute to
achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims at halving per capita
global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses
along production and supply chains including post-harvest losses by 2030;
SUPPORT
FOR CIRCULAR INNOVATION AND BUSINESS
17.
EMPHASISES that research and innovation are essential to develop the necessary
sustainable and resource efficient industrial, economic and societal processes
to stimulate the transition to the Circular Economy; CALLS upon the Commission
to support the EU industry in research and innovation, in improving cross-cycle
and cross-sectoral cooperation, and in taking up new technologies and business
models, digital solutions, more resource-efficient services,
products and production processes and better alternatives for hazardous
chemicals and materials in terms of human health and environmental protection;
18.
ACKNOWLEDGES the benefits of natural capital, the importance of ecosystems and
their services and the need for sustainable use of natural resources; RECALLS
the importance of developing a system of valuation of natural capital through
appropriate indicators for monitoring economic progress and further developing
ecosystem accounts while making the best use of existing sustainability
instruments and initiatives; INVITES the Commission and the Member States to
promote nature- and bio-based solutions, the use of sustainably sourced
renewable materials, including the bio-refining of biomass to high value
purposes without compromising food security and environmental integrity,
resource efficiency, the resilience of ecosystems and their services and the
sustainable use of renewables; TAKES NOTE of the Commission's intention to
promote efficient use of bio-based resources through a series of measures
including guidance and dissemination of best practices on the cascading use of
biomass and support for innovation in the bioeconomy; REQUESTS the Commission
to examine the contribution of its Bio-economy Strategy 2012 to the Circular
Economy and update it accordingly;
19.
REITERATES that a circular economy not only requires investment in sustainable
and innovative solutions, but also green public expenditure in order to
mobilise public and private sector initiatives; in this regard WELCOMES the
available support and increased focus for circular economy in EU funds and
financial programmes; CALLS upon the Commission to actively support the Member
States, the private sector and other stakeholders to use these funds, to
facilitate the transition to a Circular Economy by improving resource and
energy efficiency and minimising waste, including through application of the
waste hierarchy; ENCOURAGES the Commission and Member-States to apply the
Polluter Pays Principle to cover the costs of the necessary waste management
infrastructure in a sustainable manner;
20.
UNDERLINES that government has a key role to play in creating incentives and
ensuring effective application of Green Public Procurement (GPP) towards the
Circular Economy; CALLS upon the Commission and Member States to stimulate and
facilitate circular business models that enable an increased share of green
public procurement in the public expenditure at all levels possible, to create
markets for circular products and services; REQUESTS the Commission to develop
guidance and incentives for the application of GPP for Circular Economy
including on application of life cycle costing; CALLS upon the Commission and
Member States to build on existing targets[22] for GPP, to
accelerate the transition to the Circular Economy, to improve monitoring, and
to actively facilitate exchange of knowledge and best practices between Member
States, and to provide support for GPP training schemes;
21.
RECOGNIZES that SMEs, while often drivers of innovation and at the forefront of
the transition to a Circular Economy, face specific challenges; SUPPORTS
measures to enhance the possibilities of SMEs to profit from opportunities
which the transition to a Circular Economy presents, as well as support SMEs to
adapt and contribute to the transition to a Circular Economy; WELCOMES the
contribution of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and the Green Action Plan for
SMEs to the transition towards a Circular Economy;
22.
STRESSES the importance of education and training in all relevant fields to
facilitate the transition to the Circular Economy and ensure that it
contributes to reducing unemployment while creating high quality jobs;
MONITORING,
FOLLOW-UP AND COOPERATION
23.
STRESSES the need for a governance structure at EU level and a monitoring
framework to strenghten and assess the progress towards circular economy, while
minimising the administrative burden; in this respect, NOTES information is
already reported to Eurostat; CALLS upon the Commission, in cooperation with
the Member States, to continue to develop a dashboard of reliable indicators in
view of formulating ambitious and realistic targets[23] with a
long-term horizon, and integrating these with a follow-up of the EU 2020
Strategy, and the EU implementation of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable
Development;
24.
EMPHASIZES that it is important to keep progress made with the Action Plan
under regular review at political level; REQUESTS the Commission to provide the
Council with an annual written update on the progress made on the
implementation of the action plan; and REQUESTS the Commission to regularly,
starting by 2018, evaluate the effect of the implemented actions in line with
the better regulation principles, inter alia by consulting stakeholders in
order to include their practical experiences, with a view to taking stock of
results of the action plan, ascertaining the most effective set of policies and
when necessary updating the plan and its proposed instruments;
25.
NOTES that stakeholders have inter alia called for a long-term focus and
strong guidance and ownership by the EU and the Member States[24],
CALLS for consistency in national approaches and standards, exchange of best
practices and lessons learned by Member States and stakeholders, and more
financial incentives and market-based instruments to stimulate reuse and the
market for secondary raw materials;
26.
UNDERLINES the importance of market based instruments where approriate, to
create economic incentives that stimulate the sustainable use of resources;
CALLS upon the Member States to exchange experiences and best practices in the
development and use of market-based instruments supporting the transition to
the Circular Economy and take into account the impact of certain market-based
instruments on neighbouring Member-States; WELCOMES guidance from the
Commission on how Member States could develop such instruments in support of
the Circular Economy; RECOGNISES the detrimental impact of environmentally
harmful subsidies; CALLS upon the Commission to develop in cooperation with the
Member States EU guidance for environmentally harmful subsidies to facilitate
efforts in identifying and phasing out such subsidies, while taking into
account social and economic aspects;
27.
CALLS upon the Commission to set up a platform to facilitate more structural
exchange of knowledge, technologies, good practices and policy experiences
(including on economic instruments) between Member States, and between
stakeholders at European level, making use, where possible, of existing
platforms and experiences."
[1]
OJ L 354 of 28 December 2013, p. 171
[2] (2014)2208 (INI)
[3] 6487/12 - COM(2012) 60 final
[4] 18874/11 - COM(2011) 899 final
[5] 11616/1/14 REV 1 - COM(2014) 440 final
[6] 11572/14 - COM(2014) 446 final
[7] 11609/14 - COM(2014) 445 final
[8] 16425/12 - COM(2012) 673 final
[9] 8100/16 - COM(2016) 180 final
[9] 8097/16 - COM(2016) 179 final
[9] 8099/16 - COM(2016) 178 final
[9] 8104/16 - COM(2016) 178 final
[10] 16053/08 - COM(2008) 699 final
[11] 17495/10
[12] 14731/14
[13] 18346/11
[14] 6678/12
[15] 15389/15
[16] 13617/14
[17] 14972/15
[18] 'Better regulations for innovation-driven investment at EU level' (SWD(2015) 298; and http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2016_2017/main/h2020-wp1617-focus_en.pdf
[19] OJ L123/1 (12.5.2016)
[20] Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, as last amended by Regulation (EU) No 660/2014
[21] Inter alia, on the basis of opinions of the European Food Safety Authority
[22] In line with 7th EAP, and based on the experiences in the Energy Efficiency Directive
[23] Building on the Council conclusions on Greening the European Semester and the Europe 2020 Strategy (14731/14);
[24] http://english.eu2016.nl/events/2016/01/25/stakeholder-meeting-on-the-circular-economy
[2] (2014)2208 (INI)
[3] 6487/12 - COM(2012) 60 final
[4] 18874/11 - COM(2011) 899 final
[5] 11616/1/14 REV 1 - COM(2014) 440 final
[6] 11572/14 - COM(2014) 446 final
[7] 11609/14 - COM(2014) 445 final
[8] 16425/12 - COM(2012) 673 final
[9] 8100/16 - COM(2016) 180 final
[9] 8097/16 - COM(2016) 179 final
[9] 8099/16 - COM(2016) 178 final
[9] 8104/16 - COM(2016) 178 final
[10] 16053/08 - COM(2008) 699 final
[11] 17495/10
[12] 14731/14
[13] 18346/11
[14] 6678/12
[15] 15389/15
[16] 13617/14
[17] 14972/15
[18] 'Better regulations for innovation-driven investment at EU level' (SWD(2015) 298; and http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2016_2017/main/h2020-wp1617-focus_en.pdf
[19] OJ L123/1 (12.5.2016)
[20] Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, as last amended by Regulation (EU) No 660/2014
[21] Inter alia, on the basis of opinions of the European Food Safety Authority
[22] In line with 7th EAP, and based on the experiences in the Energy Efficiency Directive
[23] Building on the Council conclusions on Greening the European Semester and the Europe 2020 Strategy (14731/14);
[24] http://english.eu2016.nl/events/2016/01/25/stakeholder-meeting-on-the-circular-economy
Council statement on the ratification of the Paris
Agreement
Council
of the EU
·
20/06/2016
·
17:40
·
Press release
·
360/16
·
Environment
·
Energy
20/06/2016 | 17:40
Press contacts
Ester Arauzo-Azofra
Press officer
+32 22815361
+32 473630723
Press officer
+32 22815361
+32 473630723
The Council adopted a statement on the ratification of
the Paris Agreement, the global legally-binding agreement on climate change
adopted in December 2015
"The
Council recalls that in December 2015 a historic outcome was reached in Paris
when the world adopted the first-ever truly global and legally-binding climate
agreement including by (a) holding the increase in the global average
temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts
to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, (b)
increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and
foster climate resilience and (c) making finance flows consistent with a
pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development.
The
Council recalls that the Paris Agreement emphasizes the intrinsic relationship
that climate change action, responses, and impact have with equitable access to
sustainable development and the eradication of poverty, recognizes the
fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and notes
the importance of the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of
biodiversity including forests.
The
Council recalls the global political commitment to fighting climate change made
by 175 Parties, including the European Union and its Member States, who signed
the Paris Agreement at the signing ceremony in New York on 22 April 2016, and
recognises that more Parties have signed thereafter.
The
Council recalls the March 2016 European Council Conclusions underlining the
need for the European Union and its Member States to be able to ratify the
Paris Agreement as soon as possible and on time so as to be Parties as of its
entry into force.
The
Council notes the growing international political momentum in favour of early
entry into force of the Paris Agreement and also calls for ratification of the
Agreement by the European Union and its Member States as soon as possible. In
this context the Council calls on Member States and the European Union to start
taking the necessary steps to finalise their respective ratification
procedures, in accordance with their constitutional and/or other provisions, as
soon as possible, and to endeavour to take the necessary steps with a view
to deposit collectively their ratification instruments with the UN
Secretary General.
The
Council welcomes that a number of Member States have already initiated and some
already completed their national ratification procedures.
The
Council also welcomes the submission by the European Commission of a proposal
for a Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the
Paris Agreement. Implementation of the Paris Agreement has been high on the
agenda of the Council at the technical and political level.
The
Council confirms its commitment to implement, as a priority, the 2030
regulatory framework set out in the European Council conclusions of October
2014, including the binding EU 2030 climate target to reduce EU greenhouse gas
emissions domestically by at least 40% compared to 1990 emissions. On 15 July
2015 the European Commission published a proposal to reform the EU emissions
trading system and the European Commission will come with other proposals in
the non-ETS sectors as of July 2016, in line with the EU and its Member States
intended nationally determined contribution.
The
Council affirms its intention to regularly take stock of progress made in
the domestic ratification procedures in all Member States."
Stanley Johnson, and MPs Caroline Lucas (Green )
& Harriet Harman (Labour) on a
wildlife reserve making the environmental
case for staying in the EU GztqDVnCid
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