Reflecting a shared deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, members of the
ENVE commission
of the European Committee of the Regions on 10-11 March put forward a set of proposals to accelerate the deployment of renewable energies and energy-saving measures as to secure Europe’s energy sovereignty. A socially fair implementation of the Green Deal has become even more pressuring as the Ukraine crisis has raised gas and fossil-fuel prices to record levels, increasing the exposure of vulnerable citizens and creating new mobility poverty across the EU.
Opening the meeting, the Deputy Mayor of Budapest and chairwoman of the
CoR’s
ENVE commission
and
Green Deal Going Local working group,
Kata Tüttő
(HU/PES), said:
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one the most severe threats to
European peace, democracy and security since World War II. We, cities,
have been on the frontline for a while now: migration, climate change,
a pandemic, war, the energy and economic crises. As local leaders, we
are more crisis managers than we are mayors. We need to be pragmatic,
but also visionary and never forget where we want to lead our
communities. This is a call to not undermine the European Green Deal’s
goals. With the Ukraine war, the insecurity of energy supplies and
soaring energy bills, we cannot allow the EU’s climate legislation
agenda to face a setback. Our actions towards a successful COP15 and
COP27 must remain as ambitious as before.”
“The Ukrainian crisis shows the high price we pay for our energy
dependence”, said
Andries Gryffroy
(BE/EA), member of the Flemish Parliament. The rapporteur of the draft
opinion
‘Amending the Renewable Energy Directive to meet the new 2030
climate targets’, stressed the need to
“rapidly and massively expand renewable energies in conjunction with
increased energy efficiency as the two instrumental elements to achieve
the EU’s climate and energy objectives”
while recalling that
“more cross-border sustainable-energy projects and infrastructure need
to be developed if we are to reach a decarbonised and fully integrated
energy system in the EU. It is fundamental to remove existing barriers
and boost energy cooperation across borders.”
The opinion is to be adopted during the plenary session on 27-28 April
2022.
“We’re voting on this draft opinion in very turbulent times. The context
of the EU energy policy and our climate-related ambition is changing
swiftly. For some, the need to speedily build our independence from
Russian energy sources is an excuse to weaken our climate goals. I
believe we should be even more ambitious and reach them sooner”, said
Rafał Trzaskowski
(PL/EPP), Mayor of Warsaw. “
I am therefore reaffirming my support for upgrading the
energy-efficiency targets. Local and regional authorities should
support such new targets and be ready to implement them. However, they
should receive substantial technical support and, first and foremost,
financial support”,
added Mayor
Trzaskowski
, who is the rapporteur of the draft opinion
‘Amending the Energy Efficiency Directive to meet the new 2030
climate targets’
. His opinion is to be adopted during the plenary session
on 27-28 April 2022.
The need to rapidly accelerate the decarbonisation of the EU’s energy
sector might exacerbate existing social vulnerabilities, in particular the
problems faced by the estimated 10% of the EU’s population who live under
the threat of energy poverty. To reduce those dangers, local and regional
leaders adopted a draft opinion entitled ‘
Towards a socially fair implementation of the Green Deal. Rapporteur
Csaba Borboly
(RO/EPP), President of the Harghita County Council, said:
“We are witnessing an extreme increase in energy prices that is
significantly impacting vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and
automotive users. Citizens have to use a higher part of their incomes
on energy and transport without access to alternative and affordable
energy and mobility solutions. With this opinion, we call on the
European Commission to protect citizens, SMEs and farmers from
energy-price volatility and to guarantee a fair transition by aligning
the European Social Fund with structural funds and involving local and
regional authorities on the basis of the principle of multilevel
governance”.
The opinion is to be adopted during the plenary session on 27-28 April
2022.
Members also adopted the draft opinion
‘Revision of LULUCF and Effort Sharing regulations’. Rapporteur
Åsa Ågren Wikström
(SE/EPP), Member of Västerbotten County Council, said: “
We need to unlock the full potential of the forestry sector in
climate-change mitigation and in the development of the bioeconomy at
the local and regional level. Carbon sequestration, sustainable
products and bioenergy can greatly contribute to alleviating the impact
of global warming while creating new business opportunities and jobs.
Climate change is a trans-boundary problem, which cannot be solved by
national or local action alone. All sectors of the economy need to
contribute to reducing the EU’s carbon footprint, ensuring that this
necessary transition is fact-based, engages local and regional
authorities and is anchored on fairness and solidarity.”
Members exchanged views on three additional key files of the
‘Fit for 55 package’, including the Revision of Energy Performance of Buildings Directive by
rapporteur
André Viola
(FR/PES), Member of a Local Executive of the Aude Department. In a debate with representatives of the
French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, members exchanged
on two French referrals. First, the opinion entitled ‘Ecological transition -
Which balance between social acceptability and environmental imperatives to
build resilient communities from the point of view of cities and regions?’
by rapporteur
Hanna Zdanowska
(PL/EPP), mayor of Łódź. And, secondly, on the opinion entitled ‘Green budget put
into practice at local and regional levels’ by rapporteur
Vincent Chauvet
(FR/RE), Mayor of Autun.
The next ENVE commission meeting will take place on 31 May 2022.
Background
The documents of the meeting are downloadable
here.
Contact
David Crous //
david.crous@cor.europa.eu
// +32 (0) 470 88 10 37