Green 10

Key issues to increase the chances of the next MFF delivering on Europe 2020 priorities

The Green 10 has written an open letter to the President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz ahead of the 22-23rd November European Summit on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014 – 2020. 

In the letter the Green10 sets out some key issues that could substantially increase the chances of the next MFF delivering on Europe 2020 priorities on:

1. Climate action: Ensure that 20% of the next MFF supports climate acti
2. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): Ensure the delivery of public benefits
3. Cohesion policy: Put sustainability at the heart of regional development investments 
4. Ensure that LIFE (Environment and Climate fund) receives 1% of the next MFF
5. External dimension: Maintain the Commission’s proposed allocation

Read the letter here

Open letter to Polish Prime Minister Tusk

The Green 10 has written an open letter to Polish Prime Minister Tusk. The letter addresses recent statements made by the Polish Minister of Treasury, Mr Mikołaj Budzanowski regarding a civil society organisation. 

Dear Prime Minister Tusk,

We are writing to you to express our concern about the statement made by your Minister of Treasury, Mr Mikołaj Budzanowski on 4th October to the Polish Press Agency and repeated later in an interview with the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita on the 8th October. 

In reaction to the appeal made by a non-governmental organisation ClientEarth against the expansion by the Polish Energy Group (PGE) of a coal-fired power plant in Opole, Minister Budzanowski publicly challenged the activities of ClientEarth claiming that "[it] acts against the interest of the State (...)." The Minister also added that "This kind of organisation should accept that there are limits to its activities. In my opinion they have passed their limit. If I were ClientEarth (…) I would reconsider doing any further work against PGE.”

These statements represent an unprecedented attack on a civil society organization from a high-level government representative.

By equating the interests of private companies with those of the Polish State, Minister Budzanowski’s comments display a disturbing disrespect for the role of civil society in Poland.

 The Constitution states that the Republic of Poland shall protect the right to create and operate citizens' movements, voluntary associations and foundations, and that public authorities shall support citizens’ efforts in protecting and improving the quality of the environment.  In addition, the Aarhus Convention, ratified by Poland, introduces the right of NGOs to challenge decisions affecting the environment before administrative bodies and courts.

We therefore believe that you as Prime Minister, as a regular defender of the principles and the importance of democracy, should also defend a transparent dialogue with representatives of non-governmental organizations. We urge you to respond publicly and unambiguously to the Minister's statement.

Download the letter here

Concern about renewal of Mandate of High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on the Reduction of Administrative Burden

The Green 10 has written a letter to European Commission President Barroso to express concern about his decision to renew for a second time the mandate of the High Level Group on the Reduction of Administrative Burden. 

The Green 10 believes that in its present composition, the High Level Group is not equipped to deal with the areas of environment, health, safety and social policy. Regarding the suggested focus on national administration and SMEs, we believe this will only lead to useful practical advice if the Group changed its composition to become a research group with an adequate budget and objective criteria to work with.

Read the Green 10 Letter to President Barroso on High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on the Reduction of Administrative Burden

Read the response by President Barroso

For media enquiries:  +32 (0)2 234 36 43, info@env-health.org

EU deliberations on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)

The Green 10 has written a letter to EU Ministers of Finance, Minsters of European Affairs and Ministers of Agriculture concerning EU deliberations on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

Dear Minister,

With negotiations on the EU’s next MFF high on the political agenda, and in advance of next week’s discussion at the General Affairs Council, we are writing to you on behalf of the Green 10, ten of the largest European environmental organizations, with a membership of over 20 million citizens, to urge you to ensure that no decision on the overall allocations to the CAP, under the MFF, is taken before a decision has been taken on what the CAP budget will deliver and to safeguard only those parts of the CAP budget that clearly demonstrate benefits to society and European taxpayers.

As environmental organizations we have long argued that the CAP has the potential to become an instrument that will reward farmers for the delivery of public goods, and for this reason we have supported a significant part of the EU budget to be spent on the CAP. Despite previous reforms resulting in, for example, the creation of ‘the second pillar’, a large amount of funding, especially in ‘the first pillar’, is still going to Europe’s environmentally most damaging farming practices. These farming practices not only harm our environments and the climate, they also profoundly compromise reaching Europe’s goals for better public health, equity and tackling poverty and social exclusion. For the CAP to fulfill its potential, and to regain its legitimacy, it would need profound change.

Over the last year we have been closely following the proposals being discussed in the Agriculture Council and in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee and we are observing that at the very best lip service is paid to such a profound change. Worse, both within the European Parliament and within the Council, agriculture negotiators are planning to wait for a decision to be taken on the MFF before providing any clarity on the fundamental question of how this new CAP budget will actually be used. Some MEPs have even gone on record arguing that any cut in the CAP budget would translate into cuts in the one part of the CAP budget that actually brings benefits to society. It is becoming ever clearer that the CAP is more likely to be green-washed, than “greened”.

We believe this is an unacceptable way of taking decisions on the EU’s MFF, especially at a time of economic crisis and severe budget constraints across Europe. We also believe that this fatally undermines the possibly last chance for the CAP to regain its legitimacy and to develop into a policy that will be both politically and environmentally sustainable, by providing European citizens with public goods such as clean water and air, and thriving wildlife.

We therefore call on you to help ensure the following key elements of sound decision making. First of all, that agricultural negotiators will actually provide clarity on the question of what the money will be spent on, and secondly, that only those parts of the CAP budget that are providing substantial and demonstrable benefits to society and European taxpayers are safeguarded within the final budget decisions.

Green 10 letter on EU deliberations on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)

For media enquiries: +32 (0)2 234 36 43, info@env-health.org

Green groups: no medals in sight for Barroso II

Mid-term assessment of the Commission shows poor environmental track record 

Halfway through its term in office, the European Commission is falling behind in the race to create sustainable long-term prosperity in Europe, warn Europe’s leading green groups in a critical assessment of the Commission’s environmental performance since 2010.

The report released today finds that the Commission has so far acted to protect the environment even less than the first Barroso Commission [1], according to environmental organisations. Unless it changes track, the Barroso II Commission could have one of the worst ever environmental records, said the Green 10 coalition [2].

The report, inspired by a topical Olympic theme, assesses progress in nine EU policy fields with impacts on the environment and reviews the track record of 13 European Commissioners and Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Each policy field is given a mark out of ten based on two main factors: environmental ambition and the extent of environmental issues that the Commission has addressed.

Faced with the breakdown of an economic system operating beyond planetary limits, the Commission has so far lacked the courage to propose legislation for a new, sustainable economy and has continued to favour short-term fixes over long-term solutions for people’s health and the planet, said green groups. Despite encouraging statements on the need for a smart, inclusive and sustainable economy, the Commission has so far failed to harness the potential for environmental policies to create jobs, improve health and reduce energy and resource use. Industry lobbyists have continued to pull the strings on many political files, leading to woefully inadequate policies, according to the Green 10.

While the Commission has in some measure recognised the environmental, health and economic impact of enduring problems linked to resource depletion, pollution and ecological destruction, swifter action is required. Its flagship reform proposals on EU fisheries and agriculture policies would not put an end to industrial overfishing, nor halt animal and plant extinctions, nor soil, water and food pollution from pesticides. The Commission therefore only scores a 3.5/10 on agriculture and a 4.5/10 on fisheries.

The Commission has acknowledged the economic and environmental rewards offered by clean energy and transport and an end to fossil fuel subsidies. But its mixed record on energy policy has not delivered clear measures to bring Europe closer to a modern energy system built around renewables and efficiency, and free from expensive energy imports and polluting greenhouse gases. Failure to live up to its own rhetoric has contributed to another low score of 4.5/10 for energy policy.

The Green 10 assessment includes a series of policy-specific recommendations for the remaining two-and-a-half years of the Commission’s term that will help Europe successfully tackle the economic, climate and resource challenges facing the continent.

To download the Green 10 report, go to: www.green10.org/docs/2012commissionreview.pdf

For pictures from today's launch event, go to: bit.ly/offtheirgamepics 

Notes to editors:

[1] To view the Green 10 assessment of the outgoing Barroso Commission in 2009, go to http://green10.org/docs/2009_07_green_10_commission_review_v2%20.pdf

[2] The Green 10 is an alliance of ten of the largest European environmental organisations and networks, with a membership of over 20 million people. www.green10.org

For media enquiries: +32 (0)2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org

Green Stimulus Measures needed to Exit Crisis, warn leading environmental groups

Ahead of this week’s EU Summit, the Green 10 network of leading environmental organizations encourages EU heads of government to break the link between the banking and the sovereign debt crises. Governments must regain the ability to implement policies that will transform the EU economy to make it more resource efficient and resilient to worsening environmental conditions. The green groups also welcome that the debate is moving beyond austerity and consider that an EU stimulus agenda, if devised correctly, would help solve the interlinked environmental and economic crises.

Measures which the Green 10 proposes for an EU stimulus package include:

• A green tax shift to address the problem of high unemployment and pollution.
• Conditionality for any financial support to banks to ensure investment in green sectors of the real economy.
• Priority support to energy savings and renewable technology, sustainable transport and renewable energy infrastructure for electric vehicles.
• No public subsidies for fossil fuels and unsustainable activities.
• Green public procurement as a fundamental principle to boost the economy.
• A continental tax or levy on financial transactions to provide additional financing for green stimulus measures and to fight climate change.
• Supporting sustainable activity in rural and maritime regions.

At a time of critical economic challenges, including rising unemployment and dwindling natural resources, the Green 10 considers that Europe needs to transform its economy to become more resilient, to operate more efficiently and within planetary limits. Degradation of nature will cost the EU €1 trillion every year by 2050 [1]. Any EU stimulus plan must halt this destruction of natural wealth and its harmful impacts on human health [2], while creating millions of new jobs in green sectors such as renewable energy and energy savings, nature conservation and restoration, as well as sustainable transport. It should also make the European economy less dependent on energy imports, saving hundreds of billions of euro annually [3].

However, environmental groups warn that EU governments have a poor track record in finding long term solutions that benefit the environment and the economy [4]. Badly devised financial and regulatory support in the energy sector could lead to a technological ‘lock-in’, keeping the EU saddled with high energy costs for decades, preventing the rapid expansion of renewable technologies and related jobs.

Notes to editors:

[1] Cost of policy inaction (COPI): The case of not meeting the 2010 biodiversity target. L. Braat & P. ten Brink (eds.) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/economics/teeb_en.htm (chapter 6, p. 140)

[2] Almost half a million European citizens die every year solely due to air pollution. See European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change (2009): http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/docs/ETCACC_TP_2009_1_European_PM2.5_HIA.pdf (p. 20)

[3] The International Energy Agency estimates oil imports into the EU to cost more than 500 billion dollars in 2012. http://www.iea.org/Speech%5C2012%5CBirol_2nd_set_oil_slides.pdf

[4] For example, the costly car scrappage schemes introduced in 2008/9 were environmentally and economically ineffective. See OECD Interim Report of the Green Growth Strategy, p.30.

For media enquiries: +32 (0)2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org

 

 

"Smart, inclusive & sustainable" - Can we save our natural resources?

The Green 10 has written to European Commission President Barroso and all Commissioners ahead of their meeting on 26th January asking them to ensure that the ambitions of the Europe 2020 Strategy are met, with particular focus on one of its main flagships - the Resource Efficiency Flaghip.

The Green 10 believes this flagship can help make the EU's current economic demands compatible with sustinability. It can help put an end to our overuse of natural resources and therefore help secure prosperity for future generations of European citizens.

In the letter the Green 10 set out some key requirements for the Commission to address.

Read the letter.

 

Stepping up EU’s climate ambition as a green way out of Europe’s economic blues

In a letter sent to the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on 15 June - on the eve of the European Council of 17 June – the Green 10 called on EU Heads of State and Government and on the President of the European Council to act in the interests of competitiveness, European citizens and the environment and, in particular, boost the EU's ambitions with regard to climate change. Download the letter here.

Green NGOs concerned about weakening of European Commission environment department

Today, ten European environmental organisations expressed their serious concerns about changes President Barroso announced for DG Environment at the start of the new Commission. In a letter, the organisations asked the Members of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament to raise these issues during the hearings with Commissioners-designate Hedegaard, Potočnik and Dalli, and later in the plenary debate before the final approval of the new Commission. Environment ministers and Commissioner Dimas, meeting today in Brussels in the Environment Council, were informed about this initiative yesterday. Download the letter.

Environment groups: European Commission off target

The environmental record of the outgoing European Commission is worryingly off target, the ‘Green 10’ coalition of leading environmental organisations said today in Brussels. Environmental groups published an assessment of the Barroso Commission, giving it an overall mark of 4.4/10.

In all, the ‘Green 10’ report examines successes and failures in 12 policy areas that impact the environment, and sets out a checklist for the next Commission. The Green 10 blamed the low score on, among other things, a failure to reform agriculture and fisheries policies, and, more broadly, to propose sustainable economic policies. But there were some positive notes, notably in climate, energy and transport policy.

At a time when Europe is gripped by economic and environmental crises, the environmental groups call on the next Commission to double its efforts over the next five years and put in place policies that benefit the environment and people’s health, and create sustainable economic growth and jobs.

Download the full press release

Download the full report: Off target - European Commission 2004-2009 Environmental Progress Report and Lessons for the Next Commission