MEPs debate on the Fit for 55 package. The new law on new energy saving targets requires an 11.7% reduction in primary and final energy consumption by 2030 (relative to 2020 projections). Every year until 2030, 1.5% of energy savings must be made, starting at 1.3% until 2025 and increasing to 1.9% by the end of 2030. Opening statements by Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), Tiemo WÖLKEN - ENVI Committee, Rasmus ANDRESEN - ITRE Committee, Benoît LUTGEN - AGRI Committee. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

energy efficiency (T)

joint debate

WÖLKEN, Tiemo (S&D, DE)

WARBORN, Jörgen (EPP, SE)

KANEV, Radan (EPP, BG)

VITANOV, Petar (S&D, BG)

FUGLSANG, Niels (S&D, DK)

LUTGEN, Benoît (EPP, BE)

ANDRESEN, Rasmus (Greens/EFA, DE)

Fit for 55 (T)

Joint debate - Fit for 55: Opening statements by the Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal; Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure; Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, Thank you, Chair. Dear colleagues. Oh, I would start my presentation of the idea report with rather political than technical consideration, and I would first say that we all see in the last weeks we face quite a dangerous polarisation in our votes here in the Hemicycle in this House.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, A polarisation which endangers the political legitimacy of our decisions or increased diminishes this political legitimacy before trialogues and before the general public. So far in the work on ID the in the ENVI committee, we did not fall in this trap and we found a balanced approach.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, Therefore, I would very much like to thank all my colleagues, shadow rapporteurs, Mr. Chahim. Mr. Wiezik. Mr. Paulus, Ms.Zalewska, Mr. Lancini, Ms. Matias. We maintained a rather strong ambition to protect health and the environment for European citizens, but at the same time, we avoided further red tape and bureaucracy for our industry.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, We maintained the trend to industrial transformation in transition agreed with the Green Deal, the climate cloud, the Fit for 55 package. But at the same time we encourage innovation throughout Europe as the sole solution to the dangers that we faced for our industry.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, I must say, as we all know, there is one major point in the report where we could not find an agreement. We found no compromise and it is the agricultural part of the report. It is the inclusion of higher thresholds of animal rearing in the scope of the report, and most particularly the inclusion of cattle rearing in the scope of the report.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, There was no compromise here, in my point of view, mostly because of miscommunication before the report was presented by the Commission to both Council and Parliament. Therefore, it is a rather natural political conflict that we face. And I must say, although we had no compromise on any level, we moved a lot towards each other.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, The alternatives that we will face tomorrow in the plenary are not showing polarisation within our House. They are showing different approaches, different views, but also a very good faith and good spirit between partners who disagree on certain topics. Therefore, the vote, whatever the outcome, we will show democratic differences within our society.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, By the way, I cannot make a forecast on the vote and I am sure no one in this House can make it. We don't know the outcome, but what we know is that it will show the democratic representation of our members for their constituents back home. This is the reasons and here is where I went with my first 4 minutes, the reasons for my call for moderation, whatever the outcome of this controversial vote.

SOUNDBITE (English), Radan KANEV (EPP, BG), Rapporteur on Industrial Emissions Directive and on Industrial Emissions Portal, Because we achieved a lot, a lot for both the benefit of our citizens and our industry. And we moved as close as we could on the controversial issues. Therefore, I call that at the end of the day, no matter the outcome of this controversial part of the vote, we still support Industrial Emissions Directive and Industrial Emissions portal for the good of our citizens' health, of our environment, our competitive, innovative industry. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, Thank you very much indeed, President. Commissioner. Mobility and transport are vital for European citizens and they are absolutely key to the European economy. But apart from the benefits, transport also has a large number of negative consequences for the environment.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, It's responsible for about a third of Europe's harmful greenhouse emissions. Can we move around? Can we travel without thinking about the damage each journey leaves? Can we stop taking into account the pollution caused by moving from one place to another, or transporting goods from a country of origin to corner shops?

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, Can we stop counting kilometres and calculating emissions for every litre of fuel consumed? European policymakers are pushing to change the transport sector to make it less dependent on fossil fuels. But I should point out that I only recently started to work on this dossier. Previous Rapporteur did the lion's share of the work before I arrived, and I would like to thank the original Rapporteur for that, for everything he achieved in the course of negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, Now, I think there's something key which is missing in the Commission's proposal and that is rail transport. We've long been calling that the transport of the future, the many technologies involved which we can have for direct electrification, but that's not always possible for various reasons.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, There is, however, technology available which would allow trains to be driven with electricity or by using batteries, or they could become hydrogen powered. So, we're aiming to bring in a few changes. We want also to establish higher thresholds, but I think we need to provide, as a result, 30% more electricity.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, We've changed the targets from one kilowatt to 1.3 kilowatts, 0.66 kilowatts to 0.8 kilowatts for plug in hybrids. So, there has been a lot changed already. For example, in charging stations where the price is established per kilowatt hour. And in this way, of course, we will be becoming more environmentally friendly.

SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian), Petar VITANOV (S&D, BG), Rapporteur on Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, There are many different paying means which can be used, which are much faster. There are various options open to us using hydrogen technology, battery powered vehicles and so on and so forth. The achievement, I think our achievements is very well balanced and it will help move towards a cleaner and more sustainable future for Europe. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Madam Vice President, Commissioner, colleagues, I am proud to stand here today to celebrate the finish line. After almost two years of negotiating the legislation on maritime climate transition. The EU is about to make a trailblazing decision.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Never before has there been such an extensive and effective framework for addressing maritime transport emissions. And never before has there been a global power such as the EU lent substance to one's word that maritime transport should do its part to address climate change.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), The EU Commission has done an admirable job of preparing this file and then, after the process continued in the Parliament in October 2021. As Rapporteur, I initially initiated a dialogue with many different groups, with ports, with ship owners, unions, environment organisations, fuel supplies from all over Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), And then we had intensive negotiations in the Parliament. Then we had a trialogue with the Council of Ministers. And in the wee hours of the morning, the 23rd of March, we found an agreement. The text as it currently stands, is unparalleled. It's the world's most ambitious climate law for the maritime sector.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Step by step, the ship owners are going to have to change to cleaner fuel and use Shoreside electricity at berth in order to reduce damaging air pollution in the busy ports. And as I said, the agreement is ambitious, but it's also realistic.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), As responsible politicians, we have to take into account many different perspectives. Of course, the climate, but also social aspects and the competitiveness of the companies. 75% of our export goes via vessels. European industry is entirely dependent on a well-functioning, accessible and cost efficient transport.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Everyone knows that climate change is going to cost money, but the pace with which we use and the way we carry out change impacts the final bill. That's why we have drawn up an emissions reduction plan that starts off very modestly and then it really starts to speed up after 2035.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), This gives the sector clear directions at the same time, it provides the sector with enough time and practical measures to carry out the necessary investments, investments such as more effective propellers, better motors or new installations to produce fuel, new bunkering infrastructure, and time to build up new supply chains and continue to research.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), But facing this and gradually, we can also take into account the social and economic dimension. We give the sector breathing room and we avoid phasing in problems and short term price spikes. Of course, it's very important in these times of inflation that we protect families, we protect companies from unreasonable price increases.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), We've also taken into account the geographic differences. So that legislation doesn't mean that one region has to bear greater burden. Therefore, we have special provisions for ice classed vessels, for small islands and for the outermost regions.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), So for me, the guiding principle throughout the negotiations has been practicality and feasibility in order to get the best possible exchange for every euro invested, so that the EU's plan is so successful that the rest of the world will follow suit.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), And we've already seen the first steps in that direction. When the IMO met last week, it adopted an ambitious emissions reduction plan and now it's important to keep up the pressure, so we get concrete and binding global fuel rules, so these words become reality.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), The EU has demonstrated that this is possible with the roof, the fuel regulation we're going to vote on tomorrow. Europe is taking action to transform maritime transport. And because the law is going to be implemented regardless of the flag flown by the vessel, when arriving in a European port, we have a negotiating tool that we can use to promote further progress in the IMO.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), No shipping country wishing to call in a port in Europe will be able to ignore the facts. The changes have to be made because of the climate. So, now we're spelling it out in block letters which direction we should be heading.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), We're giving them long-term rules and predictability, so they can invest. And we are drafting the rules so that the ports and the ship owners can focus on the resources that give the most bang for the buck.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jörgen WARBORN (EPP, SE), Rapporteur on Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative), Madam Chair, I just want to say that I think we've found a very good balance in this negotiation. And let me thank everyone who's helped with this work on the agreement, plus our colleagues in the Council and the Commission for the spirit of cooperation. And I suggest all colleagues support this tomorrow.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), Dear colleagues, over the last couple of years, remarkable changes in Europe's energy system has taken place. Our dependency on Russian natural gas has fallen significantly. In just four months from August to November 2020, natural gas consumption fell by 20% compared to the same period the year, before.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), Three Member States even managed to reduce natural gas consumption by more than 40%. This was something that experts said could not be done. We proved them wrong. We did it. And friends, now we need to do it again because the energy crisis is not over. The climate crisis is certainly not over.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), And we are looking at hard times ahead, both when we look at the climate, but also if we just look couple of years ahead when it comes to our energy system. The prices might rise again, hitting the most vulnerable people in our society.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), That is why we need to make some structural changes. We need to make sure that our energy system is efficient. And that is what we set out to do in this directive. I think we have proven here in Europe that we have been able to react swiftly when it comes to our energy system, and we need to prove that one more time.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), This energy efficiency directive that we have agreed on, the abroad majority in the European Parliament, the main groups of the European Parliament, sets out for some significant changes in our energy system.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), First of all, we agree that we need to reduce energy consumption by 11.7% in 2003. That is a big challenge, but it can be done if we make sure to insulate our homes. Make sure to roll out more district heating and make sure that we use the excess heat which is created from factories and data centres that use so much electricity, but also create a lot of heat which is now often being wasted.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), We need to use that heat in our district heating systems to make sure that it will be benefiting consumers and not wasted. In this directive, we set a yearly energy savings obligation starting at 0.8%, going towards 1.9% each year. That means the Member States will have to do an effort to save 1.9% of their energy consumption each year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), It's a huge effort that this requires, but we can make it happen and we need to make it happen. We set out in this directive to have a 3% renovation rate of public buildings. So, 3% of the public buildings need to be renovated to become nearly zero emission buildings every year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), We make sure that we prioritise the people who suffer from energy poverty and we strengthen the energy efficiency first principle, which means that when you do make an energy project, you have to make the analysis to see can this actually be solved by increasing energy efficiency instead of increasing energy consumption and building more energy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), We also see that municipalities with more than 45,000 people living in them, they have to make heating and cooling plans to analyse where can we have district heating, where we need heat pumps and how can we make that as efficient as possible.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), We set a whole lot of targets and a whole lot of effort is being required by this directive. This will not come easily. It will not be achieved with business as usual, but we know that we can make it happen and we need to make it happen for the climate and for our energy security, this directive will be good for the climate and bad for Mr. Putin.

SOUNDBITE (English), Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), Rapporteur on Energy efficiency (recast), I would like to thank the groups in the European Parliament, in particular, Mrs. Weiss. Mr. Danti, Mrs. Paulus, who negotiated and secured a broad maturity. Let's make it happen. Let us vote for the Energy Efficiency Directive, and let's do this. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), ENVI Committee, Thank you very much indeed, my President, Commissioner. Delighted that you could join us today. I am speaking now to part of these three reports we're discussing today. In other words, the one on the sustainable maritime fuels. We have very intense negotiations. It was a first step for the EU towards the decarbonisation of shipping.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), ENVI Committee, We as a Parliament, more ambitious than either the Council or the Commission, and that is good because globally we want now to have a mandate for these fuels and it's an important step towards a necessary technological transition.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), ENVI Committee, Obviously, onshore provision is important as well, particularly if ports are in towns and we can improve the air. Now for the bad news, I think we are trailing behind events, particularly in terms of onshore provision and also the ambitions to be to have climate neutral shipping by 2050.

SOUNDBITE (German), Tiemo WÖLKEN (S&D, DE), ENVI Committee, If we can't push this through because of the conservative majority here, the International Maritime Organisation has just decided that it wants to be climate neutral by 2050. So, we've made the first step, but we still have a very long way to go, ladies and gentlemen.Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Rasmus ANDRESEN (Greens/EFA, DE), ITRE Committee, Thank you very much. Finally, we have climate goals for maritime sector because this growing sector has to do significantly more in order to meet its climate goals and the fuel EU Maritime Law is a first step.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Rasmus ANDRESEN (Greens/EFA, DE), ITRE Committee, For the first time, we have binding goals in order to make reductions in the emissions for the maritime sector. It's not just good for the climate, but it's also good for the industries. So, they can make planning and they can invest. I think this is a huge chance for maritime sector. Ships are no longer going to be built where they're at least expensive, but rather where you can get the best fuel.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Rasmus ANDRESEN (Greens/EFA, DE), ITRE Committee, And whether it's in Sweden or France or Germany, and these are going to be good, well-paying jobs being created. However, this law can only be a start. Unfortunately, there are too many lobby groups who succeeded in finding exemptions for smaller ships and travelling to small islands. So, it's not enough to have our goals for 2050. We need 100% and we have to continue to fight for that. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (French), Benoît LUTGEN (EPP, BE), AGRI Committee, Commissioner, colleagues. Enough is enough. No, agriculture in Europe is not on an industrial footing, it's local family farming developing on a constantly changing environmental and animal welfare criteria.

SOUNDBITE (French), Benoît LUTGEN (EPP, BE), AGRI Committee, This industrial emissions sector is not the place for agriculture. Agriculture is not appropriate when you're talking about in incinerators or cement plants. Agriculture deserves our full backing and this text actually runs counter to animal welfare and the protection of the environment.

SOUNDBITE (French), Benoît LUTGEN (EPP, BE), AGRI Committee, Because farming will be concentrated in future in ever larger industrial holdings, because the the costs that farmers are going to be asked to bat from for very little benefit will be unbearable for them and they're going to have to sell up their farms.

SOUNDBITE (French), Benoît LUTGEN (EPP, BE), AGRI Committee, So, we need to support all the amendments defended by the Agriculture Committee to prevent the cattle sector in particular being covered by this directive in the future. Thank you.