A4-0207/98

Resolution on the Commission communication: Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy - White Paper for a Community Strategy and Action Plan (COM(97)0599 - C4-0047/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)0599 - C4-0047/98),

- having regard to the protocol of 10 December 1997 of the third conference of the parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Kyoto in which the European Union committed itself to an 8% reduction of CO2 emissions by comparison with 1990 levels by the middle of the next decade, and having regard to the protocol's Article 2(1)(iv) in which the signatories undertake to promote research and development and increased use of renewable energies,

- having regard to its resolutions of 4 July 1996 on a Community action plan for renewable energy sources ((OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p.27.)), 15 May 1997 on the Commission's Green Paper 'Energy for the Future: renewable sources of energy' ((OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 160.)) and 19 February 1998 on environmental policy and climate change following the Kyoto summit ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 6.)),

- having regard to the conclusions of the meetings of the Environment Ministers of 3 March, 16 October and 16 December 1997,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Regional Policy and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0207/98),

A. whereas meeting the rapidly increasing global demand for energy through fossil fuels is placing the climate at further risk and whereas at Kyoto the European Union agreed to a reduction of CO2 emissions throughout the Union by 8% in relation to 1990 emissions by the middle of the next decade,

B. whereas the contribution of renewable energies to the EU's energy consumption is, at 8% (on the substitution principle), well below the technical potential and whereas the various Member States make widely differing use of the possibilities available so that regional and secure sources of energy which could contribute to security of supply are not being utilized,

C. whereas the Commission's promotion of a 15% contribution by renewable energy sources to gross inland energy consumption (under the substitution principle) in the EU in 2010 requires efforts to be made and will only be possible through close cooperation between the Union and the Member States,

D. whereas, in order to achieve this objective, it is essential to reach agreement quickly at European and Member State level on a comprehensive strategy and on its rapid and monitored implementation on the basis of assessable goals,

E. whereas the generally recognized need to save fossil energy sources is not reflected in an appropriately high market price for these resources and whereas the proposal 'Restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products' (COM(97)0030) also does not internalize the external costs of burning fossil energy sources to any great extent; whereas the new technologies must maintain their position in an energy market which is characterized by technologies optimized over many decades and by plants which have already been depreciated in some cases; whereas it can therefore not be expected that, in the foreseeable future, technical progress alone will be sufficient to establish the competitiveness of renewable energy sources on the energy markets,

F. whereas it is therefore crucial firstly to ensure lasting internalization of external costs or, alternatively, to grant renewable energies a premium for their environmental and social value, secondly, to guarantee fair access for renewable energies to the electricity networks and thirdly, to use state aid to help the new technologies during the market introduction phase to break into the market; whereas the 'Campaign for take-off' proposed in the White Paper is very significant in this context,

G. whereas, as part of a strategy for renewable energy sources, harmonized European provisions are needed, in particular with regard to taxes, the payment for electricity fed in from renewable energy sources and technical standards, in order to prepare a reliable legal framework for the development and use of renewable energy sources and also to avoid distortions of competition in the internal market,

H. whereas the proposal under the White Paper for the tripling of biomass used for energy purposes so that it would make the largest contribution to achieving the overall objective, can be carried out only by means of special agricultural policy measures,

I. whereas the proposals for the reform of agricultural policy under Agenda 2000, including the far-reaching reversal of compulsory set-aside and the lack of adequate replacement measures to promote energy crops, are incompatible with the objectives of the White Paper,

J. whereas the provision in the White Paper for the use of about 10 million hectares for energy crops requires steps to be taken as quickly as possible as otherwise even the existing biomass industry would collapse with the cessation of the compulsory set-aside policy,

K. whereas the White Paper provides for 15-fold growth in the thermal use of solar energy, but does not propose any support measures for it; whereas solar thermal energy is almost fully mature and its spread depends to a large extent on the extent of public awareness and information,

L. whereas renewable energy sources create jobs, in particular in small and medium-sized undertakings, open up new export markets for modern technologies, produce major fossil fuel cost savings in the economy and thus improve the Union's trade balance,

M. whereas in the medium term a very extensive switch to the intrinsically decentralised renewable energies is needed and whereas, therefore, account must already be taken of future structural suitability at the planning and promotion stage at all levels and in all programmes; whereas nothing should be approved or promoted which hampers such a switch; whereas, in all new construction measures, account should be taken of optimal conditions for combined heat and power and the installation of solar units,

N. whereas renewable energies meet with great approval among the European public and considerable forces could be released through information and motivation of the population, as shown by the positive experiences in some Member States,

O. whereas popular support is essential for the development of renewable energies and whereas therefore in all measures, and in order to reduce costs as rapidly as possible, consideration must be given to a sensitive approach to the countryside and broad popular acceptance,

P. whereas over the last four decades the Euratom Treaty has proved an effective instrument for promoting nuclear energy and whereas similar success is needed for renewable sources of energy,

Q. whereas the Commission's White Paper with the Action Plan is a welcome basis for a Community strategy for renewable sources of energy,

R. whereas the White Paper, together with the additions called for in the paragraphs below, must be implemented as quickly as possible,

1. Considers the target of doubling the contribution of renewable energy to total energy consumption by 15% (under the substitution principle) by 2010 as a minimum objective and expects Member States to give binding undertakings on national overall goals and targets for each type of energy; the target for the amount of electricity to be produced from renewable energy should be given as a specific individual target; emphasizes that the possibility set out in the White Paper of that target being subsequently reviewed ((COM(97)0599, Section 1.3.1., p. 10.)) must not result in the established target being watered down and that any revision must be upwards;

2. Calls on the Commission to examine by the end of 1998 at the latest the suitability of national plans for achieving the Community objective and if necessary to initiate additional activities geared toward a minimum national increase of 7%;

3. Calls on the Commission in future when calculating energy balances to use the substitution principle which gives a more reliable indication of CO2 reductions;

4. Shares the Commission's view that the promotion of renewable energy sources should also be incorporated into other policies and calls on the Commission, therefore, to ensure that, when the Community strategy is implemented, account is taken not only of the European energy policy but also of other policy areas such as the environment, agriculture, regional development and transport, as well as fiscal policy, economic policy and external trade, with the issue being clarified of how coordination will be managed inside the Commission and the form in which all the relevant protagonists (regions, NGOs and businesses) can be involved;

5. Calls on the Commission to submit by 30 June 1999 at the latest a new proposal for a Community energy-related taxation model, which gives practical effect to the principle of the internalization of external costs set out in the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment and exempts renewable sources of energy;

6. Calls on the Commission to define the external costs of energy production clearly and to set out what costs must in any case be included in the price calculation;

7. Calls on the Commission to submit by 31 December 1998 at the latest a proposal for a Community provision on inputs to the grid based on the right to feed in electricity from renewable energies at a nationally determined minimum price;

8. Considers that, in view of the new agricultural policy proposals, the tripling of the use of biomass for energy purposes put forward in the White Paper will be difficult to achieve; calls, therefore, for much greater efforts in the field of electric/thermal-solar energy use;

9. Expects that the diametrically opposed approaches set out in the White Paper on renewable sources of energy and in the proposals for the reform of the common agricultural policy will be resolved by integrating agricultural production for the production of electricity, heat and fuels into the market organization policy;

10. Calls, inter alia, for the following measures to be introduced:

- addition of perennial plants for the energy sector as the fifth group in Annex I of Regulation (EEC) No. 1765/92;

- an additional premium, degressive over time, to be granted for the growing of energy crops, which will gradually be replaced by a grant paid from energy taxes so that the area premium is higher than that for cereals;

- immediate change of Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 with the aim of allowing additional national premiums for the planting of energy crops;

- creation of special incentives for the cultivation of perennial plantations;

- consideration of the energy uses of biomass in a new directive on European forestry strategy, as already called for in its resolution of 30 January 1997 on the European Union's forestry strategy ((OJ C 55, 24.2.1997, p. 22.));

11. Sees further opportunities for using and saving energy by better exploiting agricultural waste products such as biogas, organic fertilizers, composting and shavings, biomass (straw, beet waste, etc.) in a process of re-utilization;

12. Calls on the Commission, in the implementation of the action plan for biomass use, to aim at a minimum of 50% combined heat and power by 2010; calls, in the framework of the campaign for biomass, for emphasis to be placed on innovative technologies for small thermal power stations burning solid biomass with combined heat and power;

13. Calls on the Commission to ensure that renewable energy sources are used in an ecologically sensible fashion in order to prevent, for example, a situation where the planting of energy crops results in the creation of extensive monocultures or where the use of wind turbines results in a reduction in the diversity of animal species;

14. Calls on the Commission to include in the Action Plan a pilot project to promote the use of fuel obtained from biomass, with the aim of increasing the market share to 2% over 5 years, either through financial aid for the processing industry or through an obligation on the oil companies for the admixture of a certain minimum proportion of fuel from biomass; considers that there should also be additional exemption from mineral oil taxes for mixed fuels to aid entry into the market;

15. Calls on the Commission, in its Action Plan for renewable energies, to include new types of financing which can generally be implemented as 'financial engineering';

16. Calls on the Commission to review the applicability of more extensive measures to promote renewable energy sources in the field of regional planning as well (e.g. the Danish Regional Planning Act);

17. Notes that greater use of energy generated from renewable energy sources makes a decisive contribution to improvements in air, water and soil quality and emphasizes that conversion to renewable energy sources plays a significant role in the measures designed to attain the reduction in greenhouse gases agreed in Kyoto; calls on the Commission, therefore, to take account of that fact in the Commission communication on the 'European Bubble' currently being drawn up;

18. Calls on the Commission to incorporate the measures set out in the Community strategy into the preparatory work involving the applicant countries, with commensurate funds being made available under the PHARE Programme;

19. Expects as part of the reform of the structural policy that, with the key structural policy areas being 'employment' and 'sustainable development', particular account will be taken of renewable sources of energy in the guidelines for the operational programmes;

20. Considers that providing energy is a public service and that, particularly in remote and island areas where transport and infrastructure construction costs are high, it is worth promoting the use of renewable energy sources and decentralized energy production significantly more than at present by means of the EU's Structural Funds and Member States' own measures;

21. Calls on the Commission to regard the promotion of renewable energy sources as a priority issue during the forthcoming budgetary procedure and to enter sufficient funds for the implementation of the Community strategy for renewable energy sources right from the preliminary draft budget stage, with at least the same level of appropriations being entered as those currently earmarked for fusion research;

22. Calls for a clear increase in funding for the Altener programme in the energy framework programme, in particular for targeted actions (Article 2(e), Altener II), and for a clear increase in the percentage in the research and demonstration programmes of the fifth framework research programme benefitting renewable energies;

23. Considers that energy research should include research into the regional, socio-economic and ecological impact of the use of the various energy sources;

24. Calls on the Commission to gear the Synergy programme even more strongly towards renewable and decentralized energy sources;

25. Considers it necessary to develop joint ventures with third countries in the developing world, to facilitate the export of EU renewable energy technology and to make use of existing EU development programmes to achieve maximum effect;

26. Calls on the Commission to take sufficient account of the economic, social and environmental opportunities offered by the use of renewable energy, in particular in all development cooperation programmes;

27. Calls on the Commission to include the option of combined combustion of biomass and coal as part of the multiannual programme to promote the clean and efficient use of solid fuels, in the support measures and in the information network which is being developed; considers that innovative technologies for combined combustion should also be taken into account in the Carnot project proposed in the energy framework programme and in the funding from the ECSC reserve intended for coal research;

28. Calls, in the forthcoming drafting of an action plan for the use of country-specific funds from the MEDA programme, for a focus on the exchange of information and experiences on renewable energies and in the guidelines for the operational programmes under PHARE and TACIS for a focus on awareness-raising measures for renewable energies;

29. Calls on the Commission to report regularly to Parliament on the proportion accounted for by renewable energies in the funding provided under the Structural Funds and the Community programmes in the period under review;

30. Calls on the Commission to implement the measures proposed in the White Paper to strengthen the role of the European financial institutions (EIB, EBRD); considers that measures for additional interest rate subsidies should be carried out at EU level and at Member State level;

31. Calls on the EIB to finance more projects for the reduction of CO2 emissions through renewable energies;

32. Welcomes the proposed campaign for the take-off in the areas of photovoltaics, wind energy and biomass use and the 'integration of renewable energies in 100 communities' project; calls on the Commission and the Member States, following the immediate drawing up of a financial and substantive plan that also contains a broadly based information campaign for solar-thermal power in the areas of heating, cooling and hot service water production and the promotion of solar thermal power stations inside and outside the European Union with a capacity of 1000 MWp, to start with practical implementation in 1998, with special attention being paid to close cooperation between municipalities, regions, Member States and the European Union;

33. Calls on the Commission to propose a directive with a view to limiting total emissions for cooling and heating, through the use of active and passive solar energy and energy-saving measures, to low CO2 levels per square metre per year for new buildings and for renovated old buildings;

34. Calls on the Member States to use a solar architecture action programme to integrate active and passive use of solar energy into its building legislation and to provide for a defined percentage of renewable energies in public construction projects;

35. Expects a decision on improved use of renewable sources of energy in new building projects or refurbishment projects involving the Community's bodies - including the current European Parliament projects - which should lead to the bodies themselves making appropriate commitments;

36. Expects a proposal for a Community information campaign, its aim being to provide general information on the environmental and economic usefulness of renewable energies and specialist information targeted at specific professional groups;

37. Considers that the proposed support measures should also emphasize the impetus that can be provided by grass-roots organizations' information campaigns; stresses that network cooperation should also include cooperation with grass-roots organizations which can play a particularly dynamic role in the energy sector; points out that grass-roots organizations can also make a contribution as natural partners to the proposed campaign to promote renewable energy;

38. Calls for 'golden sun' awards (similar to the blue flag award) to be made, commensurate with the use of renewable energies by holiday hotels, resorts and districts;

39. Calls on the Council, during a future review of the EU Treaty, to incorporate in the Treaty a chapter devoted to energy, with appropriate account being taken of the promotion of renewable energy sources in order to ensure that a permanent and environmentally sound energy policy will be pursued at European level;

40. Expects the preparation of a charter on renewable energies (EURENEW);

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