WRITTEN QUESTION E-0285/03 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Rising sea levels in South Pacific.
Date: 2003-02-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu, aid policy, climate change, environmental monitoring

C 242 E/116

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

The granting of permits for waste incinerators falls under the responsibility of national authorities, and
does not need to be notified to the Commission. The Commission is therefore not aware of the request to
construct the incinerator mentioned by the Honourable Member.

The Commission does not know exactly the total number of waste incinerators operated within the
Community. Technical publications suggest that the total number must be in the range of some hundreds.

As far as applicable, Directive 2000/76/EC lays down limit values for conventional pollutants, e.g. for
oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions into the air, as well as values for persistent and/or toxic substances, e.g.
for heavy metals and dioxins, into air and water.

The limit values are set in order to prevent as far as practicable negative effects on the environment and
the resulting risks to human health. The actual risk at local level has to be assessed for each individual case
within the permitting procedure.

(1) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000.
(2) OJ L 273, 10.10.2002.

(2003/C 242 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0285/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 February 2003)

Subject: Rising sea levels in South Pacific

What evidence exists of rising sea levels in the South Pacific?

Is the Commission offering any assistance to the island of Tuvalu and surrounding islets to deal with the
effects of climate change?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 March 2003)

The best and most reliable scientific assessment of climate change is the Third Assessment Report (TAR)
prepared by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001. This report contains the
combined scientific knowledge of the world. Its authority and reliability has been recognised by almost all
the countries of the world, including the United States.

The Third Assessment Report indicates that an average sea level rise of 0,1 to 0,2 million has been
observed in the 20th century and that there are signals that global warming has significantly contributed
to this rise.

However, current models are still not able to forecast sea level rise giving just a single figure rather than a
range of possible results. So according to the IPCC TAR for the periods from 1990-2025 and from 1990-
2050, the projected rises are expected to be from 0,03 to 0,14 million and from 0,05 to 0,32 million
respectively.

The consequences of these possible scenarios are indeed a cause for concern, as also recognised by the
Council conclusions of 17 October 2002. Large-scale impacts of climate change on oceans are expected to
include a rise in the global sea level with the possible consequence of increased levels of flooding,
accelerated erosion, loss of wetlands and mangroves, and seawater intrusion into freshwater sources. Small
island states, including Tuvalu, are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, which
could also result in loss of land and property, dislocation of people, increased risk from storm surges and
would require high resource costs to respond to and to adapt to these changes.

The greater part of the Community development assistance is provided through the framework of Country
Strategy Papers (CSP). The CSPs outline a strategy for development assistance in each country with priority
areas for assistance identified by the beneficiary country.

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/117

The Country Strategy Paper for Tuvalu was signed on 14 August 2002, and it will cover the period
between 2002 and 2007. Development aid will consist of EUR 4 million over the identified period of time
mainly focused on social sector development. In the past, however, some projects related to energy
efficiency, coastal protection and the use of renewable energy sources were financed through Community
programmes under the Lomé Convention.

Furthermore, the Commission follows constantly the evolution of the environmental situation in Tuvalu
through regular contacts with the Government,
inter alia in occasion of Joint Annual Reviews, and
missions in the field carried out by the staff of the Commission’s Delegation in Fiji.

(2003/C 242 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0294/03

by Rosa Díez González (PSE), Pedro Aparicio Sánchez (PSE),
María Izquierdo Rojo (PSE) and Fernando Pérez Royo (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Sinking of the lighter Spabunker IV in Algeciras Bay

(7 February 2003)

Although the surface area of the Mediterranean Sea amounts to just 1 % of the total surface area of the
world’s oceans, 20 % of the world’s petrol tankers and 28 % of its oil transit through its waters. The
situation calls for especially protective Community and international rules. Algeciras Bay, with the port of
Gibraltar, is a particularly vulnerable enclave owing both to its high density of oil traffic and its special
legal status. It is estimated that in recent years it has seen over forty major oil spillages. The last of these
followed the sinking of the lighter Spabunker IV, which was carrying over a thousand tonnes of fuel oil.

1.
Can the Commission indicate whether bunkering (the transfer of fuel from one vessel to another) and
the ‘floating refuelling stations’ habitually found in Algeciras Bay are permitted under international and
Community rules, and whether Gibraltar and the Member States are complying with these rules;

2.
Also whether it will gather information on the sinking of the Spabunker IV and establish whether the
accident involved any non-compliance with the rules? In any event, will the Commission tighten up the
legislation as it stands?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(19 March 2003)

The Commission has been informed about the sinking of Spabunker IV in Algeciras Bay on 21 January
2003 and regrets that it led to the death of the vessel’s master. According to the information the
Commission has, the vessel did spill some of its fuel when it sank. However, no leakage of heavy fuel oil
seems to have been detected.

The information available to the Commission indicates that the Spanish authorities have now finished
pumping the cargo out of the vessel. This does not seem to have been too difficult in view of the shallow
depth at which the wreck lies and its position on the seabed.

As regards the risks of bunkering in Algeciras Bay and Gibraltar, the Honourable Members are referred to
the Commission’s answer to oral question H-0800/02 from Mr García Margallo y Marfil during the
Parliament’s plenary session in December 2002 (1).

The Commission intends to be particularly vigilant as regards compliance with good practice and to make
sure that those who cause pollution are effectively held to account. It is with this in mind that, on 5 March
2003, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal (2) to apply criminal sanctions to any shipowner,
shipper, classification society or any other person responsible for pollution as a result of gross negligence.

Furthermore, the Commission does not intend to investigate this incident. This is a matter for the national
authorities, which will have to determine exactly what happened. For its part,
the Commission is
continuing with the action it started in the wake of the sinking of the Prestige.