News

Last week, the European Commission presented the Commission's work plan for 2021. The work plan should help meet the 55% emission reduction target by 2030. In this context, the European Commission plans to revise the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the carbon offset mechanism at borders next year, the revision of the Emissions Trading Scheme, as well as the revision of land use rules, land use change and forestry, and for greenhouse gas emissions.
More information is available here.

On 18/09/2020, the European Commission launched a call for research and innovation projects in the context of the Europe Green Deal the climate crisis, and the need to protect ecosystems and biodiversity. The call falls under Horizon 2020, with a total of €1 billion allocated to support projects. Projects funded under this call should deliver results in the areas of strengthening climate ambition (moving to climate-neutral packaging, forest fire prevention); clean and affordable energy (renewables); circular economies; Farm to Fork (with a focus on the sustainability of food systems); or Biodiversity and ecosystems (restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services). The deadline for submitting proposals is 26/01/2021, it is expected that the selected projects will start in the autumn of 2021.
More information is available here and here.

The European Parliament adopted a European Parliament resolution on the EU's role in protecting and restoring the world's forests on 16/09/2020 during the EP plenary session. In its Resolution, Parliament emphasized the need to make further significant progress in developing and implementing an EU protein crop strategy and ensuring robust protein crop production in the EU in order to reduce the risk of deforestation in other parts of the world. It further emphasizes that this progress should be made, inter alia, through the wider adoption of crop rotation with support and guidance for farmers in areas suitable for protein crops, and that this activity would reduce dependence on imports, deforestation, degradation and pressure on forests as a result of land use change; calls, therefore, for sustainability criteria to be introduced for imports of vegetable proteins. The resolution aims not only at the EU, but especially at promoting the protection of forests in the world.
More information is available here.

On 16/09/2020, the European Parliament adopted an EP legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the EU's own resources system, including targets for the recycling of packaging waste materials. In its Resolution, Parliament stated that, in line with the EU strategy for plastics, the Union budget could contribute to reducing pollution from plastic packaging waste and achieving the targets for the recycling of waste packaging materials. According to the EP, the own resource from Member States' contributions in proportion to the amount of plastic packaging waste not recycled in each Member State will provide an incentive to reduce the consumption of disposable plastics and support recycling and the circular economy. The Commission should therefore introduce a simplified calculation method and effective registration and control mechanisms. At the same time, Member States should be left free to take the most appropriate measures to achieve those objectives, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. Given that this contribution is intended to be an own resource based on the "polluter pays" principle, it should not be subject to any redress mechanism, according to the EP. The European Commission has proposed to tax non-recycled packaging waste at a rate of €0.80 per kilogram from 01/01/2021. The European Parliament has supported the possibility of strengthening the rate, up to a maximum of €2.00 per kilogram, also with effect from 01/01/2021.
More information is available here.

Rapporteur on the EP report on the Common Market Organization (part of the CAP legislative package) Eric Andrieu (S&D, FR) tabled a compromise amendment on 11/09/2020 on the discussed ban on the use of names traditionally used for meat products for plant-based meat substitute. Andrieu suggests that the Commission draw up draft rules for the definition, designation or trade names of meat and meat products and their plant-based alternatives. The topic is now being discussed in the European Parliament, and the Greens and the GUE / NGL are seeking to make it possible to use the names of traditional meat products for plant-based products. The EP plenary is expected to vote on the report at the end of October 2020.
More information is available here.