Towards the 7th Environmental Action Programme

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The members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a resolution which asks the Commission to speed up the adoption of the 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP), since the current one expires on July. The Parliament urgently calls for an ambitious environmental agenda, which includes mid-term mitigation objectives, binding targets for energy efficiency and a more efficient use of energy sources. In particular, action should be aimed at an absolute reduction of natural resource use in order to cut the EU ecological footprint by 50 per cent within the next 20 year. The Commission expects to present its proposal by the end of 2012.
At the Major Economies Forum (MEF) in Rome, the Italian Environment Minister, Corrado Clini, announced the new National emission reduction Plan for 2020 has been defined.
The plan, submitted to the inter-ministerial committee for economic planning (CIPE) for the financial approval, identifies a set of measures aimed at achieving the Italian targets under the EU climate and energy package (20 – 20 – 20). Proposed measures include:

  • creation of a “catalogue of technologies, systems and products for the decarbonisation” to boost low-carbon technologies in the Italian economy;
  •  introduction of a carbon tax for sectors excluded from the ETS, whose revenues will be used to support emission reduction initiatives, such as the newly launched Kyoto rotation fund;
  • energy efficiency’s promotion, grid parity for renewable sources and development of smart cities;
  • extension of the 55 per cent tax credit for low-carbon investments in the building sector until 2020;
  • shifting towards less emission intensive transport mode such as rail freight and promotion of energy production from waste;
  • management of forests as carbon sinks and as a resource of biomass and bio-fuels.

Read more on the latest issue of Climate Policy News, by Marinella Davide.

 

Photo by European Parliament.

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