Konklusioner og anbefalinger fra UfM-PA's Komité om energi, miljø og vand, der blev vedtaget på plenarsessionen i Jordan den 9. februar 2014

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Den Parlamentariske Fors. for EU-Middelhavsområdet
Til:
Dato:
Delegationens medlemmer og stedfortrædere
25. februar 2014
Konklusioner og anbefalinger fra UfM-PA's Komité om energi, miljø og
vand, der blev vedtaget på plenarsessionen i Jordan den 9. februar 2014
Hermed følger konklusioner og anbefalinger fra UfM-PA's Komité om energi,
miljø og vand, der blev vedtaget på plenarsessionen i Jordan den 9. februar
2014.
Med venlig hilsen
Susanne Henriksen,
UfM-PA’s sekretariat
Den Parlamentariske Fors. for EU-Middelhavsområdet 2013-14
UfM-PA Alm.del Bilag 6
Offentligt (03)


PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE
UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
RECOMMENDATIONS
of the Committee on Energy, Environment and Water
On the following topics:
A. Energy Efficiency
B. Renewable Energy Sources
C. Environmental and Water Initiatives
Presented by the Committee Chair
Stefan Schennach (Austria)
Den Parlamentariske Fors. for EU-Middelhavsområdet 2013-14
UfM-PA Alm.del Bilag 6
Offentligt (03)
Having regard to the meetings of the Committee on Energy, Environment and Water on
27/28 May 2013 in Stockholm and 8 February 2014 in Amman and furthermore the SOM-
Preparatory Meeting on Energy on 5 November 2013 in Barcelona, the 13th FEMIP
Conference on "Energy Efficiency in the Mediterranean region" on 10 December 2013 in
Brussels and the UfM-Ministerial Meeting on Energy on 11 December 2013 in Brussels as
well as the follow-up meeting of the Eco-Towns project in July in Piran the Committee
proposes the following recommendations:
A. Energy Efficiency
The Committee on Energy, Environment and Water recommends
1. Establishing a system for the careful usage of available energy in the sense of
optimization of consumption, and creating a national energy efficiency action plan for
each member state and, at the same time, facilitating regional cooperation;
2. Establishing a system of measurement and automatic adjustment of the consumption of
energy in public buildings, e.g. federal government buildings, municipal buildings,
schools, city halls;
3. Establishing a system of automatic control and adjustment of utilities like water, heating
and cooling;
4. Replacing public lighting systems with a new generation of lamps such as LEDs;
5. Substituting public lighting systems in municipal sphere with completely solar-powered
light systems, with accumulator systems for strategic and security reasons– following
also the UNEP-Environment programme;
6. Elaborating energy consumption savings with thermal insulation of public buildings;
7. Drawing up PPP-models for financing medium-term investment demand for the aforesaid
measures;
8. Setting up a UfM-database on the best practices of UfM countries regarding the
implementation of energy efficiency policies, for example through the UfM-Secretariat in
Barcelona and exchanging experience on cogeneration projects, smart networks and
smart meters;
9. Establishing a common system of auditing in order to evaluate the impact of the aforesaid
measures;
10. Improving the social situation, increasing investment in education and creating
sustainable employment opportunities and social policies in the green and blue
technology, renewable and clean energy sectors;
11. Developing projects and using special funds to efficiently combat the phenomenon of
energy poverty, and contributing to the improvement of the energy efficiency of public
and private buildings;
B. Renewable Energy Sources
The Committee on Energy, Environment and Water recommends
12. Urgently adopting the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) and developing new
employment-generating industrial sectors until 2020;
13. Supporting research and development activities and projects in the field of marine and
bio-marine renewable energy sources;
14. Evaluating the opportunities for the wider and efficient use of various available
technologies to produce renewable energy in the respective countries in the fields of wind
power, photovoltaic power, solar-thermal technology, hydro power, biomass and waste to
energy while, at the same time, stressing the need to develop energy storage technologies;
15. Adapting a strategy for the replacement of fossil fuels with the aid of ambitious national
targets and through intensified regional cooperation;
16. Compiling a macroeconomic comparison including social costs and benefits, employment
and health indicators;
17. Setting up an action plan for priority projects in the respective areas with the use of
aforesaid technologies;
18. Building south-south and south-north electricity interconnections;
19. Making use of natural resources to increase the energy capacity of the region in
accordance with international law;
20. Large-scale renewable energy plants should first meet the primary needs of local
populations and then directed for export purposes
21. Setting up a legal framework to enhance green investments and the use of clean energy
technologies in new building projects and transforming existing buildings, especially in
the tourism sector;
22. Drawing up a plan for the implementation of solar-pumps in the agricultural sector;
23. Setting up a plan for the implementation of solar-thermal cooling and process heat
cooling systems especially in the production industry, hospitals, airports, universities and
government buildings;
24. Establishing permanent relations and projects with regard to financial institutions and
initiatives, like the FEMIP trust fund, private investors, PPP-solutions and other
international financial institutions;
C. Environmental and Water Initiatives
The Committee on Energy, Environment and Water recommends
25. Implementing desalination units powered by RES-technologies;
26. Setting up sustainable water distribution networks;
27. Expanding protection against water loss;
28. Setting up a fund for the national protected marine areas together with Med-Pan to
protect and restore the marine eco-systems and fishery resources, while fighting against
the sources of pollution and addressing the issue of poor fishery management, in
accordance with the relevant provisions of law, and coordinating the means available
with all economic and financial institutions concerned, in particular with the European
Investment Bank, with a view to efficient action to clean up polluted bodies of water;
29. Implementing the committee’s proposal adopted in 2011 to establish marine based areas
(underwater marine parks);
30. Following up the procedure of the destruction of Syria’s stocks of chemical weapons in
the Mediterranean basin and demanding immediate explanations from those responsible
for the operation and the Mediterranean countries concerned
31. Implementing a master plan for waste-water treatment in municipal areas and promoting
the exchange of best practices;
32. Setting up standards for waste-water treatment in the industrial and production sector;
33. Setting up common minimal standards for waste water dilution into the Mediterranean
sea;
34. Following the EU-initiative to reduce the use of plastic bags, which cover more than one
third of the Mediterranean sea bottom by developing alternative packing systems;
35. Stresses the need to further assess and evaluate the efficiency of and potential loopholes
in waste treatment and recycling processes, including sewage treatment, in all
Mediterranean countries in order to further reduce direct land-based pollution such as
marine litter and in particular plastic debris;
36. Setting up nationwide programmes together with EMUNI education programmes aimed
at encouraging cooperation in areas such as for sustainable development, starting in
primary schools and including education on food security and rural development in
higher schools (CIHEAM’s post graduate programmes) officially adopting the
Mediterranean Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development at the next Ministerial
Meeting of the UfM on the environment and climate change, based on the “Horizon 2020
– Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme”;
37. Providing political and financial support for the different fields of work of the
Committee’s Network of Eco-Towns and the cleaning up campaign of “Let’s do it
Mediterranean!“ – starting on 31 May 2014.
38. Recalls that the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment and the reduction of
negative impacts from human activities contributes to the improvement of the overall
environment and health of local populations, and should be promoted as a social and
societal benefit;
39. Calls for a greater coordination of all institutions and organizations involved in fishery
management in the Mediterranean region, in order to promote a comprehensive and
integrated fishery strategy focusing on the recovery of the Mediterranean fish stock, the
conservation of the different Mediterranean marine ecosystems and the promotion of
biodiversity;
40. Improving knowledge on the Mediterranean forest eco-systems and implementing the
Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests (SFMF).
Committee Activities 2013-2014
The Committee on Energy, Environment and Water held meetings in Stockholm on
27/28 May 2013 and in Amman on 8 February 2014 dealing in particular with the challenge
of coastal zone management in the Mediterranean, waste recovery and reports on the
Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas Network - implementation of "marine parks" &
Barcelona Convention as well as on Eco-Towns Project.
In addition to the meetings of the Committee its network of “eco-towns” established in
Brussels in April 2013 has already launched first cooperation projects. A special focus was
put on the elaboration of the Mediterranean Solar Plan by the Chair who participated both in
the SOM meeting in Barcelona on 5 November and the Ministerial Meeting on Energy – the
first in 6 years - on 11 December 2013 in Brussels together with UfM energy ministers. The
Chair also took part in the 13th FEMIP Conference on "Energy Efficiency in the
Mediterranean region" on 10 December 2013 in Brussels.
The intensive work of the Committee over the last few years has led to a major political
success: the launch of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, which can initiate a lasting paradigm
change in energy policies. It is crucial that the Committee stress the importance of quickly
establishing national action plans and implementing measures to ensure short and medium
term results. The recommendations focus therefore on the implementation and the potential
of the MSP and they will also function as guidelines for the work of the Committee in the
coming year.
Public authorities will have to play two important roles, both in creating the policy
environment and incentives for energy efficiency and RES improvements through the
economy as well as in providing a positive example by increasing energy efficiency in public
facilities. For businesses energy often constitutes a significant portion of operating costs and it
is important for companies and governments to understand that efficient equipment and
employee education in energy efficiency measures are investments which can, often rapidly,
result in cost savings and improved competitiveness. For that reason the recommendations
begin with a chapter on energy efficiency.
The Committee promotes an integrated and sustainable growth across the Mediterranean as a
top priority. The official launch of the “Let’s Do It Mediterranean!” campaign on 31 May
2014 will highlight the Committee’s efforts.