The new Guide follows the Eurostat Guidance note on the revised treatment of Energy Performance Contracts in government accounts, issued in September 2017, and explains its practical application, making use of technical assistance resources from the… read more
Your request will be handled by the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community … read more
On 12 June 2017, Romania notified to the Commission a plan for the restructuring of Compania Nationala a Uraniului SA (‘CNU’, the National Uranium Company). The restructuring plan foresees around €95 million (RON 441 million) of support to CNU, in the … read more
Local governments support energy recovery while phasing out old and inefficient incineration plants and promoting recycling
Waste-to-energy is acknowledged to be a necessary tool to move towards a more sustainable circular economy as it helps avoiding landfilling and generates energy. However, local governments ask to strictly respect the waste hierarchy putting waste prevention first. Members are in favour of creating stable markets for products and materials based on secondary raw materials and of making every effort to reduce landfilling.
Members of the European Committee of the Regions have adopted an opinion on ‘ The role of waste-to-energy in the circular economy ’ by rapporteur Kata Tűttö (HU/PES), municipal councillor from Budapest – District 12. Waste-to-energy is the process of recovering energy from waste combustion.
Local leaders baseline is clear. The waste hierarchy, which sets up priority actions for more resource efficiency and less waste, must be the guiding principle in waste management. On top of the hierarchy is waste prevention, followed by product reuse, product recycle, energy recovery and landfilling as the less optimal scenario.
“Landfilling waste is the worst thing that we can do because things we throw away can actually be reused, recycled or transformed into energy”, said rapporteur Kata Tűttö. “With modern waste-to-energy treatments municipal waste can be transformed into electricity, heat or biogas”, added the Budapest city councillor.
Cities and regions recommend Member States with little or no incineration capacity not to develop energy recovery unless it is under very careful planning and to prioritise separate collection and recycling programmes instead.
Local leaders show concern over how and by whom, waste management costs are to be borne. European cities and regions reiterate the need to create stable markets for products and materials based on secondary raw materials.
The use of waste as fuel for heating households is a major problem for public health and the environment. Energy poverty is often the main reason for private dwellings to use waste for heating. The EU’s assembly of local and regional representatives urges the European Commission to incorporate efforts to combat energy poverty into waste-to-energy activities and to adopt awareness raising strategies.
Local leaders support waste shipments between Members States for energy recovery purposes as long as it avoids or reduces landfilling or helps making better use of existing facilities. However, distance from the waste location to the incineration plant should be limited to avoid environmental damage.
Members of the CoR request the European Commission to ensure Members States involve local and regional authorities closely in drawing up waste management strategies.
Contact: David Crous david.crous@cor.europa.eu +32 (0) 470 88 10 37
read moreEuropean Committee of the Regions calls on EU and national governments to step up efforts to develop Atlantic coastal economies.
The United Kingdom’s planned departure from the European Union poses a threat to fragile coastal economies and communities across the Atlantic region, the European Committee of the Regions has said. In recommendations adopted on 1 December, the EU’s assembly of local and regional leaders urges the EU to reinforce its still-young Atlantic strategy and to allow UK regions and local authorities to be able to continue to take part in EU programmes.
The recommendations also urge Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal to respond to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU by cooperating more closely on maritime issues to fill resulting gaps in science and innovation, surveillance, ocean energy and maritime investments. In its opinion, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) described the potential consequences for the Common Fisheries Policy of the UK’s departure as alarming, reinforcing the need for a comprehensive approach to economic development and job growth in coastal regions and islands.
The author of the report – Jerry Lundy (IE/ALDE), member of Sligo County Council and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly – said: “We’ve now had the EU Atlantic strategy and its action plan for almost five years, and it has helped regions to recover from the economic crisis and to preserve the marine and coastal ecosystem, but we need to update and strengthen the plan. We in the Atlantic region are about to lose a major maritime nation from the European Union and a big investor in the marine economy and research, the United Kingdom. For the strategy’s credibility and visibility, we think that the EU should provide dedicated funding, rather than obliging communities to search for support across the EU’s funds. We’re looking at cooperation between the Atlantic states in terms of job creation, tourism, fisheries, sustainable energy and, most of all, funding.”
Mr Lundy continued: “We need to continue the work of rejuvenating our coastal regions and islands. You can’t have an economy if you don’t have a community. You can’t revitalise your community if you don’t have an economic plan that will keep young people there. So you need to make sure that skills, heritage and folklore of your community are not lost, and you need to keep investing in young people and new jobs.”
Emphasising the potential for a revitalisation of coastal regions, Mr Lundy said: “Instead of looking downwards – for coal, gas and oil – as we did in the past, let’s look up – at the wind, sun and waves producing sustainable and clean energy. Training, skills and good roads are important, but also broadband. A lot of companies that would set up business along the coastline need to get their products to the market and need good connectivity. If we fulfil these conditions I’m confident we can create more jobs in coastal and island regions. An example from my region is the Wild Atlantic Way , which we are developing to encourage tourists and entrepreneurs to visit and invest.”
Also on 1 December, the European Committee of the Regions adopted recommendations that called on the EU to focus more on modernising Europe’s rural regions, by transforming its ‘smart villages’ initiative into a full EU Rural Agenda. The EU adopted an EU urban agenda in 2016. The rapporteur on ‘smart villages’ is Enda Stenson (IE/European Alliance), a member of Leitrim County Council.
Mr Lundy’s opinion on the Atlantic strategy builds on the recommendations of the CoR for the future of the EU’s Cohesion Policy post-2020 and on the Committee’s resolution in March 2017 on the UK’s intention to withdraw from the European Union . On 30 November, members of the CoR held a wide-ranging debate on the implications of the UK’s planned departure from the EU , with over 30 speakers taking the floor, Mr Lundy included.
Contact:
Andrew Gardner
Tel. +32 473 843 981
andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu