Why Europe matters
On Thursday 4 June, 375 million European citizens in 27 countries will get to vote in the European Parliament Elections. But as the latest polls predict just a third will turn out to vote, we ask what has Europe ever done for us when it comes to the environment?
Well quite a bit really. After all, the Landfill Directive has changed the way that millions of householders deal with their waste every week and has given the UK until 2020 to reduce the amount it sends to landfill by 65%.
The Waste Framework Directive sets tough new recycling targets - 50% of paper, metal and glass from households and 70% of construction waste will have to be recycled by 2020. And the Batteries Directive means 45% of portable batteries will have to be collected for recycling by 2016. There are also new requirements for member states to develop waste prevention plans by December 2013.
Over the last few years, the European Parliament has introduced a raft of environmental legislation - in fact around 80% of our environmental laws originate from Europe. Its Reach regulation (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) has been described as the most important EU legislation for 20 years. It came into force in June 2007 and puts the onus on business to show that the chemicals it uses in products are safe.
There are also new rules to reduce transport carbon emissions:
- Car companies to improve vehicle motor technology so CO2 emissions of new passenger cars fall to 95g/Km by 2020.
- Renewables must represent 20% of the energy mix and 10% of fuel consumption in transport by 2020
- Aviation to be included in the emission trading system from January 2012
So what will the UK contingent of 74 MEPs be voting on over the next few years and how will their vote affect us and the planet? Here are five important reasons to vote on 4 June.
- UK MEPs will be involved in reaching an international agreement by the end of this year on higher CO2 reduction targets. If agreement is reached, the Emission Trading system will be revised for each Member State.
- In March, MEPs backed a proposal to strengthen rules on industrial emissions and called for EU-wide emission limits of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide. No agreement was reached, so this one will go back to Parliament for a second reading in the next term.
- Parliament will consider measures to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. At the first reading, MEPs called for all new buildings constructed from 2019 onwards to produce as much energy as they consume on site.
- MEPs will debate whether the 'A-G' energy labelling should be extended to commercial and industrial appliances as well as to energy-saving consumer goods.
- And finally, the Commission has proposed to update the 2002 directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the light of the experience of the first years of implementation. It will seek to update the directive by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
