Alarmed by the devastating spread of forest fires in the Amazon, MEPs meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 September urged the European institutions to take urgent action and broaden the scope of their action.
While all agreed on the need to act quickly, in a multilateral framework, to preserve this invaluable reserve of biodiversity and this essential lung in the fight against climate change, no resolution was adopted. The right, the social democrats and liberals did not want to rush and call the ratification of the EU/Mercosur trade agreement into question.
The debate focused on the Amazon, but many pointed out that forest fires were also on the rise elsewhere, citing regions such as Siberia, Congo, Alaska, Borneo, but also Europe (see EUROPE 12329/2)
On behalf of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Tytti Tuppurainen, Finnish Minister for European Affairs, called for “coherent and effective European action”, and called on the EU to set an example by agreeing as soon as possible on ambitious targets for the climate neutrality of the European economy.
Act across the full range of policies
Finally, this issue must be addressed horizontally in European policies, the participants in the debate stressed.
The Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, admits that: “underlying structural causes such as agricultural expansion must also be addressed”. The Agriculture Council will also have a debate on this subject in October.
On behalf of the Greens/EFA Group, Finland’s Heidi Hautala called for the integration of broader legislative measures, wondering why the Agriculture Council was the only entity to address this point.
The strategy on sustainable forest management of April 2019 and the July action plan on the protection and restoration of the world's forests (see EUROPE 12302/1) are other tools cited by Mr Vella as a basis for EU action.
The EU is also preparing for a high-level meeting on the Amazon region alongside the UN General Assembly, which will open on 24 September, the Commissioner announced.
The EU/Mercosur agreement as a lever?
The EU/Mercosur Trade Agreement was vilified by several MEPs. While a large majority believes that the sustainable development chapter of the treaty provides the EU with a lever to engage Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to respect the Paris Agreement, there remain disagreements between groups over how to implement this free trade agreement. Progressive political groups have sent a letter to the Commission calling on it to incorporate legally binding mechanisms.
For Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece), Parliament has missed an opportunity to act. “It is shameful and dishonourable that this discussion is not ending in a resolution”, he said, calling on the groups on the right of the Chamber.
“Rather than engaging in blame games, we should use the sense of urgency generated by the wildfires in the Amazon and elsewhere to make a constructive contribution to the debate on how to leverage trade policy in our efforts to fight climate change on a global scale”, said Christophe Hansen (EPP).
The Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups, which had requested a vote on a resolution, did not carry the day (199 in favour, 228 against and 13 abstentions).
“I fear that if we simply debate without drawing any conclusions, Europe will appear like a toothless tiger”, said Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA).
French MEP Stéphane Séjourné (Renew Europe) recalled, alongside the session, that the European Parliament Environment Committee is preparing a legislative initiative report on imports linked to deforestation, which will allow time to find a consensus between the political groups.
At the end of the debate, Commissioner Vella was reassuring, explaining that the EU has many tools at its disposal to encourage Brazil to respect its commitments, including through dialogue and cooperation, without excluding, as a last resort, recourse to the WTO dispute settlement body. However, he added, “we will first and foremost ensure that Brazil meets its commitments under the Paris Agreement - a 27% reduction in net emissions by 2025 compared to 2005 and an action plan to stop deforestation, including in the Amazonian rainforest”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang and Hermine Donceel)