On Monday 14 March the environmental NGOs BEE, T&E, ECOS and Deutsche Umwelthilfe called on Member States to ensure the EU Environment Council matches the European Parliament’s level of ambition when it adopts its position on the draft regulation on batteries and battery waste on 17 March.
The regulation must include strict requirements in terms of carbon footprint, reuse and recycling to be implemented as soon as possible, NGOs warn, fearing that ministers will water down the Commission’s original text by postponing implementation dates (see EUROPE 12909/13).
The European Parliament demonstrated a high level of ambition on 10 March (see EUROPE 12908/12).
Among other things, these NGOs are calling on the Environment Council to ensure that the new battery recycling targets (including higher recovery targets for lithium) are applicable as soon as possible - not in 7 years.
According to the compromise text, the new recycling targets are delayed by 3 years compared to the Commission’s proposal, delaying an important supply of critical metals for batteries, notably cobalt and nickel.
“Europe’s battery factories are being set up today, not in 6 years’ time. It is therefore crucial that national governments drop the unnecessary and counterproductive delays being proposed for the new battery recycling targets and supply chain due diligence checks”, commented Alex Keynes of T&E. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)