The European Green Deal will bring many benefits to the Polish economy and society as a whole, but for this to happen we need your support, said EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkeviczius, who will pay an official visit to Poland on Thursday and Friday.
According to the European Commission, Sinkevicius m. goes with the Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskva, the Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus, the Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, parliamentarians and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
According to the Commissioner, the talks are about climate protection, protection of nature and biodiversity and reduction of pollution.
This also means discussing the state of play of the European Green Deal, our plan to build a stronger Europe (…). I look forward to discussing our environmental ambitions in more detail with the Polish government and stakeholders to better understand their position and address their concerns. The Green Deal will bring many benefits to the Polish economy and society as a whole, but for that we need your support. I will also talk to ministers about the latest developments in legislation that is still being negotiated, such as air quality and nature restoration. The big advantage of a face-to-face meeting is the possibility to remove tensions and immediately clarify any misunderstandings
Sinkevicius remarked.
He added that many of the questions on this subject are also submitted to the European Commission by non-governmental organisations.
They are particularly interested in the happenings on the Oder River, so we’ll probably dive into the details. The Commission’s main concern is to avoid a repeat of last year’s disaster, and for that we need to have a full picture of the situation. We know a lot of details at this point, but we haven’t gotten to the heart of the matter yet
noted the commissioner.
When PAP asked him about the EU’s targets for reducing soil, sea and air pollution in the EU, he emphasized that in the current political climate it seems more difficult than ever to ensure zero emissions.
But staying on the green course is something we just have to do, because the current pollution is still too high. Environmental factors contribute to about 10% of premature deaths in the EU. This is mainly due to air pollution, but is also caused by noise and exposure to chemicals. (…) Premature mortality rates range from about 6% up north to well over 14 percent. in southern and eastern Europe, indicating significant regional differences between Member States
said Sinkevicius.
A faster pace of transformation?
He added that pollution has a similar impact on animal and plant life.
Without reducing pesticide or plastic pollution, we will not meet the global biodiversity targets we just agreed in December in the United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework. The EU promotes these and other global initiatives and supports third countries’ efforts to minimize pollution globally and within the EU, as the EU knows no borders
said the commissioner.
That is why, according to Sinkevicius, the EU must accelerate the pace of the green climate and energy transition towards a fairer and greener future, for example by quickly introducing renewable energy sources.
The Commission has made several important proposals and is calling for swift adoption and adoption of these legislative proposals to reduce harmful pollution. At the same time, wider implementation of current EU instruments is needed at local, national and cross-border level (…). The benefits of clean air measures would outweigh the costs and lead to an overall increase in GDP. If all measures proposed by the Commission are implemented by the EU, the number of premature deaths from air pollution will fall by more than 70% by 2030. compared to 2005
says Sinkevicius.
In the EC, the Commissioner is also responsible for the common fisheries policy. When asked about the situation in this area in the Baltic Sea, he replied that the situation of fisheries in this basin has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
Previously, valuable fisheries had to close: eastern cod in 2019, western cod, western herring and salmon in the main basin in 2022. There also seem to be problems with some other pelagic stocks, in particular herring in the Gulf of Bothnia and the central Baltic Sea. They don’t seem to develop well. This situation is most likely the result of reduced supply of oxygenated water from the North Sea, insufficient implementation of environmental legislation, climate change and past overfishing
Sinkevicius told PAP.
He stressed that fisheries management measures alone will not reverse this difficult situation.
We owe it to fishermen and their families to take immediate action. Member States should implement all environmental legislation as soon as possible and fulfill their commitments under the Ministerial Declaration “Our Baltic Sea” of September 2020 and the HELCOM Action Plan for the Baltic Sea
he pointed it out.
Sinkevicius added that he plans to host the Our Baltic 2 event in Lithuania on September 29 to summarize the implementation of the ministerial declaration, but also to address, among other things, the issue of dumped munitions in the North and Baltic Seas .
What proposals from the European Commission from its portfolio can be expected later this year?
We will propose a new forest monitoring law to provide detailed and accurate information on EU forests. Regarding the circular economy, we will update our waste legislation to reduce specific food and textile waste. (…) We are also looking at measures to limit the release of microplastics into the environment by updating the current law on car wrecks and chemicals regulations
Commissioner Sinkevicius remarked.
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Mon/PAP
Source: wPolityce