EU Updates - May
The European Commission Proposes a Revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive
On April 5, the European Commission presented a proposal to update and modernise the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), which aims to protect human health and the environment by reducing harmful industrial emissions across the EU.
While the Directive has been found generally effective in preventing and controlling pollution into the air, water, and soil from industrial activities, the evaluation conducted in 2020 highlighted that the IED is inconsistently implemented across the Member States.
The main changes and updates introduced by the Review of the IED include:
More help for EU innovation frontrunners, also through the creation of an Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions (INCITE).
Support circular economy investments in the industry.
Synergies between depollution and decarbonisation.
Gradual coverage of large-scale intensive livestock farms.
Extraction of industrial minerals and metals and large-scale production of batteries.
To improve the harmonisation of the directive across the European Union, the revision will also target:
A deep agro-industrial transformation towards zero pollution through the use of breakthrough technologies.
Carbon neutrality, for increased energy efficiency, non-toxic environments, and circular economy.
The creation of a competitive level playing field for a high level of protection of human health and the environment.
The modernisation and simplification of the current legislation, e.g. through digitalisation and improvements in knowledge about sources of pollution.
Public participation in decision-making and increased access to information and justice, including effective redress mechanisms.
For more information:
Consult the dedicated page of the European Parliament’s Legislative Observatory.
The Proposal for A Deforestation Regulation Moves to the European Parliament
The text of the Commission’s Proposal for A Deforestation Regulation to curb EU-driven deforestation and forest degradation - published in November 2021 - has now reached the European Parliament.
The European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) appointed rapporteur for opinion Anna Cavazzini (Germany, Greens/EFA), who proposed to expand the scope of the regulation to cover also other ecosystems, like wetlands and savannahs.
Other strong and progressive positions inside the Parliament call for stronger due diligence requirements as well as for non-simplified rules for SMEs, that should only apply to micro-enterprises.
While backed by the Socialists and Democrats, the Greens/EFA position clashes with that of Renew Europe and the European People’s Party, who are more skeptical about enlarging the scope of the proposal, afraid that it would make it too impractical and burdensome.
Further meetings in the European Parliament will take place this month and in June, with a vote on the final text expected only in September 2022.
At the same time, discussions are also starting on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Proposal, for which the European Commission has launched a feedback period on the initiative.
Companies interested in giving feedback have time until 23rd May.
