The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a number of new “simplifications” to environmental law that would lower standards and oversight for industrial emissions and water protection, a move that reflects the intense pressure it is under from multiple quarters.
EU officials say the move is in response to concerns from businesses and authorities who complain that too much bureaucracy is hindering their competitiveness.
As a result, at least 25% of environmental administration requirements for private companies are expected to be abolished by 2029.
Under the EU’s so-called “Environmental Omnibus”, a bill introduced by the European Commission to amend current legislation, livestock and aquaculture producers will no longer have to report on their water and energy use, as currently required by EU industrial emissions legislation.
This will provide regulatory leeway. Approximately 38,500 According to EU data, intensive pig farms and poultry farms.
The commission also proposes speeding up permits by eliminating environmental assessments for industrial emissions, wastewater and chemical waste residues.
The proposal comes just days after Environment Commissioner Jessica Roswall said at an event promoting water resilience that Europe’s waters are “neglected, overexploited and polluted”.
Greg van Elsen, senior industrial policy coordinator at the environmental NGO Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, regretted the European Commission’s intention to restart the industrial emissions law adopted last year, noting that the law already offered significant flexibility in reporting and transparency.
“This omnibus goes a step further, creating regulatory uncertainty for businesses and putting communities at risk,” Van Elsen said.
Increase in e-waste and bottles
Electronics, packaging and textile waste will also be affected by the commission’s omnibus, meaning that companies that make products such as single-use bottles and electronics will no longer be held responsible for what happens to their products after consumers have finished using them.
This will particularly impact battery manufacturers, beverages, and textiles sectors. The latter produces around 12.6 million tonnes of waste annually, according to EU data.
Environmental groups have accused the commission of siding with industry heavyweights and undermining nature and human health.
Chiara Martinelli, director of CAN Europe, lamented the decision to rescind “democratically agreed rules” to protect nature and people’s health.
“Nature cannot buy political influence like industries that pollute the environment,” Martinelli told Euronews. “These critical safeguards stand between us and the intensifying climate impacts in Europe and around the world. It would be reckless to weaken them now.”
In total, the committee will review five pieces of legislation related to waste, industrial and livestock emissions, batteries and waste batteries, environmental reporting from industrial facilities, and spatial information.
These laws will now be scrutinized again by the European Parliament and the European Council under the next EU Cyprus Presidency.
undermine climate change goals
The European Commission’s proposals could save companies millions of euros a year, but the impact would inevitably be to introduce ambiguity in reporting carbon emissions and remove incentives for sustainable practices.
The so-called green law simplification comes despite warnings from climate scientists, including the EU’s independent scientific advisory body, the European Scientific Advisory Committee on Climate Change, which recommended the EU set a 90% emissions reduction target by 2040.
The EU Ombudsman recently warned the European Commission of misconduct in proposing to simplify the EU’s corporate due diligence laws without carrying out an environmental impact assessment.
Meanwhile, experts say the effects of global warming are becoming almost irreversible and that focusing on mitigation and adaptation is paramount now.
More than half of Europe will experience annual heatwaves of more than 37 degrees Celsius by 2100, scientists report. Wildfires have already burned vast swaths of land, destroying forests essential to capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
This year’s wildfires in Spain have destroyed 400,000 hectares of vegetation, the equivalent of 560 football pitches, causing destruction not seen in Europe since the 1990s, according to the environmental NGO Fern.
Wildfires also broke out in Portugal, Greece and France, bringing the total amount of scorched forest and landscape across the 27 EU countries to around 1 million hectares.
