Davies: Tories blow second chance on business carbon vote

Posted on June 19, 2013 by angelikaschneider

Conservative MEPs got a second opportunity to help British business today – and once again blew it.

In April, the European Parliament voted on a proposal to backload the continent’s Emissions Trading Scheme that sets a price for industrial carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to combat climate change. The vote was lost be 334-315 with British Tory MEPs voting against.

Today, the Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted again on the measure, sending it back to the full parliament for another attempt to pass the legislation.

Tory MEPs voted against backloading despite knowing that carbon prices in the UK leave UK manufacturers paying more for their electricity than their EU competitors and the EU plans would have reduced that gap.

Their votes pu tUK manufacturing industry at a disadvantage compared to Germany or the Netherlands.

Speaking after the Environment Committee’s 2-1 endorsement of the plan UK Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies MEP said, “Conservative MEPs have turned their back on the future and shown their contempt both for the needs of British industry and the policies of the coalition government. Continue reading “Davies: Tories blow second chance on business carbon vote” »

Davies: Irish Presidency accused of deceiving MEPs

Posted on April 17, 2013 by angelikaschneider

Picture shows Matthias Groote MEP, Chair of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament (left) with Chris Davies MEP (right) and Bill the Cod.

The Irish Presidency will this evening be accused of deceiving MEPs over an issue key to reform Europe’s Common Fisheries Policy.

The preparation of long term management plans for every fishery is seen as crucial to the rebuilding of depleted fish stocks.

But since 2009, EU governments have blocked negotiations on their preparation in an argument with the European Parliament over the terms of the Lisbon Treaty.

Ministers say that governments have the right to set annual quotas, but MEPs say the treaty gives them the power to set guidelines.

MEPs argue that the Ministers have in the past been responsible for allowing over-fishing and the decline in stocks.

Chris Davies, a British MEP who founded the cross-party Fish for the Future group, has been amongst those pressing for negotiations. Continue reading “Davies: Irish Presidency accused of deceiving MEPs” »

Davies/ Hall: Conservative MEPs betray British business in carbon vote

Posted on April 16, 2013 by angelikaschneider

MEPs in Strasbourg today narrowly (334-315) rejected a proposal by the European Commission to delay the auctioning of greenhouse gas allowances to avoid a further drop in the price of carbon. The European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was originally introduced to incentivise investments in low carbon technologies by putting a price on polluting greenhouse gas emissions.

UK Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, the environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrat (ALDE) group in the European Parliament, commented after the vote:

“MEPs have turned their back on the future. Continue reading “Davies/ Hall: Conservative MEPs betray British business in carbon vote” »

Davies: Commission calls Daimler’s bluff

Posted on March 20, 2013 by angelikaschneider

The European Commission has warned that new model types of Daimler cars put on the market anywhere in Europe do not conform to EU law and should not be sold.

The announcement could inflict huge damage upon Daimler’s finances and reputation.

Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani will appear in front of the Environment Committee tonight (20 March 17.30-18.30) to discuss the enforcement of the mobile air conditioning (MAC) directive, applicable since 1 January 2013. Continue reading “Davies: Commission calls Daimler’s bluff” »

Davies: EU animal testing ban

Posted on March 11, 2013 by angelikaschneider

A Europe-wide ban on the sale of cosmetics tested on ainmals comes into effect on Monday (11.03), thanks to the efforts of a UK Liberal Democrat MEP.

Liberal Democrat Chris Davies helped negotiate the EU Cosmetics Directive a decade ago and has welcomed the arrival of its final provisions into law.

He says it cannot be acceptable to cause animals to suffer in order to develop products intended to flatter human vanity.

And he wants the cosmetics testing ban to be a first step towards ending all tests on animals. Continue reading “Davies: EU animal testing ban” »

Davies: Ban Discards

Posted on February 27, 2013 by angelikaschneider

An agreement between ministers to curb the discard of fish has been criticised by a local Euro-MP for leaving gaping loopholes.

Fisheries ministers agreed on Wednesday (27.2) to reforms of the EU common fisheries policy, but said that close to 10% of all fish caught can still be discarded, dead.

Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies described the loophole as a breach of the principle that all fish caught should be landed. Continue reading “Davies: Ban Discards” »

Hall/ Davies: MEPs want quiet cars to make some noise

Posted on February 6, 2013 by angelikaschneider

MEPs today voted in favour of mandatorily introducing acoustic vehicle alerting systems (AVAS) in quiet vehicles such as electric and hybrid cars to protect vulnerable road users. Road safety organisations and organisations for partially sighted and blind people such as Guide Dog had called for these acoustic warning devices in order to avoid an increased accident risk for vulnerable road users.

Lib Dem MEP leader Fiona Hall, who visited a Guide Dog branch in Newcastle to talk about the challenges faced by visually impaired road users and take part in a blindfolded walk along a busy road, commented:

“Walking blindfolded along a busy road in Newcastle, I was struck by how overwhelming normal traffic situations are for partially sighted and blind people and how important our hearing is to judge whether it is safe or not to cross a road. Continue reading “Hall/ Davies: MEPs want quiet cars to make some noise” »

Davies: Fish for the Future

Posted on February 6, 2013 by angelikaschneider

MEPs today voted for an ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by 502 to 137 votes.

UK Liberal Democrat MEP, who founded the cross-party MEP campaign group Fish For the Future, commented after the historic vote:

“Today’s overwhelming support for EU fisheries reform from MEPs across all parties and nationalities puts us in a very strong negotiation position with Member States in the Council of Ministers. The Irish Presidency has made clear it wants to complete the reform by June.

“People across Europe have said that we must stop overfishing, rebuild our fish stocks, and put an end to the waste of millions of tonnes of fish that are thrown back into the sea, dead, each year. Continue reading “Davies: Fish for the Future” »

Davies: Commission must not give competitive advantage to German car manufacturer

Posted on January 15, 2013 by angelikaschneider

The German government has been attacked for special pleading on behalf of a car manufacturer that is refusing to meet EU requirements for eco-friendly air-cons.

Daimler has declared that it will continue to use HGC134a, an air-conditioning coolant with a global warming potential (gwp) nearly 1,500 times greater than CO2. The industry standard is now to use HFC1234yf, which has a gwp of just 4, but the car manufacturer claims that it has conducted new tests that suggest it is inflammable at very high temperatures.

EU Commissioner Antonio Tajani confirmed in response to a parliamentary question from UK Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies that he would start infringement procedures against Member States that had not complied with the new EU rules from 1 January 2013. However, he also conceded that the Commission was analysing a request by the German authorities to find a special solution for Daimler.

Mr Davies commented: Continue reading “Davies: Commission must not give competitive advantage to German car manufacturer” »

Davies: End “scam” on vehicle emission performance

Posted on July 11, 2012 by angelikaschneider

A North West England MEP is fighting a carmaker “scam” that costs drivers hundreds of pounds in unnecessary fuel costs every year.

The European Commission today proposed a target for 2020 that could save an average driver £400 a year based on today’s fuel prices.

Fuel efficiency gains are matched by reductions in CO2 emissions, and the car industry is expected to meet the current 2015 target almost three years ahead of schedule.

Five years ago North West England Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies won the support of the European Parliament to call for a 95g CO2/km target by 2020.

He welcomes the progress made since then but claims that the method of testing new cars bears little relation to their use in practice. Continue reading “Davies: End “scam” on vehicle emission performance” »

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