What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:a) conduct mapping of traditional land use, including for temporal grazing, indigenous cultural heritage and high-value biodiversity systems, prior to the development of renewable energy projects;

Added:20. Highlights the potential risks of land-use and water-use conflicts, particularly forced resettlement and expropriation for large-scale renewable energy installations; urges the EU, through its partnerships, to support governments of developing countries to:

Added:a) conduct independent and unbiased mapping of traditional land and water use, including for temporal grazing, indigenous cultural heritage and high-value biodiversity systems, prior to the development of renewable energy projects, with a view to encouraging sustainable land-use planning and assessing the environmental and social impact;

b) seek free, prior and informed consent from the local communities, while guaranteeing their right to say no, and their rights to justice, redress and compensation or remuneration;

Change 9

Changed:c) define environmental and social criteria and responsible business practices in line with international regulatory frameworks and ensure their compliance through mechanisms for oversight and grievance;

Change 10

Removed:10. Notes, with concern, that large-scale green energy projects (such as wind and solar power) are being set up in dryland areas, for example, without adequate consultation with the customary land users (such as pastoralists); recalls that traditional communal rights have a weak legal status, thereby increasing the risk of land grabbing;

Added:d) ensure the protection of climate activists;

Added:e) facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices between developing countries and regions that have successfully managed land-use conflicts related to energy projects;

Added:21. Notes that for some large-scale green energy projects (such as wind and solar power), like those being set up in dryland areas, for example, adequate consultation with the customary land users (such as pastoralists) is essential; recalls that traditional communal rights have a rather weak legal status and are often not implemented, which can potentially increase the risk of land grabbing; calls, against this backdrop, for the EU and its partner countries to recognise and protect indigenous people’s rights to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources, as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization Convention 169, and to comply with the principle of free, prior and informed consent;

22. Recommends that EU Member States that have not done so should ratify International Labour Organization Convention 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples;

Change 11

Removed:12. Is worried about the impact that water-intensive energy conversion practices, such as hydropower plants, have on agricultural communities;

Added:23. Acknowledges the impact that water-intensive energy conversion practices, such as hydropower plants and hydrogen production, can have on agricultural communities; highlights the adverse effects of hydropower dams on rivers and biodiversity, particularly in estuaries, as outlined in the report of the World Commission on Dams of 16 November 2000, among others; stresses, however, the potential to develop osmotic power, particularly in estuaries and deltas, to provide solutions for the generation of renewable energy;

Removed:13. Stresses that any planning of dams should be evaluated according to five values: equity, efficiency, participatory decision-making, sustainability and accountability;

Added:24. Recalls that large hydropower projects in developing countries often face a range of challenges, including prohibitive upfront costs, major cost overruns and delays, difficulties in attracting finance, social and environmental footprints, vulnerability to climate change and some poor track records when it comes to delivering the promised power; stresses the importance of promoting sustainable hydropower projects by conducting comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments and ensuring meaningful community participation; is of the opinion that, where possible, priority should be given to other small-scale and different types of renewable energy projects;

Removed:14. Notes, with concern, that Africa hosts an increasing number of fossil fuel projects, which risks preventing it from making a timely leap to renewable energy; recalls that a major portion of current oil, gas and coal production in Africa is destined for export, while the continent continues to be plagued by energy poverty;

Added:25. Stresses that according to the recommendations of the report of the World Commission on Dams of 16 November 2000, any planning of dams should be evaluated according to five values: equity, efficiency, participatory decision-making, sustainability and accountability; highlights, more broadly, that the decision-making process with regard to dams should fully take into account the notion of human rights, as enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the related covenants adopted thereafter, so as to resolve complex issues surrounding water, dams and development; underlines that the EU should work within the remit of its partnerships with developing countries to ensure that the communities affected by dam projects are adequately compensated and provided with appropriate livelihood restoration measures;

Removed:15. Denounces the double standards whereby private and public financial institutions in developed countries are increasingly making pledges to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, while financing the development and expansion of fossil fuels;

Added:26. Is concerned about the fragility of facilities in the face of extreme weather events, as highlighted by the recent floods in Libya, which swept away entire neighbourhoods and damaged critical infrastructure; insists on the paramount objectives of SDG 9, which seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation;

Added:27. Notes, with concern, that Africa hosts an increasing number of fossil fuel projects, which risks preventing it from making a timely leap to renewable energy; further notes that although Africa is home to 18 % of the world’s population, it only accounts for 6 % of global energy consumption; recalls that a major portion of current oil, gas and coal production in Africa is destined for export, while the continent continues to be plagued by energy poverty; insists that it is necessary to prioritise investment in sustainable renewable energy infrastructure in Africa, particularly in rural and marginalised communities, through the establishment of decentralised energy systems and microgrid networks;

Added:28. Calls for the EU to encourage the development of energy systems that do not involve or rely on the expansion of existing or new fossil fuel projects, in line with the recommendations of the International Energy Agency; stresses the importance of win-win partnerships that also benefit exporting countries and their populations in terms of renewable energy;

Added:29. Denounces the double standards whereby private and public financial institutions in developed countries are increasingly making pledges to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 while financing the development and expansion of fossil fuels; underlines that calls for low- and middle-income countries to reduce their dependence on coal will not be effective as long as developed countries continue to rely decisively on other fossil fuels;

Added:30. Recalls that renewables-based alternatives can increasingly provide a cheaper, more accessible, inclusive and reliable source of energy; stresses the role of renewable energy in increasing the adaptation and efficiency of agri-food systems; calls for the EU and its Member States to make the use of renewables in agri-food systems a priority in their partnership agreements with non-EU countries;

Added:31. Recommends carrying out a joint energy transition planning exercise within the framework of the partnership between the EU and the African Union, drawing on the African, Caribbean and Pacific-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and African civil societies, while respecting the sovereignty of African nations; recommends drawing up guidelines on the fair sharing of investments, revenues, technologies and skills;

Added:32. Calls for the EU and its Member States to include education and training programmes for the local population in their energy partnerships with non-EU countries in order to support the energy transition on the ground and create employment opportunities for local communities; likewise calls for the EU to step up scientific cooperation with developing countries on access to research and renewable energy technologies; believes that the generation matrix of renewable energies should be changed in order to move away from a purely extractivist perspective;

Added:33. Recalls that the 2021 Glasgow Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition commits signatories to ending new direct public support for the fossil fuel energy sector; calls for the EU and its Member States to lead by example and to stop financing fossil fuel projects;

Green hydrogen

Change 12

Removed:16. Warns against the risk of a new ‘green hydrogen curse’ that would foster developing countries’ reliance on exports and could crowd out investments in the development of local energy markets; is concerned about the lack of required infrastructure, the long-distance transport costs, the limited investments and financial capacities and the risks linked to weak institutions and corruption; calls for the EU to support the development of a green hydrogen value chain only when it can guarantee that it equally benefits exporting countries and their populations;

Added:34. Stresses the crucial role of green hydrogen as a tool to decarbonise the energy system, achieve net-zero emissions worldwide by 2050 and attain the Paris Agreement goals, but recalls the importance of life cycle assessments that take into account the production and transport modes used;

Removed:17. Acknowledges that the expansion of green hydrogen also has negative social and environmental impacts in the Global South, in particular as it relies on mining and the use of raw materials and rare earths; stresses the need to develop a global resource governance system that prioritises sustainability, efficiency and circularity, with a view to reducing global demand for virgin materials;

Added:35. Warns against the potential risk of a new ‘green hydrogen curse’ that would foster developing countries’ reliance on exports and could crowd out investments in the development of local energy markets; states that the green hydrogen industry can play a crucial role in the development of resource-rich developing countries if certain factors are present, such as good governance, the implementation and monitoring of a sound legal framework, corruption prevention, functioning rule of law, and transparency with regard to financial flows;

Removed:18. Notes, with concern, the conflicting use of water associated with mining and the development of large-scale renewable energy plants, such as green hydrogen; reaffirms that access to water is a fundamental human right;

Added:36. Highlights the need to address global infrastructure related to the production, storage, transport, distribution and consumption of green hydrogen, the long-distance transport costs and climate impact, the limited investments and financial capacities and the risks linked to weak institutions and corruption in some developing countries;

Removed:19. Stresses the need to regulate water as a resource for green hydrogen production in a sustainable way, so that it does not jeopardise local populations’ access to water;

Added:37. Calls for the EU to support, notably through the Global Gateway initiative, win-win partnerships that benefit both importing and exporting countries and their populations; calls, to this end, for the EU to support the development of a green hydrogen value chain when it brings equal social and economic benefits to exporting countries, notably in terms of the training and re-skilling of the local population, job creation, the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industrial activities and access to cleaner mobility and energy;

Removed:20. Notes the proliferation of desalination plants to deal with water scarcity; points out that seawater desalination can have major environmental impacts, in particular on marine biodiversity; highlights that reducing water use and recycling or reusing treated wastewater is often less expensive than desalination;

Added:38. Calls for the EU to support economic diversification and domestic access to electricity and water, with full respect for ecosystems and with a view to reducing excessive reliance on exports of fossil fuels; emphasises that enhanced collaboration between EU and partner country businesses and SMEs, combining the expertise of different like-minded partners, can create a pathway to sound entrepreneurship in the green hydrogen sector;

Removed:21. Insists that green hydrogen strategies must follow strong social and sustainability standards; calls for the EU to establish appropriate monitoring frameworks in its partnership agreements that allow for assessing their broader impact on SDG performance; calls for mandatory environmental impact studies to be conducted and for biodiversity hotspots to be excluded as sites for green hydrogen facilities;

Added:39. Acknowledges that the expansion of green hydrogen can have negative social and environmental impacts in the Global South, in particular as it relies on mining and the use of raw materials and rare earths, which require large quantities of fresh water and engender water pollution; stresses the importance of developing a global resource governance system that prioritises sustainability, efficiency and circularity, with a view to reducing global demand for virgin materials, while also recognising the challenges in achieving this;

Added:40. Emphasises the need for a systemic approach to assessing the local opportunities and consequences of green hydrogen production for European needs in developing countries; stresses that the EU should ensure the sustainability of the extracted, processed and recycled critical raw materials that are fundamental for hydrogen and the other net-zero technologies;

Added:41. Notes, with concern, the conflicting use of water associated with mining and the development of large-scale renewable energy plants, such as green hydrogen facilities; reaffirms that access to water is a fundamental human right; underlines the necessity of enhancing water infrastructure in regions where mining and renewable energy plants are prominent by investing in water treatment facilities and water recycling systems;

Added:42. Stresses the need to regulate water as a resource for green hydrogen production in a sustainable way, particularly in arid regions, including by implementing regulations that mandate sustainable water sourcing techniques, efficient water usage, and the minimisation of wastewater discharge, so that it does not jeopardise local populations’ access to water or drive up water costs;

Added:43. Notes the proliferation of desalination plants to deal with water scarcity; acknowledges that desalination plants can benefit local communities and the domestic economy, but points out that seawater desalination can have major environmental impacts, in particular on marine biodiversity; calls for the promotion of a sustainable approach to water desalination and of solutions that have no impact on coastal areas, such as deep sea desalination; highlights that reducing water use and recycling or reusing treated wastewater is often less expensive than desalination;

Added:44. Highlights the potential risks of water grabbing and water pollution associated with foreign direct investments in large-scale land acquisitions for renewable energy; calls for the EU and its Member States to enact mandatory water-related due diligence and reporting standards for corporations;

Added:45. Insists that green hydrogen strategies must follow strong social and sustainability standards; calls for the EU to establish appropriate monitoring frameworks in its partnership agreements that allow for the assessment of their broader impact on SDG performance, notably by identifying environmental, social and governance indicators and setting measurable targets; calls for mandatory environmental impact studies to be conducted, including for desalination, and for biodiversity hotspots to be excluded as sites for green hydrogen facilities; believes that green hydrogen production should demonstrate reliance on materials sourced under environmental and human rights standards for extractive activities (for instance, from countries that are signatories to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative);

46. Urges the Commission to set up an inclusive governance framework for partnership agreements that includes civil society organisations to ensure that the ‘no harm’ principle is respected vis-à-vis local communities and that global human rights standards are met;

Change 13

Changed:Scale-upScale up funding for a just energy transition

Change 14

Changed:23.47. Stresses that EU financing for renewable energy should be in line with the principles of equityequity, sustainability and climate justice;justice, which could comprise, among other things, debt assistance, debt relief and cancellation, debt restructuring and the Loss and Damage Fund;

Change 15

Removed:24. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase the amount of official development assistance it devotes to the energy sector, particularly in Africa, prioritising grants over loans and reorienting financing towards countries with lower rates of access to electricity to support their clean energy transitions and to develop programmes for facilitating the transfer of knowledge and green technologies;

Added:48. Stresses that investments in renewable hydrogen produced by non-EU countries should be based on international due diligence principles, including but not limited to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct;

Removed:25. Urges the EU to support developing countries in gradually phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and to focus on efficient, modern and affordable cooking technologies;

Added:49. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase the amount of Official Development Assistance devoted to the energy sector, especially under Heading 6 of the next multiannual financial framework, and particularly in Africa, while prioritising grants over loans and reorienting financing towards countries with lower rates of access to electricity with the aim of supporting their clean and renewable energy transitions in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Added:50. Encourages the development of public and private partnerships as well as programmes for facilitating the transfer of knowledge and green technologies; highlights that many African countries’ electricity sectors have specific characteristics (such as sharp growth in demand, small grids, fragile national utilities and customers’ limited ability to pay) that have to be taken into account;

Added:51. Stresses that access to financing for a just energy transition must be simplified and accelerated for developing countries; highlights that the EU can offer innovative solutions to speed up the green transition and increase the global share of renewables; calls, to this end, for the EU and its Member States to consider debt-for-climate swaps so that debtor developing countries can use the owed money to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation projects;

Added:52. Calls, more broadly, for a long-term debt-for-climate swap mechanism to be made operational within the framework of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and for IMF Special Drawing Rights to be rechannelled;

Added:53. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase the funding devoted to helping developing countries to adapt to climate change, making energy systems more resilient against climate risks; underlines the relevance of green energy in agroforestry and climate change adaptation projects, such as the Great Green Wall;

Added:54. Urges the Commission to increase the number of programmes under the Global Gateway initiative that prioritise basic access to electricity and clean cooking, particularly in the countries most in need; stresses the importance of the private sector in scaling up funding for basic access to energy and clean cooking while guaranteeing public access and strengthening national public energy suppliers; calls, to this end, on the Commission to use the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus as an instrument to support private-sector investments in developing countries in order to strengthen the energy infrastructure and provide better access to energy and clean cooking for domestic use;

Added:55. Urges the EU to support developing countries in gradually phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and to focus on efficient, modern and affordable cooking technologies; urges the mobilisation of investments and creating enabling environments to drive growth of a robust clean cooking industry;

56. Calls for the EU and European development finance institutions to:

Change 16

Changed:a) direct investments into the distribution segment, in particular rural electrification, and to prioritise decentralised, small-scale and off-grid renewable energy systems;systems when such solutions are more appropriate than grid extension for enabling rural populations to access electricity;

Change 17

Removed:b) ensure that human rights impact assessments are carried out and that all required social and environmental safeguards and remedies are duly implemented and monitored, including the human rights and land tenure guidelines;