—

having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular to Article 194 thereof,

—

having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (1),

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having regard to Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (2),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (3) (the Renewable Energy Directive),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (4) (the TEN-E Regulation),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010 (5), which is currently being revised,

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6),

—

having regard to its resolution of 6 February 2018 on accelerating clean energy innovation (7),

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having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2019 entitled ‘Climate change — a European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy in accordance with the Paris Agreement’ (8),

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having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal (9),

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having regard to its resolution of 10 July 2020 on a comprehensive European approach to energy storage (10),

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having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2020 on a New Industrial Strategy for Europe (11),

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having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European Strategy for Hydrogen (12),

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having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European strategy for energy system integration (13),

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having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2021 on the impact on the fishing sector of offshore windfarms and other renewable energy systems (14),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘A New Industrial Strategy for Europe’ (COM(2020)0102),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing Nature back into our lives’ (COM(2020)0380) and its related resolution of 9 June 2021 of the same title (15),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2020 entitled ‘A hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe’ (COM(2020)0301),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2020 entitled ‘Powering a climate-neutral economy: An EU Strategy for Energy System Integration’ (COM(2020)0299),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 17 September 2020 entitled ‘Stepping up Europe’s 2030 climate ambition — Investing in a climate-neutral future for the benefit of our people’ (COM(2020)0562),

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having regard to the Commission report of 14 October 2020 entitled ‘2020 report on the State of the Energy Union pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action’ (COM(2020)0950),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 19 November 2020 entitled ‘An EU Strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy for a climate neutral future’ (COM(2020)0741),

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having regard to the Commission’s proposal of 15 December 2020 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 (COM(2020)0824),

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having regard to the European Environment Agency report No 3/2015 of 1 October 2015 entitled ‘Marine protected areas in Europe’s seas — an overview and perspectives for the future’ and its briefing of 6 October 2020 entitled ‘Management effectiveness in the EU’s Natura 2000 network of protected areas’,

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having regard to the agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement),

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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Fisheries,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0339/2021),

A.

whereas the EU has ratified the Paris Agreement, as well as the European Green Deal and the recently adopted European Climate Law, which set an EU target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55 % by 2030 and achieving the climate neutrality target by 2050 at the latest, as well as complementary goals, in order to fight the effects of global climate change;

B.

whereas the transition to a net-zero GHG, highly energy-efficient and highly renewables-based economy requires a rapid and clean energy transition that ensures sustainability, security of supply and affordability of energy, as well as the necessary energy infrastructure;

C.

whereas the significant decrease in renewable offshore electricity prices has made it one of the most competitively priced sources of energy, with the global weighted average levelised cost of energy for offshore wind declining by 48 % between 2010 and 2020, from EUR 0,14 to EUR 0,071 kWh, and consequently a critical element in the green transition, paving the way for a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, and has become one of the most important pillars of the EU’s climate ambitions; whereas offshore renewable energy (ORE) has the ability to utilise massive energy sources to protect households from energy poverty;

D.

whereas the EU strategy on offshore renewable energy should take into account the different geographical features of the EU’s sea basins, which make it challenging to develop a one-size-fits-all approach;

E.

whereas the EU ORE production sector is a technological leader with significant potential to boost the EU economy by supporting the growth of clean energy production in Europe and around the world;

F.

whereas the total amount available for EU research and development (R&D) programmes for offshore wind over the past 10 years was EUR 496 million; whereas public R&D investments in the wind energy value chain have already played a crucial role in allowing the sector to develop; whereas the investment needed to pursue the large-scale deployment of ORE by 2050 is estimated to be almost EUR 800 billion, around two thirds to fund the associated grid infrastructure and around a third for offshore power generation; whereas the NextGenerationEU recovery plan provides a unique opportunity to mobilise significant amounts of public capital in addition to private investment;

G.

whereas the skills and qualifications of the workforce are key to the success of the offshore renewable energy strategy;

H.

whereas EU ports play crucial role in ensuring offshore wind is cost-effective, and act as gateways to local development in coastal communities;

I.

whereas the North Sea is currently the world’s leading region for deployed capacity in offshore wind; whereas other European sea basins such as the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea are promising locations to scale up offshore wind production and deployment in the EU; whereas the Atlantic-neighbouring western EU Member States have high natural potential for both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind energy; whereas the Mediterranean-neighbouring southern EU Member States have high potential for mostly floating offshore wind energy; whereas the Baltic-Sea-neighbouring EU Member States have high natural potential for bottom-fixed wind energy; whereas the Black-Sea-neighbouring eastern EU Member States have great potential for both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind;

J.

whereas additional research on the impact of different offshore renewable technologies and infrastructure on marine ecosystems, marine biodiversity and marine protected areas is needed;

K.

whereas the transition towards a climate-neutral economy should be accompanied by restoration of nature, without compromising on the existing nature targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 or leaving anyone behind, as set out in the European Green Deal; whereas the energy transition should be fair and inclusive;

L.

whereas ORE projects and their environmental impact assessments must follow the mitigation hierarchy approach; whereas when avoidance is impossible or very difficult, reduction measures should be adopted and effectively implemented during all phases, from site selection to exploitation and decommissioning; whereas these mitigation measures include those against underwater noise set out in environmental impact assessments;

M.

whereas the feasibility of establishing an important project of common European interest for a large-scale floating windfarm and connecting electrolyser project should be assessed by the Commission;

N.

whereas the possibility of benefitting from compatibility between sea space requirements to ensure ORE compliance with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 exists; whereas offshore windfarms can benefit marine biodiversity if designed and built sustainably; whereas a large expansion of offshore wind energy production requires an intelligent approach to ensure its coexistence with the activities that already take place in the affected areas, as well as to do the least possible harm to the environment; whereas noise pollution from the construction and operation of wind farms, and especially from maritime transport, has an impact on the marine ecosystem and should be addressed in environmental legislation; whereas the involvement of renewable energy developers at an early stage of the process will undoubtedly contribute to the successful allocation of sea space; whereas the allocation of space should be the result of joint maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal management that goes beyond national borders; whereas offshore wind turbine electricity yields surpass those of onshore turbines and are more likely to be accepted by those living nearby;

O.

whereas any human activity, including renewable energy, should not be allowed in strictly protected areas of the EU designated as such in the framework of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030;

P.

whereas the strategy aims to provide a long-term framework that promotes sound coexistence between offshore infrastructure and other uses of the sea space, contributes to the protection of the environment and allows fishing communities to thrive;

Q.

whereas a just transition of workers from the offshore oil and gas sector to the ORE sector should be endorsed by improving recognition of their skills and qualifications; whereas upholding the highest social and environmental standards is important;

R.

whereas the uptake of ORE is dependent on the efforts of the public and private sectors; whereas publicly owned companies can play a role alongside private companies in the ORE sector; whereas the revision of State aid and public procurement rules should provide more flexibility in implementing the green transition, including ORE projects;

11.

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63.