Written declaration No. 452 | Doc. 12322 | 14 October 2010

The right to a healthy environment demands a new energy model

Signatories: Mr Bernard MARQUET, Monaco, ALDE ; Mr Ruhi AÇIKGÖZ, Turkey, EDG ; Ms Karin ANDERSEN, Norway, UEL ; Mr Fernand BODEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Alain COUSIN, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Miljenko DORIĆ, Croatia, ALDE ; Mr Joseph FALZON, Malta, EPP/CD ; Mr Jean-Claude FRÉCON, France, SOC ; Mr Tamás GAUDI NAGY, Hungary, NR ; Mr Jean HUSS, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Tadeusz IWIŃSKI, Poland, SOC ; Ms Francine JOHN-CALAME, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Reijo KALLIO, Finland, SOC ; Ms Christine MARIN, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Yevhen MARMAZOV, Ukraine, UEL ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Aleksandar NENKOV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Pasquale NESSA, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Edward O'HARA, United Kingdom ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Ivan POPESCU, Ukraine, SOC ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Mr Giacinto RUSSO, Italy, ALDE ; Mr Fidias SARIKAS, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Leander SCHÄDLER, Liechtenstein, EPP/CD ; Mr Vyacheslav TIMCHENKO, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Oreste TOFANI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

The undersigned members of the Parliamentary Assembly deplore the consequences of the accident that befell an oil rig off the Louisiana coast on 20 April 2010. They commiserate with the families and loved ones of the eleven victims swept away in this tragedy and are anxious about its economic, social and environmental consequences.

The leak caused is spilling huge quantities of crude oil into the ocean daily and is not expected to be stoppable until the end of summer. But the ecological disaster already affects the marine environment of the Gulf of Mexico and the coastal areas and beaches in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and its spread to Europe cannot be ruled out. It also affects fisheries and tourism.

The undersigned recall that Europe is not safe from a similar disaster. They advocate stringent official formulation and supervision of safety standards, application of the polluter pays principle and enforcement of civil, possibly criminal, sanctions in the event of proven infringement. They urge that the transition to renewable energy sources be hastened, it being necessary not only because of depletion of fossil fuel resources and global warming, but also to avert accidents of this kind, and reaffirm the human right to a healthy environment.