17 Feb. Climate Policy Ash Wednesday: We must stop carelessly trampling our soils underfoot
This article is unfortunately only available in German.
Brussels / Saarbrücken, February 17, 2021 - The first Ash Wednesday on climate policy in Saarbrücken will focus on the protection of our soils: "Life is impossible without soil: food security, climate protection and the preservation of biodiversity are inconceivable without healthy soils!" says Manuela Ripa, MEP of the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP), who gladly accepted the invitation of ProBI Saarbrücken to the climate policy Ash Wednesday: "Today's meeting demonstrates the merger of several citizens' initiatives, each of which is fighting against further land sealing at a specific location in Saarland. It is an important step that these activities are coordinated and linked. As the only Member of the European Parliament from Saarland, the well-being of Saarland's soil is very close to my heart and, as a Saarbrücken resident, I am particularly interested in the initiatives against further land consumption here in the state capital and throughout Saarland. After all, land is a finite resource. In recent decades, we have been far too wasteful with it - this is a luxury that we can no longer afford."
But Manuela Ripa is not only concerned with Saarland soils. In the European Parliament, she is working on European soil protection: "As shadow rapporteur, I am responsible for soil protection in my group. In a joint resolution with the other EU political groups, I have advocated, among other things, that there should be a regulatory framework for soil protection, that fallow land should be given priority in soil consumption and that there should be no more soil degradation by 2030 and no more land consumption well before 2050. Decision-makers at municipal and state level also need to be much better informed and trained. This is something that is particularly close to my heart: the right to public participation in spatial planning procedures. I find it alarming that the federal states want to weaken the opportunities for environmental associations to take legal action. Among other things, the reintroduction of so-called preclusion, i.e. the exclusion of objections, is intended to prevent the majority of complaints from being lodged at all. This is in breach of EU law, as the abolition of preclusion is based on an ECJ ruling." Manuela Ripa is concerned about the increasing sealing of land in Saarland: "Saarland is now the federal state with the second-highest proportion of sealed land in Germany. We should be careful not to become the sad front-runner. This is explicitly not about standing in the way of progress, jobs and innovation, but about a sustainable land policy: instead of building on greenfield sites, we must first use existing brownfield sites in order to achieve net zero land take. If there is no way around soil sealing, then we need a strong set of measures to mitigate it and compensate for it properly. One thing is clear: there can be no more business as usual. We must stop carelessly trampling our soils underfoot!"
Saarland is now the federal state with the second-highest proportion of sealed surfaces in Germany. We should take care that we do not become the sad front runner. This is expressly not about standing in the way of progress, jobs and innovation, but about a sustainable land policy