Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-20-Speech-2-524"
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"en.20080520.36.2-524"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, thank you for your excellent work, and the same goes for Mr Blokland.
The Green Paper before us on better ship dismantling is, in all seriousness, a classic example of the global imbalance that has resulted from industrial development and of the efforts of many different agencies at long last to do something about its negative impact. The responsibility of the industrialised countries rightly comes to the fore in situations where developing countries suffer intolerable social and environmental harm because others have gone in pursuit of economic benefits.
The negative impact of ship dismantling is particularly glaring. With the greater environmental, health and safety requirements of which industrialised countries have had to take account, most of the world’s seagoing vessels are dismantled in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, often in very primitive conditions. Dismantling yards barely comply with health and environmental standards, and toxic substances such as asbestos are handled by people wearing shorts and sandals. The use of child labour is also common.
The equation is a difficult one. Ship dismantling is a profitable business for these countries, not only in terms of its effect on employment and the financial benefits but also for the recovery of raw materials. For example, Bangladesh gets 80-90% of its steel from dismantled ships. At the same time, low labour costs and the lack of basic standards make it an economically attractive business, which in practice results in environmental dumping and a human tragedy on an enormous scale.
An increase in unprofitable dismantling in the EU with the help of aid is not, however, a sustainable option. There should instead be direct aid measures for the developing countries engaged in dismantling, greatly multiplying the environmental and social benefits. After vessels have been partially dismantled or cleaned they are in practice unfit to sail, and after asbestos has been removed, for example, most ships can no longer be moved.
For that reason aid measures should focus on the establishment of certified dismantling yards, where the dismantling techniques used comply with Western notions of safety and environmental acceptability. Globally there should be a list for shipping companies of approved dismantling yards, and the International Maritime Organization should have a key part to play in their certification, to make the system truly international. This would solve the equation. The developing countries need the economic and material benefits derived from dismantling, and the shipping firms in the industrialised countries which are under growing pressure need the situation to change."@en1
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