In a move to try to clean up Europe’s energy market, the EU Executive is trying to put an end to member states’ financial support for dirty fossil fuels such as coal. Although the Commission called the proposals “a fundamental change,” they are criticised by environmentalists.
On Wednesday (November 30), the EU Commission presented a massive energy package that is supposed to clean up Europe’s energy mix, partly by making it very difficult for individual EU countries to subsidise new highly polluting power plants.
Currently, EU member states can refer to a so-called capacity mechanism in order to financially support fossil fuels by arguing this is needed to ensure the energy supply.
According to Miguel Arias Cañete, EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, this will no longer be possible with the Commission proposal.
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“We will not support fossil fuels, neither directly or indirectly. Capacity mechanism will not be used as a backdoor subsidy of high-polluting fossil fuels that would jeopardise our climate objectives,” Cañete said.
“That is why we have set a limit of 550 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour for new plants and we give time to existing clear capacity mechanisms to adapt to the new rules.”
Increased energy efficiency
The 1,000 pages long proposal also intends to increase energy efficiency, boost the use of renewables and give better information on consumers’ energy consumption. The Commission sets a binding 30 percent EU target for energy efficiency by 2030 and by the same year 27 percent of the energy should come from renewables.
By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more
This is supposed to make sure that the EU is on track to meet the UN climate targets agreed in Paris a year ago. According to the Commission calculations, this would also increase EU GDP by one percent, create 900,000 new jobs and household could save 500 euros per year.
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“Today’s package is about clean energy for all Europeans. This will bring a fundamental change, moving us away from a centralised fossil fuel based system, which was built some 100 years ago,” said Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for the European Energy Union.
Still, at BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation, they describe the Commissions energy package as “a mixed bag”.
Good and bad for consumers
On the one hand, BEUC welcomes that consumers will be more involved in the energy market and will, supposedly, get better information and be able to more easily compare offers of different providers.
On the other hand, citizens that have taken own initiatives for cleaner energy, for instance by installing solar panels, could face difficulties.
Currently there is support at national level to make sure consumers get a fair price for the energy they feed into the grid. The Commission wants to phase out this scheme, something that could make these kind of investments less attractive and not encourage consumers to go for greener energy sources.
“It pays off for all if consumers are encouraged to invest in renewables today because we will be less dependent on fossil fuels and big utilities in the future,” said BEUC Director, Monique Goyens, in a written statement on Wednesday.
Green advocates: EU’s new energy policy fails
Environmentalists raised serious concerns on the proposed targets for renewables. In their view, the Commission’s energy package is a major step backwards.
Green NGOs argue that the package presented on Wednesday fails to deliver on the promise to make the EU “number one in renewable energy.”
By loading the tweet, you agree to Twitter’s privacy policy.
Learn more
Imke Lübbeke, head of climate and energy at the WWF European Office, says “the Commission’s clean energy package is still too dirty.”
The WWF argues, among other things, that the energy efficiency target of 30 percent is not high enough. The organisation points at the more ambitious level of 40 percent proposed by the European Parliament.
Claude Turmes, Luxembourgish Green member of the European Parliament (MEP) thinks the Commission proposal is a step backwards as it does no more impose national targets on renewables for member states to fulfil. He believes this will make investments in green energy less attractive.
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“It is getting more difficult because we are less ambitious. This means that there will be less pressure to include wind and solar energy on the electricity market and it is possible that the costs of renewables will rise since the investment security is not as good in the new regulatory framework the EU Commission just proposed than under the old one,” Turmes told Euranet Plus.
Commission: This is achievable
The proposal will have to be approved by both the EU member states in the Council and the European Parliament. What the Commission has proposed is somewhere in between the wishes of these two co-legislators.
According to Arias Cañete, it could be a good basis for a compromise.
Click on the button to load the content from Soundcloud.
“Enforcing the 30 percent will require big efforts in most of the member states. It’s very fishy for an NGO to put any proposal on the table, but much more complicated to have an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of ministers under the present circumstances,” the Commissioner said.
- Author: Andreas Liljeheden, Euranet Plus News Agency
