EU energy strategy 4 next 40 years2 May 2011 21:21
BUDAPEST (Dow Jones)--European energy ministers will confront divergent views on which fuels and technologies should be privileged to limit climate change in the long term, while not hurting economic growth, as they meet Tuesday to discuss the European Union's
The European Commission, which has executive powers within the EU, will present energy ministers, or their representatives, three different scenarios on how the 27-country bloc can meet an ambitious target of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
"This is indeed a very ambitious plan, and we must ensure the time-proportional fulfillment," Hungary's Development Minister Tamas Fellegi said at a news conference Monday.
The EU has been very keen on its fight to slow climate change, but the recent threat of a major nuclear accident in Japan--where the March earthquake and the following tsunami seriously damaged the plant, causing radiation leaks--could affect how its goals can be met.
This is because nuclear emits virtually no CO2 and provides a very stable electricity output throughout the day and year, unlike renewable sources, whose electricity production varies according to sunlight or wind strength.
Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger--who has recently used strong words in expressing his concerns about the accident at the Japanese plant--wants to test ministers on their preparedness to face cost increases for consumers and possibly lower competitiveness for some of their energy companies, in the effort to decarbonize Europe's economy.
To do so, he will present three scenarios in which the mix of green technologies--renewables, nuclear, energy-efficiency measures, and CCS, a futuristic technology to capture CO2 as it is emitted and store it underground--varies, and how the variations affect costs and the impact on consumers, a person familiar with the situation explained.
If the EU is serious about meeting climate targets as a whole, national strategies must be coordinated, but the task is particularly hard because national governments jealously preserve their authority over the choice of their energy mixes and the commission doesn't have a say in those decisions.
The issue is particularly tricky when it comes to nuclear power. After the Japanese scare, Germany--Europe's driving economy--has decided to close some of its oldest reactors and has called for a review of all its plants. Italy, which was planning a nuclear comeback, had also put its plans on hold.
However, other governments have said they will keep pursuing nuclear development. France--where more than 70% of electricity comes from atomic energy--has a solid nuclear industry. It doesn't plan to rethink its strategy. Some central European countries like Hungary--which holds the EU rotating presidency and will chair Tuesday's meeting--have also spoken in favor of nuclear because they see it as a way to decrease their dependence on imports of Russian Gas.
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