October 14, 2008
INFORSE-Europe, a network of 72 NGOs working for sustainable energy in the EU and beyond, are deeply concerned that the EU leaders at the Summit tomorrow and Thursday might go back from previous clear agreements of 30% greenhouse gas reductions 1990- 2020 if an international climate agreement is made. We are also deeply concerned with the possible decision of giving free allowances to some power plants, and to allow more uncertain external credits to fulfil the targets of the EU countries instead of reducing emissions inside the EU.
Increasing evidence shows that the climate change problems are worse and more costly that even estimated by the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. Therefore it is the wrong time to back away from the 30% target that the EU leaders set in 2007, and postpone the discussion of this necessary target until an international agreement is made. That is effectively what the EU leaders will do, if they decide that the implementation of the 30% target becomes subject to a new decision by the EU council and Parliament after an international agreement. They should continue as planned to agree the implementation of the 30% reduction as part of the current negotiations of the EU climate and energy package.
The free allowances to power plants that is included in the current EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is leading to windfall profits among power plants all over Europe. They receive allowances for free but pass over the market costs of these allowances to the consumers as increased electricity prices. This is an unfair and unsustainable use of the ETS, and the EU leaders must not allow this to continue. If a country wants to exempt a power plant from the allowances, the only possible flexibility should be that this power plant could pay a CO2 & energy tax instead of buying allowances, thereby paying a fair price for its emissions.
The cost of not solving climate change will be economically crippling. The right investment now can deliver real long term security through creating a new kind of European energy economy; rich in quality jobs and reliant our own indigenous in- exhaustible energy supplies.
The problems and costs of fast reductions of CO2 emissions are grossly overstated by fuel and power supply interests. Historical evidence has shown that a managed change of supply and infrastructure is possible when there is the political will, and that human inventions are able to cope with the problems. INFORSE- Europe has developed a sustainable energy vision that outlines a development path for phase out of fossil and nuclear energy until 2050 with 25% renewable energy in 2020 for EU-27 and some INFORSE-Europe members have shown how an EU country can be fossil and nuclear free by 2030, such as the ZeroCarbonBritain report developed by Centre for Alternative Technology (UK) and others.