PURPOSE: to present
a communication on the sustainable power generation from fossil fuels: aiming
for near-zero emissions from coal after 2020.
CONTENT: this
Communication is presented in the follow-up to the Commission Green Paper on
“A European Strategy for Secure, Competitive and Sustainable Energy” adopted
in March 2006. Its aim is to present a global view of the actions needed for
the continued contribution of fossil fuels and particularly coal to the
security and diversification of energy supply for Europe and the world in a
way compatible with the sustainable development strategy and climate change
policy objectives.
Fossil
fuels represent an important element of the
energy mix in the European Union as well as in many other economies. They are
of particular importance for the generation of electricity: over 50% of EU
electricity currently comes from fossil fuels (mainly coal and natural gas).
Worldwide, growing total energy production is expected to rely increasingly
on fossil fuels at least till 2050, particularly in a number of key
geo-economic areas. The use of fossil fuels can also be envisaged for the
coproduction of electricity and hydrogen on a large scale, opening a
realistic and economically viable route to a hydrogen economy.
However, all use
of fossil fuels leads to CO2 emissions, currently the most critical cause
of global warming. If fossil fuels are to continue playing their valuable
role in the energy mix, solutions must be found to limit the impact of their
use to levels compatible with sustainable climate objectives.
As part of its
Energy Policy for Europe, the European Commission has adopted this
Communication on how to generate power from fossil fuels in a sustainable
manner with a focus on sustainable coal technologies – these will enable coal
to maintain its important contribution to secure and competitive energy
supplies for Europe.
If the EU is
to achieve its long term climate change objectives, much cleaner coal
technologies and a significant reduction of CO2 emission will be necessary.
Furthermore, developing clean coal and carbon capture and storage
technologies is crucial at the international level: it is expected that
twice as much electricity as today will be produced world-wide from coal by
2030. This will in turn bring new opportunities for European export as well.
In order to
make sustainable fossil fuels a reality after 2020, the EU must establish a
favourable regulatory framework for the development of these novel
technologies, invest more, and more efficiently, into research, as well as
take international action. The EU Emission Trading Scheme will also need to
incorporate capture and storage in the future.
The
Commission will in 2007 start work to:
- substantially
increase the funding for R&D in the energy area, making the
demonstration of Sustainable Fossil Fuels technologies one of the
priorities for 2007-2013. It calls on Member States to show an equal
commitment to R&D and demonstration in this area. It will also seek
to ensure that action at both EU and Member State level complement the
efforts by industry in the framework of the Zero Emission Fossil Fuel
Power Plant Technology Platform (ZEP TP). A European Strategic Energy
Technology Plan will provide a suitable instrument for the overall
coordination of such R&D and demonstration efforts and for the
maximisation of synergies at both EU and national level;
- examine
(inter alia by way of an in-depth impact assessment study to be
undertaken in 2007) possible measures for achieving the
demonstration of Sustainable Fossil Fuels, and particularly Sustainable
Coal, technologies. On this basis, the Commission will determine the
most suitable way to support the design, construction and operation by
2015 of up to 12 large-scale demonstrations of Sustainable Fossil Fuels
technologies in commercial power generation;
- assess on
the basis of recent and planned investments whether new fossil fuels
power plants built and to be built in the EU use best available
technologies regarding efficiency and whether, if not equipped with CCS,
new coal- and gas-fired installations are prepared for later addition of
CCS technologies ('capture ready'). If this turns out not to be the
case, the Commission will consider proposing legally binding instruments
as soon as possible, after a proper impact assessment;
- assess the
potential risks from CCS and lay down requirements for the licensing of
CCS activities and for adequately managing the risks and impacts
identified. Once a sound management framework is developed, it can be
combined with changes to the existing environmental regulatory framework
at EU level so as to remove any unwarranted barriers to CCS
technologies. The Commission will also assess whether to amend existing
instruments (such as the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive or
the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive) or propose a
free-standing regulatory framework. It will assess which aspects of the
regulatory framework are preferably addressed at EU level or,
alternatively, at national level. The Commission will, in early 2007, hold
a public internet-based consultation on different options for CCS to
ensure the proper involvement of the European public in the evaluation
of the environmental integrity and safety of the capture, transport and
geological storage of CO2. In the review of the EU Emissions Trading
Scheme (EU ETS), the Commission will address the recognition of CCS
activities in the EU ETS. A proposal for the revision of the ETS is
planned in the Commission Work Programme for 2007; it will relate to the
period from 2013 and will aim at the projection of necessarily
regulatory stability. It will seek a level playing field in line with
the actual CO2 benefits, both between various CCS options and across the
EU for investment in CCS technologies. The Commission will also consider
intermediate options to take account of CCS activities undertaken during
the period 2008-2012;
- continue its
efforts to achieve a global agreement to limit and subsequently reduce
global emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, in line with the objective
of limiting the increase in the earth's average temperature to a maximum
of 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. The Commission will support the
recognition of CCS activities respecting appropriate environmental
safeguards as part of the broad portfolio of energy options necessary
for the implementation of such agreement;
- support
appropriate amendments to the international conventions (e.g. The
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic – the "OSPAR Convention");
- aim for a
clear and predictable long-term framework to facilitate a smooth and
rapid transition to a CCS-equipped power generation from coal. This is
necessary to enable power businesses to undertake the required
investments and research in the secure knowledge that their competitors
will be following a similar course. On the basis of the information
currently available, the Commission believes that by 2020 all new
coal-fired power plants should be built with CCS. Existing plants should
then progressively follow the same approach. In order to make a
decision, in terms of both the timing of any CCS obligation and the most
appropriate form and nature of the requirement, the Commission will
undertake in 2007 an analysis including a wide-ranging public consultation
on the issue. On the basis of such an analysis, the Commission will
evaluate what is the optimal retrofitting schedule for fossil fuels
power plants for the period after the commercial viability of
Sustainable Coal technologies is demonstrated;
- to accelerate
the ongoing European collaboration with China in the demonstration of
CCS (bringing the operation date from 2020 significantly forward), the
Commission will look for opportunities to extend cooperation on
demonstration projects to other key emerging economies (such as India,
South Africa) and will seek to stimulate the creation of enabling policy
and regulatory framework in those countries. The Commission will examine
options for co-financing such projects and for close coordination of
demonstration projects in the EU and in third countries. At the same
time, the Commission will seek to identify and exploit the synergies
with efforts under way in other coal-using economies (including the US, Japan and Australia).