Archived press release

UK must push for low carbon EU energy policy

8 March 2006

The UK Government must push renewables and energy conservation to the heart of the new EU energy policy, Friends of the Earth said today (Wednesday 8 March) following publication of the EU Commission's energy policy discussion document.

The "Basis for a New European Energy Policy" [1] will form part of discussions when Energy Ministers meet next week to discuss a new energy policy. It will also be discussed by heads of state later this month. Friends of the Earth said the new policy should have a crucial role to play in tackling climate change in Europe - but that the current documents do not contain strong enough commitments to energy efficiency and renewable energy. [2].

The UK Government has a key interest in the policy as the debate on a more integrated EU energy policy was initiated by Prime Minister Tony Blair at a European Council meeting in Hampton Court during the UK Presidency.

Friends of the Earth Senior Energy Campaigner Germana Canzi said:

"A new European Energy policy could be an important step forward in securing our energy supply and in tackling climate change. But the UK Government must press for far more concrete action in Europe on promoting energy saving technologies and renewables as a key tool to enhance our energy security and achieve climate change goals. EU energy policy should also be addressing energy use in transport, a key source of carbon dioxide emissions."

Friends of the Earth has identified five priority areas where the EU needs to take action to make Europe's energy more sustainable:

• EFFICIENCY: Europe needs a binding target to cut energy consumption by 20 per cent through increasing efficiency, thereby also reducing energy costs for households and industry and curbing greenhouse gas pollution.

• RENEWABLES: By 2020, Europe should meet 25 per cent of its primary energy demand from renewable sources, making Europe less dependent from imported fossil fuels and also reducing the hidden costs of conventional power generation.

• TRANSPORT: Europe must reverse the unsustainable growth trends in the transport sector that not only uses up 70-80 per cent of all oil imports into the EU but also accounts for about a third of Europe's total energy use.

• NUCLEAR POWER: Phase out uneconomic and unsafe nuclear power that can not survive in a liberalised energy market, especially if the high costs of decommissioning and the long-term waste storage for thousands of years are taken into account.

• SUBSIDIES: Remove perverse subsidies that keep dirty energy artificially cheap in comparison to its renewable competitors.

Research from Friends of the Earth [3] shows that that the UK can meet its electricity needs, reduce the need for imported natural gas, and tackle climate change without a new nuclear power programme. The research, `A Bright Future', reviewed by academics and industry representatives, showed that:

• The UK can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from generating electricity by between 48 and 71 percent by 2020 without resorting to nuclear

• Natural gas use for the power sector can be at least stabilised and in many cases reduced - meaning less of a reliance on imports

Notes

[1] The "Green Paper on Sustainable, Secure and Competitive Energy Supply" will be available from http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html. With the release of the Green Paper, the EU Commission aims to trigger a debate on the long-term strategy to secure energy supply in Europe, after which the Commission will table concrete proposals for action.

Friends of the Earth Europe six-page briefing on the Green Paper (PDF)

[2] Europe can save 20 per cent of its energy consumption at no cost, equivalent to foreign gas imports worth €60 billion - this should be made a binding objective to guide our energy policy. Green Paper on Energy Efficiency: Doing more with less; European Commission 2005; available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/efficiency/index_en.htm

[3] Friends of the Earth's "A Bright Future" report forms part of the organisation's submission to the Government's Energy Review which is investigating how the UK should meet its future energy needs. Government consultation on the Energy Review is due to conclude in April.

Friends of the Earth used data from industry and academic research to model how Britain's energy sector could develop over the next 25 years if the Government is serious about tackling climate change.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust