CHAPTER 1: Introduction
1. In January 2008 the Commission published the
20 20 by 2020 package[1].
This package proposes committing the EU to a 20% reduction in
its greenhouse gas emissions and to achieving a target of deriving
20% of the EU's final energy consumption from renewables sources,
both by 2020.
2. The renewables target is outlined in the Commission's
proposed Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from
renewable sources[2]. Final
energy includes energy used for heating and cooling, electricity
generation, and transport. It is this proposal that is the focus
of this report.
3. In order to achieve the overall EU renewable
energy target of 20% the proposal includes individual targets
for each Member State (see table 1). The UK's proposed target
is 15%. These targets apply to the Member States' final energy
consumption; earlier EU legislation[3]
and the UK's domestic renewables targets[4]
were concerned with electricity generation alone.
4. The draft Directive does not set this particular
target in terms of low carbon or low emission energy. Instead,
the target refers specifically to "renewable sources".
This means that nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage
are not included as viable technologies for meeting the target
as their fuel sources are not renewable. Biomass is included because
its fuel comes from renewable sources.
5. The 20 20 by 2020 package was preceded by
a number of other Commission papers. Agreements at the European
Council meeting in October 2005 at Hampton Court led to the publication
in March 2006 of the Green Paper, A European Strategy for Sustainable,
Competitive and Secure Energy[5].
The Green Paper led to the publication in January 2007 of the
First Strategic Energy Review[6]
and, in March 2007, to an Action Plan: Energy Policy for Europe
2007-2009[7]. These exploratory
and strategy papers contributed to a number of pieces of proposed
legislation, including the gas and electricity liberalisation
package and the 20 20 by 2020 package.
6. The Government published a consultation on
the UK's Renewable Energy Strategy in June 2008[8].
This document outlines a number of the problems associated with
increasing renewables and puts forward some possible policy options.
The consultation will inform the Government strategy for meeting
the target to be published in spring 2009. Evidence for our inquiry
was taken before the Government's consultation document was published.
During our evidence session with Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister,
we discussed the proposed publication date for this report and
its relation to the consultation. The Minister stated that this
report would be helpful and timely (Q 289). We hope therefore
that our report can contribute to the consultation process.
7. The report is split into three main parts:
chapter two addresses the proposed renewables Directive itself;
chapters three and four describe its implications for the UK,
the barriers to be removed and the incentives to be provided to
increase renewable deployment; and the final chapter discusses
the achievability of the target and the implications for the UK
if our national target is agreed to in Council.
8. Our inquiry was directed to the target proposed
by the Commission and accepted by Member States, using the definition
of renewable energy now envisaged in the Commission's draft Directive.
It does not therefore deal with nuclear power, or with other technologies,
e.g. use of hydrogen, which fall outside that definition. We do
not address the matter of whether it is right to classify all
first generation biofuels as renewable, or to classify all fossil
fuels as non-renewable even if used with full Carbon Capture and
Storage (CCS) facilities. These issues fall outside the scope
of this report. Nor do we address the potential conflict that
may therefore arise between meeting the targets set under the
EU's definition of renewables and future priorities of a UK government
that aims to meet energy supply, security and environmental objectives
through greater emphasis on nuclear and other energy options.
9. The report does not consider in detail the
continued exploitation of fossil fuels and nuclear power. However,
we note the importance to energy security of exploiting conventional
fuel sources within a viable long term carbon reduction policy,
including what remains of the UK's oil and gas reserves[9],
as well as pursuing policies related to energy efficiency and
renewable energy. It is likely in the short to medium term, given
present policy commitments and investment decisions, that it will
be difficult to avoid an increasing contribution from fossil fuels.
10. The report does not cover other areas related
to energy policy such as transport biofuels and the emissions
trading scheme, or the overall economic arguments for and against
renewable energy, some of which are the subject of inquiry by
other committees[10].
11. We based our inquiry on an acceptance of
the assumption that it is desirable that the UK and EU increase
their use of renewable energy for environmental reasons and to
improve energy security. Therefore, we did not investigate the
science of climate change, nor did we focus on the EU's external
relations with oil and gas producing countries[11].
12. The inquiry was conducted by Sub-Committee
B (Internal Market) (see appendix 1). We heard oral evidence from
a wide range of witnesses, and received a large volume of written
submissions. The Committee travelled to Brussels to meet further
witnesses and also visited the offshore wind farm at Scroby Sands,
the onshore turbines at Avonmouth docks and two micro-generation
projects in Bristol. Witnesses are listed in appendix 2 and we
are grateful for their contribution. We also thank our Special
Adviser, Dr Robert Gross, Imperial College, London.
13. We make this report to the House for debate.
1 20 20 by 2020: Europe's climate change opportunity,
COM(2008)30 final Back
2
On the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources,
COM(2008) 19 final Back
3
Directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of electricity produced
from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market,
OJ L 283 (27 October 2001) p 33-40 Back
4
Energy White Paper: our energy future-creating a low carbon economy,
Cm 5761, February 2003. Back
5
COM(2006) 105 final Back
6
An Energy Policy For Europe, COM(2007) 1 final Back
7
European Council Action Plan (2007-2009), Annex 1, Presidency
Conclusions, European Council 8-9th March 2007 (7224/1/07) Back
8
UK Renewable Energy Strategy consultation http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46799.pdf Back
9
The Government estimates that there is 21-27 billion barrels of
oil equivalent of oil and gas remaining to be produced from the
UK Continental Shelf. The Energy Challenge: Energy Review Report,
Cm 6887, July 2006 Back
10
See report forthcoming EU Select Committee report on EU Emissions
Trading Scheme and forthcoming Economic Affairs Select Committee
report on the renewable energy target. Back
11
For further details see EU Select Committee, 14th Report (2007-08):
The European Union and Russia (HL 98) Back
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