c oal firing power plants and fighting against climate change 15. november 2012, zagreb
TRANSCRIPT
COAL FIRING POWER PLANTS AND FIGHTING AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
15. November 2012, Zagreb
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND TARGETS OF THE EU
The „EU-15”: reducing emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases in the 2008-2012 period to 8% below the 1990 level.
Countries joined the EU since the Kyoto Protocol was agreed have individual emission reduction commitments.
Hungary and Poland have commitments to reduce emissions of the basket of six gases by 6% in the 2008-2012 period compared to their base year or period.
The other eight Member States have commitments to reduce by 8% against various base years.
Croatia, which is set to join the EU on 1 July 2013, has an emission reduction target of 5% compared to 1990 levels.
For 2020, the EU has made a unilateral commitment to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from its 27 Member States by 20% compared to 1990 levels.
To reach the 20% reduction target, emission cuts will be needed not only in sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) but also in the areas of the economy that are outside the EU ETS, such as buildings, agriculture, waste management and transport (except aviation).
Long term objective: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95 percent by 2050 (Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050)
Drastic reduction in carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations, through clean technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS).
EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME OF THE EU
- EU ETS -
Directives 2003/87/EC 2004/101/EC 2008/101/EC 2009/29/EC
Principles: „Cap-and-trade” system Mandatory participation Strong compliance framework Opportunity of establishing links with compatible
systems
EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME OF THE EU - EU ETS -
Implementation and focus of the EU ETS I. phase (2005-2007): „learning by doing” II. phase (2008-2012): ensuring that the system
contributes fully to the achievement of the targets
III. phase (2013-2020): the system is aimed to have central role in the achievement of the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2020
Transaction registers Emission allowances – right to emit
- Limited number of allowances- National allocation plans drawn up- The price of allowances
EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME OF THE EU - EU ETS -
From 2013 Broadened scope of the system (additional
industries, GHGs) Linear reduction in the cap of the allowances
until 2020 Allocation of allowances - Full auctioning of
allowances with exemption and derogation Harmonised rules on monitoring, reporting, and
verification of emissions Connection to the CDM and JI
Recognition most of the credits as equivalent to emission allowances – with exceptions (e.g. credits from nuclear energy or LULCF)
MAIN CRITICISM ON EU ETS
the way the EUAs have been allocated; the carbon price remains far too low to drive
investment in renewables; a higher carbon price would result in an
unacceptable windfall for operators of existing wind farms, leading to higher than necessary energy prices;
a higher carbon price would fail to counter fossil fuel subsidies;
J&E’S ACTIVITIES IN CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change aspect in environmental permitting procedures Studies on EIA/SEA proceedings Double approach
How climate change is taken into account in climate relevant projects
How climate change is referred as justification in permitting projects harmful to the nature or other elements of the environment (nuclear power plants, hydro power plants)
Legal support in climate relevant cases Comprehensive climate change legislation
Follow-up of existing climate change acts Presentation of shortcomings Overview of common problems
CLIMATE CHANGE IN PERMITTING PROCEDURES
Directive of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive) environmental impact assessments shall identify,
describe and assess in an appropriate manner direct and indirect effects on climate
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programs on the environment (SEA Directive) some reference to climate change, which is far
from being proportionate to the gravity of the problem
THE EIA CASES STUDIED IN 2012
Austria Expansion of the Highway No. A5
Estonia Establishment of a new peat extraction site (Raudsaare) in the
bog of Laukasoo Spain
Construction of an oil refinery in Extremadura Romania
Rovinari case – extension of a lignit mine Czech Republic
Expansion of the Prunéřov II Power Plant Hungary
Extension of the Matra Power Plant Croatia
Establishment of a coal fired 500 MW unit of Plomin thermal power plant (Plomin C)
Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic
photo by Courtesy Photo in The Prague Post 2010
Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic
the largest lignite-fired power plant in the Czech Republic
located in region that has been been already seriously affected by the air pollution
there are not enough lignite reserves in the supplying mine (Tušimice- Nástup) that would allow operation of the new units for the whole planned period
the plan involves use of an out-dated technology that would fail to reach the required level of “Best Available Techniques” (BAT) as set out by the EU and Czech IPPC legislation
the Prunéřov II is one of the largest contributor of CO2 emissions in the country, the project will lower the annual CO2 emissions from 7.1 million tonnes to 4.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year but prolongs the operation of the power plant by another 25 years
Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic – the procedure
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – Ministry of Environment
The documentation issued by ČEZ did not provide an assessment of the plan’s climate impacts
Expert’s opinion: „GHG emissions of the plant are marginal and not able to cause serious environmental impacts such as rising sea level or melting glaciers”
Result of EIA challenged at the building authority and at the Court
Matra Power Plant, Hungary
Photo by http://www.gea-energytechnology.com
Matra Power Plant, Hungary
Enlargement with a new block - lignite and biomass - 440 MW, 2015-2016
Total coal resource: 3,300 million tons, annual production: 8-9 MT (8 MT lignite)
Determining factors: Energy dependency, huge amount of lignite,
failures of privatisation and liberalization of the energy sector, EU accession and Kyoto process – kept the former structures alive, outdated, inefficient units are operating, polluting and costly technologies preserved
Tendencies in use of coal: Decrease in use of coal – underground mines
closed Increase in use of lignite – open-pit mines
operating
Matra Power Plant, Hungary
Exsisting lignite mines: Bükkábrány, Gyöngyösvisonta –planned extension
Arguments: Preventing climate change, emission
mitigation targets Air pollution, human health Outaged technologies Public participation, procedural shortcomings
Problems: legal standing of NGOs burden of proof – high costs of experts
Thermal Power Plant Plomin (Plomin C), Croatia
Thermal Power Plant Plomin (Plomin C), Croatia
125 MW Unit I TPP owned and operated by HEP which is planned to be discontinued after the construction of the 500 MW Plomin C unit
within a radius of 20 km around Plomin TPP there are two internationally relevant bird habitats and eight special areas of conservation for other wild species and habitat types
the annual greenhouse gas emissions from the Plomin 'C' Unit will amount to 2 644 068 t CO2eq
Plomin 'C' would account for a minimum of 40 percent of Croatia's total emissions- thus limiting policy choices extremely severely in other sectors and energy sub-sectors
the competent authority refused to take into account the impact of CO2 emissions on climate change
CONCLUSIONS
For a boosted reduction of GHG emissions combined effort on EU as well as on Member State level
effective legislation and implementation are most important.
EU ETS is one of the cornerstones but is not able to solve the problem
Difficulties in assessment procedures, how to approach the climate impact of projects/large GHG emission sources
Neither national nor EU laws provide clear guidance on the GHG emission threshold
? COM(2012) 628 final, Commission Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
15.11.2012, Zagreb
www.justiceandenvironment.org