View of the EESC on EU Energy Policies

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View of the EESConEU Energy Policies

• Gerd H. Wolf, EESC
• 11 October 2006

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Energy is the key to everything
Motto

• from
• "Energie ist der Schlüssel zu allem"
• (headline in "Die WELT", page 3, 13 September
  2006)

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Energy is

• the origin of the universe
• the fuel of life and
• the nutriment of civilisation, culture and
  humanity

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Here we discuss

• Energy is the nutriment of civilisation, culture
  and humanity.
• It determines Europes position in the global
  market.

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Looking backwards In the pre-industrial era
humans too were used as engines and freight
carriers.
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Naval battle of Lepanto (Nafpaktos) 1571
(Doges Palace, Venice) Venetian Spanish fleet
against the Turks thousands of galley rowers
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Just 100 years ago
Tread wheel driven crane Bruges 1540
Hallstatt women carrying wooden containers of
salt on their backs
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DAWNING OF A NEW ERA
The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her Last Berth
to be broken up - William Francis Turner 1838
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Present Status

• Citizens of the EU have achieved a level of
  prosperity, knowledge, social services and legal
  certainty which is unprecedented in the history
  of their nations.
• Over the last century, average life expectancy
  has increased by about 30 years.
• Over the last 50 years, agricultural yields have
  almost tripled . We now discuss obesity rather
  than malnutrition.

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And now looking forwards
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There is a severe Energy Problemculminating in
the second half of this century

• Growing world population, energy consumption and
  demand
• Globalisation and the emerging economic powers
• Security of supply - political dependencies
• Finite resources of oil and gas - medium term
  (50 years?)
• Finite resources of coal and nuclear fuel
• longer term (some 100 years)
• Environment, safety and greenhouse gases (CO2,
  CH4, )
• Nuclear debate and prospects for renewables
• Energy prices and global competition
• The knot of problems and regulations see next
  page

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The Knot of Problems and Regulationsfacts,
constraints, promises, conflicting aims,
inconsistencies, overregulation, uncertainties

• consumption of resources
• climate, environment
• risks, costs
• ideologies
• dependence on imports
• competitiveness
• economic situation
• liberalisation
• EU home market

• legislation on the sale of electricity to the
  grid
• CO2 emission trading
• future legislation ?
• Kyoto follow-up ?
• sustainability ?
• nuclear energy ?
• natural gas, a way out ?
• hydrogen, a solution ?
• fusion energy on the horizon

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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
has issued several OPINIONS on energy such as

• Research Needs for Energy
• Nuclear Energy (Fission)
• Fusion Energy
• Geothermal Energy
• Fossil Energy (Oil, Gas, Coal)
• Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy Sources
• Biomass
• and, building on these
• Strategy for an optimal Energy Mix

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For the latter OPINION, EESCs key questions and
answer were Can we rule out present or
potential future systems or possible options? Do
we know enough and are we confident enough to
narrow our choices for a sufficient, secure
energy supply, reasonable, competitive prices,
and decreased burden on the environment and
climate? No.
All options have to be kept open and further
developed.
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EESCs main statements and recommendations 1.
Energy efficiency

• An energy chain exists which encompasses
  production, transport, distribution and
  consumption.
• Energy efficiency, including combined heat and
  power production, is the first key answer to the
  energy policy challenges.
• Greater efficiency supports all energy policy
  targets competitiveness, security of supply,
  climate change.
• However, recourse to further regulation should
  be the exception given that the implementation of
  several recently adopted legal instruments must
  still be assessed.

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Explanation Energy can only be converted from
one form into another and from a more valuable,
concentrated state into a more diffuse
state. This transformation process is being used
to achieve a desired performance (like
illuminating a room). High energy efficiency
means, therefore, that this transformation
process yields as much as possible of that
desired performance. However, there are laws of
nature which impose upper limits.
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energy efficiency addresses the amount of energy
needed for a defined purpose and
performance. energy saving also means reducing
demand, such as lower room temperatures, smaller
cars, lower speeds, less lighting, etc.
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Aspects of energy efficiency and saving
insulation, architecture solar heating any
heating combined heat and power heat
pumps efficiency of engines reduction of
losses logistics optimisation of
processes efficiencies reduction of
losses optimisation of processes efficiencies
(e.g. fuel cells) reduction of losses
building and housing transport industry energy
conversion and energy transport
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EESCs main statements and recommendations 1.
Energy efficiency continued

• It is vital to quickly reach the objective of a
  1 annual reduction in energy consumption and to
  set an effective reduction target of 2 as part
  of a second phase.
• Voluntary agreements with the large economic
  sectors represent an effective solution which is
  preferable to restrictive regulatory measures.
• When setting the requirements for eco design,
  there is a risk of fossilising progress and
  technical or marketing innovations.
• The continued and gradual introduction of
  efficient innovations in the field of energy
  efficiency responds to the needs of both
  consumers and industry.
• One problem is the pay-back period of the
  required investment.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations 2.
RD

• The EU needs an even more powerful Community
  energy RD programme, well coordinated with those
  of the Member States.
• RD investments are the current generation's
  amends to future generations for present-day
  consumption of resources and for polluting the
  environment.

More RD on energy is needed.
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EESCs main statements and recommendations 3.
Broad Energy Mix

• All forecasts and scenarios have limitations
  developments in the energy scene are impossible
  to foresee exactly.
• Europe needs to set a strategic goal of a
  diversified energy mix, meeting objectives of the
  economy, security of supply and climate policy.
• In relation to these objectives, all energy
  sources and technologies have benefits and
  drawbacks, which have to be balanced.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations 4.
Fossil fuels

• The fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas are
  the backbone of the European and global energy
  supply.
• Their extraction and use involves all kinds of
  harm to the environment, most notably the
  emission of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and
  methane (CH4).
• They will continue to play this role over the
  next few decades, while leading to the depletion
  of finite resources.
• The use of these vital raw materials has led to
  Europe being heavily dependent on imports.
• However, coal reserves are the largest, and they
  are more evenly distributed.
• Thus one important RD goal is to reduce CO2
  emissions related to the use of coal.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations 5.
Renewables

• Renewables do not emit greenhouse gases or are
  neutral (Biomass) in that respect.
• Renewables - solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and
  biomass have a significant potential for
  electricity and heat production that needs to be
  exploited and further developed.
• Despite their potential to become a substantial
  element of the future energy mix, they are not
  likely to replace fossil fuels and nuclear
  energy, neither worldwide nor in Europe, for a
  long time ahead.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations 6.
Nuclear

• Nuclear energy supplies one third of the EU's
  electricity and about 15 of its primary energy
  consumption.
• It makes a major contribution towards ensuring
  security of supply and reducing the EU's energy
  dependence, and it ensures stable production
  prices.
• Emitting no greenhouse gases, within the EU it
  leads to the saving of 300 to 500 million tonnes
  of CO2 emissions per year, thereby significantly
  contributing to the Kyoto commitments.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations6.
Nuclear continued

• There is an urgent need for even better nuclear
  safety and a solution to the question of spent
  fuel, which is still unresolved in the majority
  of countries.
• Comment In view of this situation, several EU
  Member States abstain or have planned to abstain
  from the use of nuclear energy in the future.
• But some EU Member States are making progress in
  resolving the issue of nuclear waste. Two
  countries (Finland and Sweden) have chosen the
  solution and even the site other countries
  (France and Spain) have adopted solutions for
  low-level products and are continuing
  investigations into higher-level products.

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5 0ctober 2006 Representatives from the
European Commission and the IAEA today celebrated
25 years of joint work in safeguarding nuclear
material. IAEA International Atomic Energy
Agency
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EESCs main statements and recommendations7.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen (H2) is not a freely available carrier
of primary energy. Instead, energy is required to
produce hydrogen e.g. from water (electrolysis).
The attraction is that hydrogen can be converted
into electrical energy (fuel cells) and/or
mechanical power (also combustion) without
emitting undesirable gases. Moreover, hydrogen
could be used as a storage of energy from
unpredictable electricity sources like wind and
solar. At present, hydrogen is produced from
natural gas, which is a fossil fuel.
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EESCs main statements and recommendations 8.
Fusion Energy
Fusion energy is still in its RD phase
addressing complex technological challenges (see
FP7). Later on, further development will be
needed to reach economic viability. In the long
term, it has the potential to play a very
important part in resolving questions of energy
supply in a sustainable, environmentally sound
and competitive way. The EESC backs the
Commission in its efforts towards this goal.
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EESCs main statements and recommendations9.
Some specific comments

• Because of the interdependence between the EU,
  Member States, independent authorities and market
  actors, a better coordination of energy policy
  would increase the ability to react to internal
  and external problems.
• While the affordable long-term supply of oil
  causes severe concern, coal and uranium are
  available on the world market from various
  sources, also within the EU, and thus do not give
  rise to concern.
• The use of gas causing less emission of CO2
  than coal continues to increase. For various
  reasons this trend is also problematic.

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EESCs main statements and recommendations10.
Kyoto and post-Kyoto

• It is necessary to find a global post-Kyoto
  climate policy, involving at least all major
  emitter states.
• Otherwise there will not be any significant
  mitigation of climate change, but a risk to the
  economic and social development of the EU.

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Summary

• Energy is the nutriment of civilisation, culture
  and humanity. However, there is a severe energy
  problem, of both a European and a global
  dimension.
• The EESC supports the objective of a common,
  coordinated European energy policy.
• All options for energy sources and techniques
  have to be kept open and further developed.
• For this purpose, an even more powerful and
  coordinated energy RD programme is needed.