Alternative Energies

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Background

The European Commission is in the process of finalising its new transport white paper, a strategic document that will set the tone of EU transport policy for a decade. The main stated objective of the white paper is to make transport more sustainable, from an economic, social and environmental point of view.

Over the past decade, the environmental dimension of transport policy has grown in importance, as climate change mitigation has risen to the forefront of EU priorities.

Transport accounts for 27% of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, a share that is set to grow. If current trends are left unchecked, growth in transport emissions could even offset reductions achieved in other sectors. If the EU is to de-carbonise its economy by 2050, this issue will have to be addressed.

Commissioner Kallas recently stated that the Commission would probably aim at a reduction of GHG emissions from 50% to 70% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels, by halving Europe’s transport sector’s reliance on oil. Linked objectives should include a pledge to fully de-carbonise urban mobility, a shift of most long-distance inland freight to rail and inland waterways, and a shift of most medium-distance passenger transport to these same modes.

To achieve this, the Commission is betting heavily on technologies, with the hope that a shift to greener and smarter transport will help to establish a competitive low-carbon economy, deliver green jobs and change users’ habits.

Beyond research and development, the deployment of new technologies will depend on political will and financial resources. With investment in transport infrastructures at an all-time low, and in a context of shrinking public resources, how can this be achieved? Is the private sector ready to step in? Are national governments ready to commit? Will citizens follow?

Comment:Visions invites you to debate these issues with a panel of high-level decision makers and experts.

Provisional Timing

18.00-18.30 Welcome of participants and registration

18.30-18.35 Introduction of participants by Jennifer Rankin, energy and environment reporter, European Voice

 

18.35-19.05 Panel discussion

- Gesine Meissner, MEP, ALDE co-ordinator in the transport committee, European Parliament

- Keir Fitch, deputy head of cabinet of Siim Kallas, vice-president in charge of transport, European Commission – responsible for the white paper within the cabinet

- Martin Rocholl, policy director & programme director, transport, European Climate Foundation

- Richard Aumayer,  director, central division external affairs, governmental and political relations,  Robert Bosch GmbH

 

19.05-19.55 Debate (audience participation strongly encouraged)

19.55-20.00 Conclusions by Mark Gainsborough, executive vice-president strategy, portfolio & alternative energy, Shell

20.00 Networking reception

 

Discussion:

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Users to pay more for greener transport

Commission to set out path to cleaner transport, but Green groups say plans delay action.

People should pay more to travel in future, according to a European Commission paper intended to pave the way to a greener and more competitive transport sector.

The Commission's transport white paper, scheduled for publication on 28 March, is meant to steer policy for the next decade and put transport on a path to reduce its carbon footprint.

Read more on europeanvoice.com

To overcome dwindling oil supplies and to reduce greenhouse gases, we can derive our transportation fuels from plants. But environmentalists argue biofuels encourage unsustainable agriculture and sacrifice food for fuel. So, are biofuels really the green saviour?

Discussion: What would it take to unlock the full potential of biofuels?

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Live Debate - The new challenges of sustainable agriculture

As the European Commission is in the process of finalising its new transport white paper, a strategic document that will set the tone of EU transport policy for a decade, controversy about the sustainability of biofuels remains.

One of the goals of future EU policy will be to decarbonise the transport sector by 2050. Whereas electricity is seen to be the future of urban and short distance mobility, liquid fuels are likely to remain an essential part of rural and long-distance mobility. Biofuels have long been perceived to have an important role to play in the transition towards low-carbon transport. However, doubts have been cast about the carbon footprint of biofuels, in particular when it comes to conventional biofuels made from corn, wheat, sugar and palm oil. The potential impact of biofuels on food security is a further point of debate.

The uncertainty about the contribution of biofuels to reducing CO2 emissions was reflected in the agreement on the directive on the promotion of renewable energy. EU leaders originally intended to include a target of 10% of biofuels in transport by 2020. However the final text only mentioned 10% of ‘energy from renewable sources’ in transport.

One of the main elements of the Directive was the inclusion of mandatory sustainability criteria for biofuels in order to protect forests, wetlands and other areas of high conservation value. It allows for a voluntary certification scheme for biofuels, which would also apply to imports.

The directive also foresees that the Commission should review the impact of indirect land use change – that is, the notion that biofuels production can displace existing agricultural activities, creating indirect emissions elsewhere. The Commission is required to report the European Parliament and Council by the end of 2010, reviewing the impact of indirect land use change effects on greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels and addressing ways to minimise that impact.

The question of indirect land use change (iLUC) remains a divisive issue, over which Commission departments have not been able to agree. There is evidence that iLUC risks can be mitigated by introducing better agricultural practices. Others actors are calling for iLUC penalty factors to be added to the greenhouse gas calculations for biofuel feedstocks to reflect iLUC risk. The Commission launched a public consultation in July 2010, to get external feedback on the studies it has carried out or commissioned thus far.

What will be the place of biofuels in the future energy mix of Europe’s transport sector? Can a transition to low-carbon transport happen without biofuels? What can be done to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of indirect land use change?

* * *

Timing

18.00-18.30 Welcome of participants and registration

18.30-18.35 Introduction of participants by Jennifer Rankin, energy and environment reporter, European Voice

18.35-19.05 Panel discussion

•    Jens Rohde MEP, coordinator of the ALDE group on the ITRE committee
•    Hans van Steen, head of unit, regulatory policy and promotion of renewable energies, DG energy, European Commission
•    Thomas Gameson, director government and public affairs Europe, Abengoa Bioenergy
•    Jos Dings, director, Transport & Environment
•   Jeremy Woods, lecturer in bioenergy, Imperial College London

19.05-19.55 Debate (audience participation strongly encouraged)

19.55-20.00 Conclusions by Luis Scoffone, vice-president, alternative energies, Shell

20.00 Networking reception

Discussion:

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None...

Technological advances are making it possible to derive energy from greener sources. But wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, biomass plants or carbon capture and storage (CCS) are not free of controversy.

There are still concerns about each technology, which have in various parts of Europe stoked resistance to pilot and full-scale deployment projects. Wind farms are criticised for being noisy eyesores. Biofuels are accused threatening biodiversity and negatively affects food production and prices. Opponents of CCS projects say the technology is still risky. There have been ‘not-in-my-backyard’ reactions to solar projects, with complaints that solar parks affect land prices. Yet, at the same time, opinion polls show that the general public remains very supportive of renewable energies.

This puts politicians and decision-makers in a difficult position. Unless the public accepts these new technologies, the EU will not reach its targets to decrease emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels by 2020, increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 20% and de-carbonise its energy sector by 2050. Equally, Europe’s competitiveness will be affected unless employment and competitiveness opportunities must be met.

The EU and its member states have already developed tools that allow for public involvement in decision-making on infrastructure projects, through their environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment legislations. But public consultation is not made mandatory, and public consultation does not automatically lead to support either.

Should the EU develop a specific strategy to win public support of new technological infrastructure projects? Is it up to member states or regions to persuade local populations?

Is public awareness sufficient? How can the EU bridge the gap between theory and practice?

This debate took place during the Committee of the Regions’ annual Open Days that bring together representatives from Europe’s regions and cities.

——

Timing

14.00-14.30 Welcome of participants and registration

14.30-14.35 Introduction of participants by European Voice senior editorial staff

14.35-14.45 Presentation by Ron van Erck, policy officer, DG energy, European Commission, of preliminary findings of European Commission (DG energy) study on public attitudes to low-carbon energy technologies

14.45-15.15 Panel discussion

• Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for climate action (until 15.30)
• Edit Herczog MEP, member of the industry, research and energy committee, European Parliament
• Annabelle Jacquet, deputy head of cabinet of Jean-Marc Nollet, vice-president, minister in charge of energy and sustainable development, Wallonia Region
• Vicente J. Cortes, director, oxycombustion and CO2 capture programme, CIUDEN foundation
• Nick Pidgeon, professor of applied psychology, Cardiff University
• Andrea Athanas, senior programme officer, energy, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

15.15-16.25 Debate (audience participation strongly encouraged)

16.25-16.30 Conclusions by Hans van der Loo, vice-president European Union liaison, Shell

16.30 Networking reception

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The seas and oceans are one of this planet’s greatest resources. The movement of
waves and tides are a naturally occurring phenomenon and, like the sun and wind, can be harnessed to produce vast amounts of electrical energy. Marine energy has not, thus far, attracted the investment that the former have done, though its potential is slowly being recognised. Comment Visions October programme interviews Peter Fraenkel, Technical Director of Marine Current Turbines. Peter Fraenkel is the engineer behind  Seagen, the world’s first commercial electrical turbine that uses the tides to generate 1.2 megawatts
of electricity in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. Seagen will be tested in the Pentland Firth project in Scotland where Marine Current Turbines is planning to use its technology to produce up to 300 Mw by 2020.

Discussion: Is lack of investment the only challenge holding back wave and tidal energy?

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Recent developments in the gas sector in the US have the potential to change radically the energy situation in Europe. New technology has made unconventional gas resources available at competitive cost.

In North America, this sudden expansion of available gas has contributed to keeping gas prices low, despite ever rising demand. It has also helped the US to pursue its strategic objective of reducing its dependence on gas imports. Furthermore, the boom in unconventional gas in the US has changed the dynamics of markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG), with some supplies originally intended for the US being diverted to other markets including some in Europe.

As some European regions, particularly in Northern Europe, have similar geological structures to ones where unconventional gas has been found in North America, there are hopes that unconventional gas could offer the European Union a huge increase in domestic supplies. Energy companies have been rushing to explore the possibilities in these regions, leading to talk of a new ‘gas rush’.

For countries such as Poland, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas imports and rely on coal for most of their domestic energy production, unconventional gas could open a new chapter in energy policy. It would make domestic energy supply more secure, and reduce CO2 emissions since burning gas emits significantly less CO2 than burning coal.

A boom in unconventional gas would also have considerable implications for the EU’s energy policy. Abundant gas supplies – through increased domestic production or cheaper LNG imports – would make it easier to reach CO2 reduction targets and to electrify transport. It could also lower incentives to invest in some costly infrastructure projects, and make some technologies less attractive.

Sceptics warn of exaggerated enthusiasm, stressing that in a more densely populated continent than the US, public acceptance of projects that are likely to have heavy environmental consequences cannot be taken for granted. Unconventional gas extracted from European territory is not expected to come to market for at least a decade.

This event looked at the potential of unconventional gas to transform the European energy supply situation. It addressed the technological and economic challenges unconventional gas faces as well as the questions of public acceptance.

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Discussion: To what extent should we encourage the growth of wind energy in our future energy mix?

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Discussion: If the transition to electric vehicles is so important, then why isn’t it happening faster?

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Discussion: As well as seeking alternative fuels, should we be changing our entire transportation culture?

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