Would Con-LDs have kept the lights on?
11 May 2010
London – A European Parliament committee has agreed a three-year delay to the imposition of nitrogen oxides emission targets, which could have led to the closure of many EU coal-fired power stations, such as Drax in the UK, by 2016.
The decision was in response to strong pressure from the UK’s former Labour government, which wanted to delay the regulation until 2021.
The Brown administration, along with large power companies and business leaders, had warned of severe energy shortages if the regulations under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) went ahead.
Generators, the UK lobby argued, needed until 2021 at the earliest to adapt their facilities, and also establish new low-carbon energy sources such as large-scale wind farms and nuclear stations.
Given the green and anti-coal leanings in its coalition pact (see panel), what position would the new Cameron-Clegg government’s position have taken on this critical issue for UK industry, and what now are its views on the postponement of the IED rules, which still have to be formally approved by the European Parliament this July?
Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition agreements relating to environmental regulation:
- Provide a floor price for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits.
- Increase the target for energy from renewable sources, subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee.
- Allow the replacement of existing nuclear power stations
- Establish an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient CCS to meet the emissions performance standard.
- Continuation of the present Government’s proposals for public sector investment in CCS technology for four coal-fired power stations;
- The establishment of a smart grid and the roll-out of smart meters.
- Full establishment of feed-in tariff systems in electricity - as well as the maintenance of banded ROCs.
- Measures to promote a huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion.
