Brussels, 18/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 18 November, the European Commission hailed the agreement made the previous day between members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - including the EU - to limit export-related support for coal-fired power plants substantially and to encourage the use of the most advanced technology in energy production.
“This agreement demonstrates that our trade policy can make a significant contribution towards the production of cleaner energy and fighting climate change. The EU played an instrumental role in the process that led to this agreement and I now hope that other countries, that are not yet involved, will follow this lead in the wake of the COP21 meeting in Paris”, said European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström.
According to the new rules set out in this agreement, the export credit agencies of the OECD countries involved will only be able to support export of coal-fired plants when it is clear that no less polluting power generation technology is available. If this is the case, only the most efficient coal plant technologies will be supported.
The Commission says that the process of aligning export credits policies with climate change objectives will continue in the coming years, since the OECD agreement is shaped in a way to allow for future adaptations taking account of the latest developments in climate science, further advances in energy-generation technology, and changes to domestic policy frameworks in both exporting and importing countries.
On the European side, the compromise reached between the OECD partners requires formal approval from the EU member states. It will be presented for discussion to the EU trade ministers at their next meeting on 27 November. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)