In his report on competitiveness published on Monday 9 September (see EUROPE 13478/1), Mario Draghi stresses the importance of decarbonising the EU as an objective, but also as a competitive argument. The EU must adjust its policies if it is to exploit the full economic potential of the transition and be in a position to redistribute the maximum benefits to its citizens, he believes.
Lowering energy prices is therefore the absolute priority. In addition to decoupling gas prices from those of renewable energy, Mr Draghi suggests a technologically-neutral approach to exploiting all the available means to reduce emissions: renewable energy, but also nuclear power, bioenergy, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
The deployment of these different technologies will have to be supported by massive public and private funding, he believes. He stresses, however, that this needs to goes hand in hand with the streamlining of permit procedures for facilities: “Increasing the sources of finance for clean energy deployment will not bring the desired results without increasing the speed [of issuing] permits for installation”, he writes in his report.
Mario Draghi’s pragmatic and holistic approach was welcomed by most political groups. However, some are concerned about the promotion of technological neutrality.
“Mini nuclear power stations to reduce energy costs or synthetic fuels for the car industry are out of touch with reality and contribute nothing”, denounced MEP Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA, German) after the publication of the Draghi report.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) shares this view. While the NGO welcomes the report’s emphasis on decarbonisation, it deplores its technologically-neutral approach. According to the EEB, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are “among the least effective technologies for mitigating climate change”.
Fear of deregulation. More broadly, Europe needs to put “people and planet at the heart of its industrial strategy”, according to the EEB, which insists that “competitiveness is not the goal, protecting the planet and its inhabitants is”.
However, the Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe) believes that the simplification programme advocated by Mario Draghi risks becoming, “in certain cases”, synonymous with “deregulation”, by granting “temporary exemptions from environmental legislation”.
The two NGOs stress the need not to call into question the application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle, when the report envisages an extension of the allocation of free emissions allowances under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
While not devoid of good intentions, the report “lacks boldness”, according to CAN Europe. While the emphasis on recycling is a positive step, the NGO believes that it is still necessary to discuss “resource reduction targets in order to stay within planetary limits”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Florent Servia)