Brussels, 05/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - At a seminar in Brussels on 30 January as part of the 2nd Sustainable Energy Week, the Conference of the Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) energy working group examined various aspects of the energy and climate package unveiled by the European Commission on 23 January 2008 (see EUROPE 9586). Among its main conclusions, the CPMR welcomed the European Commission's plan to ban discrimination against peripheral regions and islands in the application of electricity transmission and distribution tariffs. It also welcomed the Commission's plan to simplify the red tape that is hindering or blocking the development of renewable energy. The CPMR criticises the Commission, however, for putting climate change ahead of aesthetic and environmental concerns. Jean-Didier Hache, coordinator of the CPMR's energy group, explained that some environmental legislation protecting wild birds, for example, was being abused by pressure groups to oppose the building of windfarms in protected areas. On behalf of the Western Isles region of the United Kingdom, Angus Campbell slammed the Scottish government's ban on the building of one of the biggest windfarms in Europe on the Isle of Lewis. The CPMR gave a broadly positive welcome to the Commission's proposals on the creation of a 'transfer' system for guarantees of origin of renewable energy sources. In the long-term, such a system could help establish a virtual market, which would be favourable to the EU's maritime peripheries… However, such a mechanism could have perverse effects by encouraging certain member states to use the market for guarantees of origin to meet their quotas rather than making the necessary investment at home. The CPMR also believes that the 5MW minimum suggested by the Commission in the energy package is too high, and this should be significantly reduced to allow small producers in rural areas to reap advantages from the guarantee of origin system. On the prospect of burying carbon dioxide at sea or in former offshore oil or gas fields, particularly in the North Sea, the CPMR asks the Commission to ensure that the precautionary principle is respected and that very thorough impact studies be carried out before undertaking the slightest development. The question of biofuel met with mixed reactions from the CPMR: 'Local production of biofuel can of course contribute to sustainable development and rural economies, but the prospect of widespread global use of agricultural land to produce fuel instead of food raises serious reservations.' (E.H.)