European Union News - Energy

The current EU-wide minimum rate of tax on diesel should be increased to match the current minimum rate for unleaded petrol, but no further, say MEPs. They also want to set a limit on further petrol and diesel tax increases in the Member States which already have the highest taxes.

The Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI) is hereby launching a call for proposals for the ‘Intelligent Energy — Europe’ 2008 work Programme. Some € 45 million will be made available, supporting up to 75% of eligible project costs. European projects, with a budget usually between € 0.5 - 2.5 million (mainly staff costs), will have a maximum funding period of three years and will include at least 3 partner organisations from 3 different eligible countries.

A scientific project funded by the EU's research programme has found that introducing hydrogen into the energy system would reduce the total oil consumption by the road transport sector by 40% between now and 2050. By taking a leading position in the worldwide market for hydrogen technologies, Europe can open new economic opportunities and strengthen its competitiveness. But the analysis also states that transition won't happen automatically. Substantial barriers have first to be overcome, ranging from economic and technological to institutional barriers, and actions must be taken as soon as possible. The HyWays project brings together industry, research institutes and government agencies from ten European countries. Following a series of more than 50 workshops the project has produced a Roadmap to analyse the potential impacts on the EU economy, society and environment of the large-scale introduction of hydrogen in the short- and long- term, as well as an action plan detailing what needs to be done for this to take place. The report is published as the Member States are due to give their approval of a new €940m public/private research partnership for the development of hydrogen and fuel cells.

The European Commission  agreed on a far-reaching package of proposals on the 23 January 2008, that will deliver the European Council's commitments to fight climate change and promote renewable energy. The proposals demonstrate that the targets agreed last year are technologically and economically possible and provide a unique business opportunity for thousands of European companies. These measures will dramatically increase the use of renewable energy in each country and set legally enforceable targets for governments to achieve them.

The Official Journal of the European Union has published, on 29th January 2008, a Directive concerning integrated pollution prevention and control. The purpose of this new Directive is to achieve integrated prevention and control of pollution arising from activities such as Installations or parts of installations used for research, development and testing of new products and processes. For example.

The commission of the European communities published on the 23rd January 2008 the COM(2008) 16 final related to a proposal for a directive of the european parliament and of the council amending the Directive 2003/87/EC in order to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community. On 1 January 2005, the European Emission Trading System (EU ETS) started operation. It represents the spearhead (Emissions Trading Scheme) of EU climate policy due to its ability to achieve absolute emission reductions in an economically efficient manner.

On 29th January 2008  the European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors, the most ambitious initiative to date involving the citizens in the fight against global warming. It comes after an informal consultation with numerous cities across Europe, whose Mayors will join the Commission in launching the Covenant. The Covenant consists of the formal commitment of the adhering cities to go beyond the objectives of the EU in terms of reducing their CO2 emissions through energy efficiency and renewable energy actions. Almost 100 cities throughout Europe, including 15 capital cities, have expressed their early support for the Covenant.

On 29 January six winning projects from four EU member states - Italy, Austria, Hungary and France - were awarded trophies at the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards ceremony taking place under the umbrella of the second European Sustainable Energy Week. The European Commission initiative aims to raise public awareness on the use of renewable energy sources and energy-efficient methods. The winners were awarded for the exceptional work they have already accomplished but, above all, for the commitment they have made to the sustainable future.