Is CCS The Solution For Europe?

“Massive fossil fuel consumption in China and India means that without carbon capture and storage we are stuffed”, said MEP Chris Davies at the recent Carbon Capture and Storage in Europe: Progress and Prospects event. 

New UK Govt Stance On Environment

The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in the UK is setting out its stall on a host of policy issues, including its plans for the environment.  Some of the proposed measures represent a continuation of the policies of the Labour government while others are a departure from previous strategies. 

In its initial negotiations, the Coalition has agreed on a programme of measures to achieve a “low carbon and eco-friendly economy” including a specific commitment to reduce central government carbon emissions by 10 per cent within 12 months.

The new government supports public investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for four coal-fired stations and seeks to increase the target for energy from renewable sources.  The provision of home energy improvements will be paid for by savings from lower energy bills, according to initial policy statements from the Conservative party.  Also on the agenda are a “green investment bank” and a high-speed rail network, which were previously Labour government initiatives.

The Coalition also intends to set up a smart grid and the roll-out of smart meters and a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

On nuclear power, despite opposition from the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives will allow the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided that they receive no public subsidy.  

Controversially, the new government has ruled out plans for a third runway for Heathrow airport or additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted and the UK’s air passenger duty will be replaced by a new “per-flight” tax.

The new Minister for the Environment is the Conservative MP, Caroline Spelman, who has a background in agriculture.  Liberal Democrat and former MEP Chris Huhne is the new Minister for Energy and Climate Change, something which many environmentalists should presumably welcome, provided his hands are not tied by their coalition partners. 

Another loss in Brussels is former MEP Caroline Lucas, who became the first Green Party Member of the UK Parliament, representing the southern English town of Brighton.

Asia Leads On Greening Economy

It might be surprising to learn that China, widely regarded as one of the world’s worst polluters with its 1.3 billion population, overcrowded and smog-choked cities, rapidly industrialising economy and no-brakes attitude to growth in energy consumption and automobile ownership, is way ahead of Europe when it comes to spending on greening the economy.

The $80 billion of US spending and around €90 billion in the EU, earmarked for green stimulus programmes which aim to encourage sustainable industries and reduce carbon emissions, pale in comparison with the €150 billion China has invested in green initiatives.  As a proportion of overall stimulus spending, the EU’s green initiatives are again unimpressive compared with several Asian countries: the latest figures suggest that the percentage of EU spending directed towards green measures is less than 10%, compared with 80% in South Korea, 40% in Australia, 34% in China and 15% in Japan.  Instead of being satisfied with comparing our green spending with Obama, should Europe be looking eastwards and trying to measure up to Asian levels of commitment to creating the green jobs of the future?

Green technologies, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electric cars, are seen as a major source of future innovation and job growth, but Karl Falkenberg, Director-General of Environment in the European Commission, stated in a EurActiv article of 2 November that there is still a lot of potential for many EU Member States to do much more in order to maintain competitiveness with Asian rivals.  One problem is the more fragmented nature of green research and innovation initiatives in the EU as compared with giant state-backed monopolies in countries such as China.  It looks like many Asian governments have adjusted their spending priorities very quickly to the demands of the economies of the future, and Europe would do well to take notice.