C OAL FIRING POWER PLANTS AND FIGHTING AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE 15. November 2012, Zagreb

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND TARGETS OF THE EU The „EU-15”: reducing emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases in the period to 8% below the 1990 level. Countries joined the EU since the Kyoto Protocol was agreed have individual emission reduction commitments. Hungary and Poland have commitments to reduce emissions of the basket of six gases by 6% in the period compared to their base year or period. The other eight Member States have commitments to reduce by 8% against various base years. Croatia, which is set to join the EU on 1 July 2013, has an emission reduction target of 5% compared to 1990 levels. For 2020, the EU has made a unilateral commitment to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from its 27 Member States by 20% compared to 1990 levels. To reach the 20% reduction target, emission cuts will be needed not only in sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) but also in the areas of the economy that are outside the EU ETS, such as buildings, agriculture, waste management and transport (except aviation). Long term objective: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by percent by 2050 (Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050) Drastic reduction in carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations, through clean technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS).

E MISSIONS T RADING S CHEME OF THE EU - EU ETS - Directives 2003/87/EC 2004/101/EC 2008/101/EC 2009/29/EC Principles: „Cap-and-trade” system Mandatory participation Strong compliance framework Opportunity of establishing links with compatible systems

E MISSIONS T RADING S CHEME OF THE EU - EU ETS - Implementation and focus of the EU ETS I. phase ( ): „learning by doing” II. phase ( ): ensuring that the system contributes fully to the achievement of the targets III. phase ( ): the system is aimed to have central role in the achievement of the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2020 Transaction registers Emission allowances – right to emit - Limited number of allowances - National allocation plans drawn up - The price of allowances

E MISSIONS T RADING S CHEME OF THE EU - EU ETS - From 2013 Broadened scope of the system (additional industries, GHGs) Linear reduction in the cap of the allowances until 2020 Allocation of allowances - Full auctioning of allowances with exemption and derogation Harmonised rules on monitoring, reporting, and verification of emissions Connection to the CDM and JI Recognition most of the credits as equivalent to emission allowances – with exceptions (e.g. credits from nuclear energy or LULCF)

M AIN CRITICISM ON EU ETS the way the EUAs have been allocated; the carbon price remains far too low to drive investment in renewables; a higher carbon price would result in an unacceptable windfall for operators of existing wind farms, leading to higher than necessary energy prices; a higher carbon price would fail to counter fossil fuel subsidies;

J&E’ S ACTIVITIES IN CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change aspect in environmental permitting procedures Studies on EIA/SEA proceedings Double approach How climate change is taken into account in climate relevant projects How climate change is referred as justification in permitting projects harmful to the nature or other elements of the environment (nuclear power plants, hydro power plants) Legal support in climate relevant cases Comprehensive climate change legislation Follow-up of existing climate change acts Presentation of shortcomings Overview of common problems

C LIMATE CHANGE IN PERMITTING PROCEDURES Directive of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive) environmental impact assessments shall identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner direct and indirect effects on climate Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programs on the environment (SEA Directive) some reference to climate change, which is far from being proportionate to the gravity of the problem

T HE EIA CASES STUDIED IN 2012 Austria Expansion of the Highway No. A5 Estonia Establishment of a new peat extraction site (Raudsaare) in the bog of Laukasoo Spain Construction of an oil refinery in Extremadura Romania Rovinari case – extension of a lignit mine Czech Republic Expansion of the Prunéřov II Power Plant Hungary Extension of the Matra Power Plant Croatia Establishment of a coal fired 500 MW unit of Plomin thermal power plant (Plomin C)

Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic photo by Courtesy Photo in The Prague Post 2010

Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic the largest lignite-fired power plant in the Czech Republic located in region that has been been already seriously affected by the air pollution there are not enough lignite reserves in the supplying mine (Tušimice- Nástup) that would allow operation of the new units for the whole planned period the plan involves use of an out-dated technology that would fail to reach the required level of “Best Available Techniques” (BAT) as set out by the EU and Czech IPPC legislation the Prunéřov II is one of the largest contributor of CO2 emissions in the country, the project will lower the annual CO2 emissions from 7.1 million tonnes to 4.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year but prolongs the operation of the power plant by another 25 years

Prunéřov II power plant, Czech Republic – the procedure Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – Ministry of Environment The documentation issued by ČEZ did not provide an assessment of the plan’s climate impacts Expert’s opinion: „ GHG emissions of the plant are marginal and not able to cause serious environmental impacts such as rising sea level or melting glaciers ” Result of EIA challenged at the building authority and at the Court

Matra Power Plant, Hungary Photo by

Matra Power Plant, Hungary Enlargement with a new block - lignite and biomass MW, Total coal resource: 3,300 million tons, annual production: 8-9 MT (8 MT lignite) Determining factors: Energy dependency, huge amount of lignite, failures of privatisation and liberalization of the energy sector, EU accession and Kyoto process – kept the former structures alive, outdated, inefficient units are operating, polluting and costly technologies preserved Tendencies in use of coal: Decrease in use of coal – underground mines closed Increase in use of lignite – open-pit mines operating

Matra Power Plant, Hungary Exsisting lignite mines: Bükkábrány, Gyöngyösvisonta –planned extension Arguments: Preventing climate change, emission mitigation targets Air pollution, human health Outaged technologies Public participation, procedural shortcomings Problems: legal standing of NGOs burden of proof – high costs of experts

Thermal Power Plant Plomin (Plomin C), Croatia

125 MW Unit I TPP owned and operated by HEP which is planned to be discontinued after the construction of the 500 MW Plomin C unit within a radius of 20 km around Plomin TPP there are two internationally relevant bird habitats and eight special areas of conservation for other wild species and habitat types the annual greenhouse gas emissions from the Plomin 'C' Unit will amount to t CO2eq Plomin 'C' would account for a minimum of 40 percent of Croatia's total emissions- thus limiting policy choices extremely severely in other sectors and energy sub-sectors the competent authority refused to take into account the impact of CO 2 emissions on climate change

C ONCLUSIONS For a boosted reduction of GHG emissions c ombined effort on EU as well as on Member State level effective legislation and implementation are most important. EU ETS is one of the cornerstones but is not able to solve the problem Difficulties in assessment procedures, how to approach the climate impact of projects/large GHG emission sources Neither national nor EU laws provide clear guidance on the GHG emission threshold ? COM(2012) 628 final, Commission Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive)

T HANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION ! , Zagreb