Study Paves Way for EU Power Station Law Review
Environment Daily 1880, 18/05/05
A consultancy report for the European Commission has highlighted likely key elements for a forthcoming review of the EU's 2001 directive on emissions from large combustion plants (LCPs).
In addition to the areas already
foreseen for review, UK consultancy Entec analyses the potential of using marked-based
instruments to cut emissions of
sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). An Entec representative said
this reflected growing Commission interest in tools such as taxes and emission
trading.
The draft report concludes that, as a general rule, market tools are more cost
efficient than the "command and control" approach currently taken
by the directive. Emissions trading is marginally favoured over a tax-based
approach as the less "politically difficult" option.
Entec adds that introducing emissions trading for LCPs is unlikely to lead to areas of unacceptably high pollution, as combustion plants are in any case obliged to cut emissions under other legislation such as the EU's integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive.
On the feasibility of including further emission reductions in the LCP review, the report says technologies such as after-treatment offer the possibility of bringing NOx and PM emissions below the level required by the directive. Further cuts to SO2 emissions would however be relatively expensive, as low-sulphur fuels (the cheapest option) are already widely used.
Entec reports that only eight member states have so far sent the Commission details of national emission reduction plans required under the directive, even though the deadline passed in November 2003.
However, the plans received show that many countries have imposed tougher emissions values than required under the directive for "existing" plants (ie those built before 1987). A derogation allowing weaker emission limits for existing plants used only when power demand is high does not seem likely to be taken up by a "significant number" of LCPs.
The treatment of existing LCPs was one of the last issues to be resolved in conciliation talks on the directive (ED 04/07/01).
A Commission official said the Entec report - to be finalised next month - had to be seen as just one of several issues feeding into the LCP directive review. Others include the forthcoming thematic strategy on air pollution (Cafe), expected from the commission before the summer, and a study into the feasibility of streamlining EU industrial emissions policies, due to be launched in the coming weeks (ED 12/05/05).
* In a related development, Italy last week became the second EU member state to be condemned by the European court of justice for not transposing the LCP directive into national law on time. Since the legal deadline passed on 27 November 2002 the European Commission has applied for similar rulings against six states. The Netherlands was condemned in April (ED 19/04/05).
Follow-up: European Commission, tel: +32 2 299 1111, LCP directive webpages and draft report. See also European court of justice judgement in case C-99/04.
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