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Energy, environment & transport pro brief |
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October 2, 2024| View online
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
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Today we focus on France. New Prime Minister Michel Barnier set out much-needed direction for the country’s energy sector, and a lithium mine debate has implications for Europe’s wider clean tech ambitions.
Here are our top stories for the day: Barnier sets out his plan: pro-nuclear, wind-skepticTwo MEP questions Dan Jørgensen must have an answer toQuestions remain over France's largest lithium mine projectRomania and Bulgaria join Greek calls for power market reformFinancing EDF’s new reactors: two options on the tableEU 2030, 2040 climate targets out of reach, so don’t bother trying, say German associations |
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Barnier sets out his plan: pro-nuclear, wind-skeptic |
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French Prime Minister Michel Barnier presented his energy and climate programme to MPs in the National Assembly on Tuesday (1 October).
Describing environmental impacts as a "sword of Damocles" hanging over France, Barnier said the climate transition would be “at the heart of our action” and “the driving force behind our industrial policy.”
Barnier reiterated the country's nuclear strategy, calling for “resolute pursuit of the development of new reactors in particular.”
While he keen to pursue the development of renewable energies, Barnier caveated that this would be “with better measurement of their impact in certain cases" - an explicit reference to wind turbines.
“It's clear that this part of the speech is not positive,” Jules Nyssen, president of the French renewable trade association SER, told Euractiv.
In view of the looming housing crisis, Barnier also said he would review the country's land policy.
To this end, he wants to ensure the ‘net zero artificialisation’ regulation is applied "in a pragmatic and differentiated way". The regulation currently aims to prevent the conversion of a natural site such as a forest into something 'artificial' like a car park.
Barnier wants to get the eh countries energy and climate planning framework up to speed. “Planning work will resume immediately,” Barnier told MPs.
Paul Messad reports on how French stakeholders reacted to the news, and sets out what Barnier’s “planning work” is likely to entail. |
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ITRE jobs row causes first rift in VDL's majority |
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Despite the Green’s essential support for Ursula von der Leyen’s July re-election as Commission President, this week they were excluded from the post-sharing arrangement in the Parliament’s ITRE Committee, where the jobs were once again reserved for the centrist majority.
When the hard right ECR pushed a vote to overturn the job allocation on Monday (30 September), the Greens and the Left then joined the hemicycle’s right-wing parties in trying to vote down the agreement, voting records show.
Centre-right EPP Christian Ehler accused green MEPs of forming “new, unprecedented alliances” with the “fringes,” which “only benefits anti-European parties such as PfE and ECR,” in reference to the Parliament’s hard and far right political groupings.
Nikolaus J. Kurmayer dives into the controversy, which comes just ahead of Commissioners' hearings, where the trust among political groups is crucial in exchange for passing the EU’s new executive. |
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Two MEP questions Dan Jørgensen must have an answer to |
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When grilled in Parliament, the designated Energy Commissioner will be asked whether he too wants to abolish marginal pricing in power markets, the Left’s spokesperson in ITRE, Dario Tamburran told Euractiv.
Marginal pricing is the principle that sees fossil fuels sometimes the price for cheaper renewables, and was hotly debated during the 2022 energy crisis.
Meanwhile Socialists Dan Nica has vowed to quiz the Dane on what he plans to do against energy market manipulation, particularly in gas markets.
“We're talking about dozens of billions of euros illegally taken from EU consumers and companies,” the MEP stressed at an ITRE meeting in early September.
His demand: “A stock market regulation for the energy and gas markets in the EU to give us enough transparency, predictability to know who sells electricity and gas.” [NK] |
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Today's edition is powered by Forum Hydrogen The Hydrogen Business For Climate 2024 Forum will be a veritable “project factory”, it will offer the opportunity to attend high-level conferences, take part in debates and create a collective dynamic to deploy innovations and co-construct this new industry. Find out more >>
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Questions remain over France's largest lithium mine project |
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After five months of public debate on what could be France's largest lithium mine, opinions remain divided, with potential implications for the EU's wider push for domestic production of critical raw materials.
Announced in October 2022 by French mining company Imerys, the EMILI project aims to extract a lithium deposit in Échassières, in the central France's Auvergne-rhone-Alpes region.
In spite of the project’s potential, the CNCP, an independent committee responsible for fostering public debate, found that opinions on the ground remain split.
"For some, mining is ‘old-fashioned’ and outdated, fundamentally dangerous and polluting. For others (they believe that) technical innovation will allow mining to progress, and reduce its impact," the report states.
Lithium and other other critical raw materials are is seen by EU institutions and member states as crucial for the EU to maintain its energy independence and economic leadership in clean energy technologies.
However despite this political prioritisation, doubts remain about the feasibility of large-scale mining in the EU, with commentators questioning whether locals are prepared to accept such activities in their respective regions.
It is also unclear whether Europe's complex web of environmental regulation will easily allow the development of new mines, especially as these often have a major impact on the local environment.
Nathan Canas explored what locals had to say about the project, and what it could mean for Europe’s critical raw material ambitions. |
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UK rejigs energy governance to hit 2030 decarbonised power goal |
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Yesterday the UK launched a new independent agency with oversight over the electricity and gas markets, as part of the country’s bid to deliver a decarbonised power system by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has a mix of day-to-day and longer-term responsibilities, including the real-time management of the electricity system, spatial planning of the gas and electricity networks, and providing advice to the government and regulator. The entity will also assess the country’s energy security of supply and resilience. [DC] |
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Romania and Bulgaria join Greek calls for power market reform |
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The energy ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece have sent a letter to European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, calling for urgent action to counter recent power price spikes in South East Europe.
The 27 September text largely echoes an earlier 13 September letter from the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The letter says that power is often €50-100/MWh more expensive in the region, compared to the rest of Europe. The text blames this in part on major electricity flows to Ukraine, which is suffering shortages due to Russian targeting of its energy infrastructure.
Alongside longer-term fixes, the three ministers call for “short-term financial measures, such as taxing the ‘skyrocketing’ profits of producers.”
The EU allowed similar actions in the immediate aftermath of the 2022 energy crisis. However the EU also agreed longer-term changes to deliver price stability, which were meant to remove the need for ad hoc government interventions in European power markets.
EU energy ministers are due to discuss the issue at a previously unscheduled 15 October meeting.[DC] |
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Financing EDF’s new reactors: two options on the table |
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EDF and the French government are discussing two potential options to finance six planned new nuclear reactors.
As the French media Les Echos revealed on mid-September, the first financing approach would more or less copy the European Commission-approved system for the two new reactors planned in Czechia.
This system includes a zero-interest government loan covering 98% of investment costs, a 40-year income guarantee for the operator, and a contingency protection mechanism during the construction phase.
The second approach is involves a public loan or repayable advance of half the programme’s costs, currently estimated at around €67 billion for the six planned reactors. This sum would only be repaid once certain as-yet-undefined targets are met. Under this approach the money would not be recorded as debt on EDF's balance sheet.
This second approach system, drawn up by the French administration, was preferred by EDF's board over the first ‘Czech’ approach, according to a source within EDF.
Agreement between the French state and EDF is expected at the end of the year, and would then go for State Aid validation by the European Commission in the first quarter of 2025. [PM] |
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Administative court rejects renewables case against France |
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On Monday 30 September the rapporteur of France's Conseil d'Etat recommended a rejection of the case lodged by the French association ‘Renewables for all’ against the state.
The June 2023 appeal to France's highest administrative court concerns the country’s failure to achieve its 2020 EU renewables targets, and the lack of a clear trajectory to hit the 2030 targets, as reported by Euractiv in Monday’s Brief.
The rapporteur stated that that the French state is making the necessary efforts, and that the country’s renewable objectives are about to be achieved, according to a reaction from ‘Renewables for all’. The rapporteur highlights the recent laws that are moving in this direction and notes that France still has time to hit the 2030 target.
Pending the final decision of the Conseil d'Etat in a few weeks, ‘Renewables for all’ has decided to take its case to the European Commission. [PM] |
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EU 2030, 2040 climate targets out of reach, so don’t bother trying, say German associations |
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Achieving the EU’s 2030 climate target by 55% is “currently unlikely” while reducing emissions by 90% until 2040 is “very unlikely,” influential German lobby groups DIHK (exporters) and VKU (municipal utilities) stated in a press release yesterday.
The statement came alongside the publication of a study focusing on the 2030 and 2040 targets, which was commissioned by the two associations.
The “Commission proposal for a 2040 climate target overburdens Germany and Europe,” the alliance said. The organisations are therefore “calling for more realism” they say, adding that “it is counterproductive to tighten long-term targets if shorter-term ones cannot be achieved.”
The move comes at a time when the European Commission has signalled its preference for the 2040 target of a 90% reduction in emissions. Once in office incoming Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra is expected to formally make the make the legal proposal, for the Parliament and Council’s consideration [NK] |
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Letta again pitches ‘truly European’ railways vision |
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Yesterday railway industry body (CER) and the Jacques Delors Institute organised a joint debate in the European Parliament on the future of railways and the sector’s role as an EU single market enabler.
The event was hosted by EPP Vice-Chair Massimiliano Salini and initial presentations include a pitch by Enrico Letta, author of the high-profile April ‘Much more than a market’ report, in which he pointed out that a true single transport market is far from reality.
His report stressed how railways are still severely fragmented in Europe and pushed for the implementation and funding of a pro-European high-speed network.
The debate that followed featured MEPs from all political groups in the Transport Committee,, speakers from the Commission and the European Investment Bank. [BM] |
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Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Energy, environment & transport team |
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Today’s briefing was prepared by the Energy & environment team; Donagh Cagney, Nathan Canas, Paul Messad, Nikolaus J.Kurmayer and Bárbara Machado, but not with the keen eyes of any proofreaders. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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