| Author (Person) | Mallinder, Lorraine |
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| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.22, 8.6.06 |
| Publication Date | 08/06/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Lorraine Mallinder Date: 08/06/06 Industry and environmentalists alike have backed the European Commission's efforts to open up energy policymaking through a high-level group on competitiveness, energy and the environment. The Commission-led experts' group placed climate change concerns at the heart of its report, adopted last week, which contains recommendations on the energy sector. More than a third of the group represents industry interests. Effective implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) were described in the report as, "important first steps towards finding a global solution to climate change". "Industry in general has understood that the alternative to ETS is having domestic taxes. They have become accustomed to the idea that there will be some financial burden on them," said Stephan Singer of WWF, who acted as sherpa to the group for James Leape, WWF's director-general. "We were very impressed by the exercise," said Jean-Marie Devos, sherpa to Willy Bosmans, of Belgian company Distrigas. "Representatives from the petrochemicals, steel and cement industries also welcomed the document, which allowed them to express their concerns," he said. The legal unbundling of power production and distribution, a key element of talks, was welcomed by industry as a driver for market liberalisation and by ecologists as a fundamental prerequisite for increasing access to clean energy. The group meets to discuss renewable energy on 30 October. Reaching a compromise on issues like nuclear energy could prove to be a tough call next time. Article reports that industry and environmentalists alike backed the European Commission's efforts to open up energy policymaking through a high-level group on competitiveness, energy and the environment. The Commission-led experts' group placed climate change concerns at the heart of its report, adopted , which contains recommendations on the energy sector. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Energy |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
