Activity Report 2012 - Eurelectric

The European Commission publishes its Communication
on Renewable Energy. EURELECTRIC acknowledges the
role of renewables as an essential element of Europe’s
low-carbon energy future, but says the EU must put them
on an equal footing with other technologies.
p.17
In a bid to prop up the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS),
the European Commission proposes to ‘backload’ an
unspecified number of emissions certificates within the trading
period 2013-2020. EURELECTRIC stresses that this proposal
must be part of a longer-term strategy to strengthen the ETS
and allow it to become the key driver of decarbonisation.
The Commission follows up with a more precise backloading
proposal and a report on the carbon market in november.
p.38
Policymakers reach an agreement on
the Energy Efficiency Directive, allowing
it to be adopted by the end of the year.
EURELECTRIC welcomes the result as a
good step towards more flexible, targeted
and customised solutions, but says proper
implementation will be crucial.
p.41
A EURELECTRIC workshop says
EU water policy must strive for
consistency with other policy
objectives, including lower
carbon emissions, the expansion of renewable energy sources,
and security of energy supply. The workshop comes ahead of the
Commission’s Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources,
published in november.
p.42
The Commission announces the results of the EU-wide
nuclear stress tests, conducted after the Fukushima
accident in March 2011. EURELECTRIC cautions that
the report must paint a fair picture of the stress test
results, while emphasising the sector’s commitment
to nuclear safety and its full support for the European
stress test exercise.
p.19
The importance of rapid market integration
remains undiminished, EURELECTRIC says as
the Commission publishes its Communication
on the Internal Energy Market. EURELECTRIC
urges the Commission to strongly push for
further progress and to tolerate no delays in
completing the internal energy market by 2014,
for the benefit of industry and customers alike.
p.23
July august september october november December
EURELECTRIC organises a joint workshop
with the CIS Electricity Power Council
in Brussels to celebrate 10 years of
cooperation between the European and
the Russian/CIS electricity industries.
p.27
EURELECTRIC publishes the results of its
Investment Action Plan, a large-scale
exercise focusing on the investment
situation of our industry in Europe. Members
see volatile policies as the main reason for
the generally poor investment climate and
recommend more coherence, less micromanagement,
and a stronger focus on
innovation, among other things.
p.12
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