Meeting Europe's renewable energy targets in harmony with - RSPB

104 MEETING EUROPE’S RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS IN HARMONY WITH NATURE
5.1 EVALUATION OF
NATIONAL POLICY
FRAMEWORKS
BirdLife Partners were asked to evaluate how well
the policy framework in their country achieved the
following:
●
●
●
●
●
stimulating investment in a range of renewable
energy technologies
protecting biodiversity and enabling it to adapt
to climate change
minimising overall infrastructure needs and
impacts
spatial planning for renewables, and
minimising project impacts.
Table 4 summarises the results of these expert
evaluations. It presents a complex picture, with
considerable variation in the perceived adequacy of
policy frameworks across issues and between
countries. However some broad observations can
be made, and some “leaders” and “laggards” can
be identified.
5.1.1 STIMULATING INVESTMENT IN
RENEWABLES
Leaders: Germany, UK, Spain
Laggards: Poland, Montenegro, Romania
In general, the results suggest this aspect is
relatively well addressed by national policy
frameworks. In particular onshore wind power is
seen to be positively or very positively incentivised
in most countries. The offshore wind power
industry was also considered to be well stimulated
by policy frameworks in many countries. None of
the Partners considered that energy efficiency
policies in their country are “very positive”. There
were few negative evaluations, but doing more to
promote energy efficiency was a high priority in
many Partners’ recommendations (see Section 5.3),
because of its value in reducing the overall need for
new generation capacity and power lines.
5.1.2 BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION
Leaders: Germany, Portugal, UK (England
and Scotland)
Laggards: Ireland, Montenegro, Bulgaria,
Greece, Spain
In general, Partners gave quite positive evaluations
regarding designation of the Natura 2000 network
and protection of biodiversity within Natura 2000
sites. Bulgaria, Spain and Ireland are notable
exceptions. Protection of priority bird species was
also seen to be quite positively promoted by
national policy frameworks, except in France,
Ireland, Montenegro and Spain. Again, broadly
speaking, designation of conservation areas of
national and local importance was relatively
positively evaluated, with the exceptions of Wales,
Slovenia and Ireland. However, biodiversity
protection in the wider environment outside
protected areas was considered an important area
where national policy frameworks are inadequate.
Evaluations were at best “neutral/mixed”, and
“very negative” for several countries. The survey
revealed climate change adaptation as another
weak policy area, with many countries yet to give
it serious consideration. Only France and Germany
were considered to have positive policy
frameworks in place to enable biodiversity to
adapt to the effects of climate change.