t is not completely clear yet what to do with a vast
but inefficient CHP sector in the Economies in Transition. Combined heat
and power production, or co-generation, has clear environmental advantages
by increasing the energy and carbon efficiency. Meanwhile, with the onset
of the liberalisation of electricity markets, as stipulated in the EC
Electricity Directive [1 ], and the resulting fall of electricity prices,
it is questionable if the electricity produced from CHP plants will be
competitive. It is highly likely that there will be no new CHP plants,
since the price reductions will not be able to support the investment
costs. Meanwhile, since there is a large potential in increasing energy
efficiency and rational use of energy in the CHP sector, there is a strong
chance that the sector could be saved.
The most important initiative taken by the European Union in the field
of co-generation is its Communication on the promotion of CHP, issued
by the European Commission in 1997 [2 ]. The Communication is not legislation
but it is a clear guide for European policymakers, and gives a tentative
target for co-generation that the European Union is to achieve by 2010.
It sets a guide for co-ordination between the various EU policies that
touch co-generation ranging from industry policy to agricultural policy
and environmental matters. The Strategy says that it was imperative
for more efficient use of fossil fuels to be encouraged in the European
Union, to reduce the production of greenhouse gases that cause global
warming. To improve energy efficiency, the EU Council of Ministers accepted
a proposal on the promotion of co-generation, which suggests a strategy
to facilitate its development.
Currently, Croatia does not have approved national energy, environmental
or climate change strategies, though there is one national strategy
draft [3 ], authored by the Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar, made under
the leadership of the current vice-prime minister. Although mentioning
the rational use of energy, it does not offer clear steps for revitalising
and restructuring the CHP sector. Also, there is no government agency
dedicated to rational energy use or to climate change problems. It is
expected that in the process of closer co-operation between Croatia
and the European Union, since the advent of democratic government, those
strategies will have to be made in line with European strategy, and
necessary legislation produced.
The EC environmental policy, as defined in “Towards Sustainability”,
the European Community programme of policy and action in relation to
the environment and sustainable development (The Fifth EC Environmental
Action Programme [4 ]), sets long term approach and focuses on global
approach to sustainability. It considers development as sustainable
if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their needs. The need for sustainable
development has been long established by the United Nations [ 5 ].
Croatia has signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) [6 ] as an Annex I country. It has pledged
in the Annex of the Kyoto Protocol [7 ] to reduce its greenhouse gases
(GHG) emissions by 5% from the pre-transition level by the time of the
first budget period 2008-12. Therefore it will have to envisage a climate
change strategy that will have to be based on a new energy strategy
this time including a serious co-generation strategy. Compared to the
energy consumption collapse in some transitional countries like Russia
and Ukraine, Croatia has passed through a relatively limited long term
reduction of GHG emissions since 1990 because of higher efficiency of
its pre-transition economy. It is expected that in case of business
as usual scenario it will breach the Kyoto target in 2003 since the
demand for energy will be high, especially as the income continues to
rise, especially in domestic use for heating, for transport and for
electricity generation. It is known that by measures tackling only electricity
generation it will not be possible to keep GHG emission under the Kyoto
target level.
The justification of this proposal is that there is a need for an environmental
and climate change action plan in Croatia, in order that Croatia may
satisfy the objectives of the UNFCCC, and comply with the European strategies
approaching the standards of sustainable development. This project sets
to stipulate the framework for obtaining an integrated environmental,
climate change and energy guidelines considering combined heat and power
sector by applying sustainability assessment [8 ]. It will also propose
the necessary legislation changes in order to facilitate application
of rational energy use in the CHP sector and in order to put the local
legislation in line with European Acquis Communautaire. The framework
of necessary measures could then be used for streamlining the work in
other countries of the Western Balkans region, as well as in other Economies
in Transition that still do not have proper national co-generation strategies
and legislation in place.
References:
1.Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal
market in electricity, Official Journal of the European Communities
L 027, 20-29, 1997
2.Communication on the promotion of CHP, European
Commission, COM (97) 514 final, Brussels 1997
3.G. Granić et al.: Strategija energetskog razvitka
Republike Hrvatske, Ministry of Economy, Republic of Croatia, Zagreb
1998
4.Decision 2179/98/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 24 September 1998 on the review of the European Community
programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable
development “Towards Sustainability”, Official Journal of the European
Communities L 275, 1-13, 1998
5.Agenda 21, Chapter 35, Science for Sustainable Development,
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Centre for
Our Common Future, Geneva 1992
6.United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
published on: http://www.unfccc.de/
7.Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, published on http://www.unfccc.de/
8.N.H. Afgan, M.G. Carvalho, Sustainable Assessment
Method for Energy Systems, Indicators, Criteria and Decision Making
Procedure, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000
