Potocnik: we must spend to save planet and secure energy

Europe cannot combat climate change and safeguard its energy supplies without spending more time and money developing new technologies, according to Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik.

Speaking ahead of this week’s adoption of an EU energy review, the Slovenian commissioner said modern energy challenges could not be met without new technologies.

"There is simply no other answer, given the climate change wall we are about to drive into, worries over the long-term sustainability of energy supplies, and the competitiveness agenda," Potocnik said.

"There are many questions [technology] is needed to address," said Potocnik. "For example: we need to find ways of increasing the efficiency of household products, develop new materials for building houses, reduce the cost of renewable energy sources, research new crops for the production of biofuels…[and] develop new materials for photovoltaic solar power."

He said that the European Commission would finalise the new ‘strategic energy technology plan’, announced in the energy review, before the end of 2007, to set out the best way of encouraging energy research.

National investment in energy technologies has plummeted since the 1980s, warned Potocnik, while competitors including the US have increased their research budgets.

The research commissioner said he was confident this was changing. "At EU level we have already had a major shift up in interest, and this will clearly also be the case in member states because energy is going up the agenda."

On Monday (8 January) the Commission published the results of a survey showing that 60% of Europeans wanted to make energy research an EU priority.

The same survey, however, found that, when asked to suggest the most important issues facing their country, respondents put unemployment, crime and healthcare at the top of the list.

Only 14% of citizens listed energy-related issues, including energy shortages and rising prices. Potocnik pointed out that this was an improvement on previous Eurobarometer surveys, in which very few respondents had suggested energy.

Energy came higher than defence and the environment on the list of concerns.

Potocnik added that public interest in energy might also have risen since the survey was carried out last May. In particular, he suggested that a UK-commissioned climate change report, by former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern, could have boosted public support for drastic energy action.

A Commission report that was also published on 8 January set out three possible development scenarios for energy technologies up to 2050.

Based on existing economic and technological trends, the report expects energy demand to increase by a quarter by 2050, with coal and natural gas becoming more important sources of energy. Nuclear and renewable energy would between them produce 40% of energy consumption, up from 20% today.

A ‘carbon constrained’ scenario assumes developments in carbon capture and storage technologies, as well as in hydrogen, renewable and nuclear power. This would see renewable energy providing 22% and nuclear 30% of EU energy by 2050. Half of all EU houses would be categorised as low or very low energy by this date, while half of all EU cars would be low or very low emission vehicles.

A third, ‘hydrogen’ scenario "assumes a series of technological breakthroughs", making hydrogen technologies cheaper. This would entail an increased use of nuclear power to generate hydrogen, taking the nuclear share of energy to 33%. Oil, natural gas and renewables would each cater for 20% of energy consumption.

Europe cannot combat climate change and safeguard its energy supplies without spending more time and money developing new technologies, according to Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik.