Anna Maria Darmanin's speech
Conference "ENERGY FUTURES AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE EU –BUILDING A LOW CARBON ALLIANCE"
20 June 2012
EESC
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to have the opportunity of opening the conference on Energy and civil society - building a low carbon alliance.
Today's debate will concentrate on the strength and relevance of the dialogue on energy between civil society and public authorities and among citizens themselves. The conference will explore how the process of guidance towards a future energy mix and a low carbon energy future, launched by the Energy Roadmap 2050, can focus on the genuine participation of citizens. Today's conference is part of our programme of activities to support the implementation of a European Energy Community, an idea which has been proposed by Jacques Delors and Notre Europe and which has been taken up by the Committee from 2011 onwards.
The Committee is very committed to promote more and better debate on the very important question of the EU energy policy. It is playing itself an active part of that debate and you will no doubt be hearing interventions from our members during the day.
I would like to address three important points :
First, public debates about energy are crucial for European citizens because of different reasons.
Such public debates must take place at all levels: EU, national, regional and local, in order to ensure consistency in the decisions made by EU Member States as a whole. The EU currently faces the challenge of fighting climate change and ensuring energy supply at the same time. The EU committed itself to reduce 1990 greenhouse gas levels by 20% in 2020. The Council also agreed to aim at a -80% reduction of CO2 by 2050. If this transition to a low carbon energy economy is handled correctly it will reinforce EU industry's competitiveness and produce quality jobs. It can also guarantee secure and affordable energy prices for EU citizens and companies, while dealing with the problem of energy poverty.
These are challenging objectives which encompass economic, social, environmental and even cultural considerations.
The European Commission has recently proposed guidelines for the energy policy till 2050, the so-called Energy Roadmap 2050. Even though Member States committed themselves to meet the 2020 objectives (20% CO2 reduction, a 20% share of renewables in the energy mix and improvement of energy efficiency by 20%), the final decision on their energy mix belongs to them. However, we, in the European Economic and Social Committee, think that a mutually supporting interdependence of the energy mix has to gather pace across Europe to meet our 2050 goals. To justify our position, think simply of the consequences of the massive take-up of renewable energy sources in the EU. Such take-up implies that appropriate buffer and storage facilities are kept operational and this could be done with a much greater efficiency if it is shared among EU Member States. Also, the investments in renewable energies must be done at the most productive European locations, to maximise the return on investment.
We also need public debates on energy for obvious democratic reasons. It is not sufficient to take "good" political decisions about the direction for an energy mix future. Citizens absolutely need to be taken on board in order to support the necessary changes. We are all aware that each source of energy, even low carbon ones, has its advantages and disadvantages. Their support, through dedicated public measures (including financing), requires acceptance and cooperation from the civil society and the European citizen. Therefore national, regional and local authorities need to set up a communication and public participation/ engagement strategy to win support from citizens as active members of a low carbon alliance.
The EESC has long-standing experience in organising such public debate, hence our deep involvement in this present process. The EESC is committed to a two-way dialogue between citizens and the European institutions. The Committee's history has clearly demonstrated that participatory democracy achieves key results. By means of debates among diverging interests, our Committee succeeds in producing strong recommendations that are built on consensus and have an impact on the decision-making process in the European Union.
My second point concerns the nature of these public debates:
Public debates on energy mix issues must be informed, lively, realistic and transparent. But the issues are complex, even for experts. The first challenge is to provide ways in which the ordinary citizen can review the basic facts and figures on the different sources of energy. Then choices have to be made about the costs – not only financial ones but also cultural (changes to lifestyle) or environmental (visual impact in the countryside) ones. Even when society as a whole is objectively informed about the implications of each form of energy on everyday's life, making decisions remains complicated. But, and this is the considered view of the Committee, such decisions, which are bound to involve difficult political choices, can only be made when supported by an educated civil society.
Public debates at the national level should first find an agreement on the balance of objectives and priorities which will dictate energy policy of their countries in the future. Then the public must be confronted with the clear facts about each source of energy and be put in a position to deliver a meaningful opinion on the possible scenarios. The conscious choice of EU citizens should then become an essential parameter of the definition of the national energy mixes.
Public debates at the regional and local level, very often initiated by citizens themselves, as we will learn today in the second session, need to be integrated into the national strategy and therefore require dialogue with, and recognition by the authorities.
Finally, my third point concerns the objectives of today's event and its potential follow-up.
I hope that at the end of today's event:
- we can have a good picture of the state of the debate on energy in the EU on different territorial levels and in the media;
- we can answer the question, "Are citizens well equipped and willing to understand the challenges linked to energy futures, climate and lifestyle change?"
- we can identify best practice of models for debate and forms of citizens' engagement;
- we can formulate recommendations for the links between local, regional and national debates.
I hope, today, that we will be able to encourage all of you to discuss, collaboratively and constructively on energy futures.
I wish you a fruitful collaboration and great success in your deliberations.
Thank you for your attention.
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