Book Description
The Coalition Agreement contained a commitment to establish an emissions performance standard (EPS) that will prevent coal-fired power stations unless sufficiently equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS). It is felt that the existing policy framework, including EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the Renewables Obligation and the Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration programme are not sufficient to deliver the level of investment in new low-carbon generating capacity needed to meet emissions reduction targets. It is also felt that interactions and overlaps of an EPS with existing policies are not sufficiently understood and an independent review of regulations and market reforms in the electricity sector is called for. Emissions Performance Standards are seen to offer a more certain and predictable way to prevent locking in to high carbon infrastructure and that is in itself adequate justification for its implementation. There are, though, concerns that a poorly designed EPS could have a range of unintended consequences including: uncertainty for investors; prevention of adequate capacity to meet peak demand; driving investment elsewhere in Europe; and too great an impact on the electricity prices consumers have to pay
