A. CO2 releases in Slovenia already amounts to 20 million tonnes, which could mean significant overcome of Kyoto criteria by 2012. Instead of finding low-carbon and sustainable solutions for energy production government is supporting plans for building new 600MWh brown coal power plant in Šoštanj (TEŠ 6). Today, March 18, 2010, Slovene government supported its construction also officially.
B. In the wider public professional discussions were made on alternative energy solutions that would be less burden on the environment. To this sense refers the European directive about the assessments affects the environment (DIRECTIVE 97/11/EC).
C. New thermal power plant is not compatible with the Slovenian National Energy Program. This in line with the EU White Paper on renewable energy projects says that Slovenia would obtain 12 percent of all energy from renewable energy sources in 2012. EU has set a target by 2020 to increase the share of renewables to 20 percent of total energy consumption. The construction of TEŠ 6, without at least equally large investment in renewable energy, would make such a goal difficult to achieve.
European Green Party calls on the Slovenian government:
1. to freeze the final decision on the construction of TEŠ 6, at least until the settled goals and climate law objectives and strategy are not thoroughly treated through the alternative scenarios in the new National Energy Program (NEP).
2. to evaluate and compare these scenarios equivalently. As a minimum requirement they should take into account the direction which has been taken in the climate targets in the Declaration on the active role of Slovenia in politics to climate change, adopted by National Assembly last year in November, and that includes that Slovenia should decrease TGP emissions for 20 percent till 2020.
3. When planning national energy policy to take greater account of sustainability principles and renewable energy sources that are available in Slovenia and are staying unused - particularly the systemic collection and use of biomass...
4. to treat renewables more equally and to finance renewable energy sources and energy efficiency at least as much as conventional technologies in order to pass a fully sustainable energy supply in the next 50 years.
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