Government accused of undermining EU emissions plan

Environmental campaigners have this week accused the government of attempting to curb proposed EU legislation aimed at limiting the emissions from power plants.

Both Greenpeace and green business group the Green Alliance reported yesterday that they had received a leaked memo detailing government objections to the EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive, which is being voted on by European legislators this week.

According to the memo, the government is concerned that the IPPC directive could result in a quarter of the UK's power-generation capacity being shut down, which could compromise the power network's ability to meet demand during high-use periods.

According to Guardian reports, the memo, a briefing note for MEPs, claims the directive "raises potentially serious issues about security of electricity supply" and could even damage "moves to low-carbon electricity generation". It also warns that the move could lead to increases in energy bills of up to 20 per cent.

The IPPC directive is being reviewed and aims to impose tougher rules to reduce water and soil pollution and cut emissions of gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from industrial installations and power plants across the EU.

If passed, it could have a major impact on the viability of UK plans for a new fleet of coal-fired power plants such as that proposed at Kingsnorth in Kent.

Greenpeace said that Britain should be leading Europe's efforts to clean up the power sector, not attempting to weaken them, and is backing standards for power plants that set hard limits for emissions.

"Broadly, we would like to see green standards for power plants in much the same way that you have green standards for cars and fridges," said Greenpeace campaigner Joss Garman.