Baltic Times: Tough standards expected for shale gas
The priorities of the EU climate policy and other relevant environmental issues were discussed last week at the meeting between the members of the Seimas Committee on Environment Protection and Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, reports ELTA.
The European Commissioner talked on a most pressing current issue under discussion in the Seimas, namely, legal regulation on shale gas. She said that it is up to each EU member state to decide what energy sources to use, be it fossil fuel, nuclear energy, shale gas or renewable energy sources. Shale gas, in her view, would be a better option than fossil carbon, but a significantly worse option than renewable energy or improved energy efficiency. Lithuania has a huge potential in the latter sphere. The main obstacle to the development of shale industries in Europe is a high population density. In addition, experts have informed the European Commission that shale gas in Europe will never cost as cheaply as it does in the United States.
Hedegaard reminded the audience that the European Commission is going to develop legislation this year that sets forth the basic requirements (including environmental) for potential investors to meet before making their decisions.
Both Hedegaard and Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment, spoke out for binding obligations on member states to meet high environmental standards during the process of extraction of shale gas. MORE
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