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Redpoint helps EC manage security of supply

Redpoint has been working with the European Commission DG Environment on a study to develop and test a methodology to assess the impact of climate change policies on energy security. Working as a member of a consortium we have applied our expertise in security of supply to help develop a structured methodology that will enable policymakers to conduct policy evaluations in a more consistent way.

The project considered a number of key policies including: targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent; targets to increase the use of energy from renewable sources by 20 per cent; carbon capture and storage; emission performance standards for passenger cars; amendments to fuel quality specifications; taxation of road fuels; and the third phase of the EC’s Emissions Trading Scheme.

The new framework will be part of a toolbox used to assess future climate change and other policies in the EU, and will provide a consistent approach for the analysis of directives and regulation at both EU and member-state level. The work to which Redpoint contributed builds on analyses conducted on behalf of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change on the impacts of the Industrial Emissions Directive, the results of greater investment in a world of high renewables, and the causes and consequences of various subsidy models on encouraging further renewable generation.

Oliver Rix, director at Redpoint Energy comments: “The huge challenge of the changes needed to put the EU on a decarbonisation pathway will have a profound effect on the functioning of the market and the nature of the investment process. The impacts on energy security are many and diverse – both physically, from a changing primary fuel mix to management of high volumes of intermittent wind, and financially, as investments are affected by uncertainty over changing price dynamics and an evolving regulatory environment. This study aims to bring much needed clarity to the debate on energy security, and provide policy makers with practical, consistent metrics for policy evaluation.”