On 19 September, the Commission released the results of its public consultation on the SET Plan.
Only one-third (26%) of respondents considered clean coal and other fossil fuel technologies to be the best means for reducing CO2 emissions in the EU by 20% by 2020, while two-thirds of respondents favoured energy efficiency improvements in transport and buildings.
The potential of clean coal and other technologies for reducing global CO2 emissions will likely play a central role in the upcoming UN negotiations in December, due to take place in Bali and concerning a global framework for fighting climate change after the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
Australia and the US, the only developed nations that did not ratify the Kyoto protocol, are pushing for the promotion of CCS and other clean fossil fuel technologies as an alternative to binding emissions targets on individual nations.
While the EU is favourable to such technologies, its position on binding emissions targets is diametrically opposed to the American and Australian proposals. With or without clean technologies, the EU wants to see the introduction of a global CO2 emissions reductions scheme akin to the Kyoto Protocol.
The differing approaches have cast doubt on whether the world's major polluters can hammer out a solid agreement in Bali.
