“We challenge Hydro to engage itself even more in projects that reduce emissons from aluminium production. But we are also concerned about the industry’s position in Europe, due to what we feel is a misconceived European policy,” says vice president Marius Holm of the Bellona Foundation.
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| Marius Holm (Photo: Anne Karin Sæther/Bellona) |
Holm covers several areas in his position with Bellona, including renewable energy, CO2 capture and storage, alternative fuel, and energy efficiency.
Policy and industry
“There is no reason to wish for deindustrialization in Europe. But we face a risk of disturbing the competitive picture in a way that leads the aluminium industry and others in the metal industry to move to parts of the world where climate policy is not well-developed. Bellona believes the time is right to bring together industrial, climate and energy policy,” says Holm.
He points to Europe’s climate policy, which has a system for the trade of CO2 quotas valid through 2020. A result of this has been higher power prices. In order to help energy-intensive industry meet this challenge, the European Commission has heralded regulations that can provide industry with compensation for the additional costs. But the uncertainty about frame conditions for some key industries remains, partly because the use of “free” quotas is being reduced.
More aluminium!
“Some people believe that lowering the production of aluminium would be a good step to a more sustainable society. The reality is just the opposite, partly because the development of a renewable energy system will require more aluminium for many applications – everything from solar cells to low-emission buildings. Even the International Energy Agency is convinced that the demand for aluminium will increase.
“It takes a lot of energy to produce aluminium. It is like ‘solid energy,’ but the metal is also very light and well suited for sectors where recycling is highly relevant. The automotive industry, where the lifetime of a car is less than 20 years, is just one example.”
He stresses the need to put into place transitional arrangements for the metal industry in Europe. “This part of the world needs investments in new metal plants and investments that can improve existing plants,” says Holm. “Bellona believes it is necessary to ensure that industry is compensated for the additional costs being forced upon it. In our view, this must occur in a system where industry also provides something in return. The goal must be lower energy consumption and less greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of aluminium produced, and in an energy regime that is competitive. This demands political solutions that are more overall in scope.”
Profitable, too
“As a starting point, it is a good principle that the ones who pollute must pay, but we have to be sensible about this. We can expect industry to be willing to invest when they are confident the investments will pay off. Consequently, they need incentives and a clear view that their production can be profitable over time. In this way, climate quotas can serve as the ‘stick’ in the system and frame conditions for energy the ‘carrot.’ This should, in total, lead to agreements that work and which help secure industry’s future, also in Europe,” says Holm.
“We see that Hydro is engaged on many levels to ensure there is room for the aluminium industry. We challenge Hydro to engage itself even more in projects that are innovative and in improvements that reduce emissons from aluminium production.”
