Task Force on Environment

Tasks

The Task Force on Environment focuses on overcoming challenges in the transposition and implementation of the acquis on environment, as well as related interlinked topics. This includes the assessment and peer review of implementation tools. The Task Force also discusses new environmental acquis for their adoption in the Energy Community, upon a proposal by the European Commission.
 

Composition

The Task Force consists of representatives of the Contracting Parties and Observers as well as the European Union. To ensure a broad knowledge base, participation to the Task Force is also open to other stakeholders, including public authorities, donors, business, investors and representatives of civil society.

The Task Force is chaired by the Secretariat. Ordinary meetings take place twice a year.

Environmental acquis

Permit – granting and planning of energy projects

The Policy Guidelines provide general recommendations for simplifying and shortening administrative procedures where possible, while integrating environmental safeguards, better inter-institutional coordination, improving of the spatial planning of renewable projects, and the acceptance and involvement of the public in the renewable planning and permitting process. The Policy Guidelines also cover recommendations on grid connections.

The Policy Guidelines aim to support enhancing and streamlining the deployment of renewable projects in the Contracting Parties, ultimately contributing to the achievement of the Energy Community Contracting Parties' renewable energy targets, while also serving as a supplementary resource to assist in fulfilling their obligations in transposing and implementing relevant Energy Community acquis on environment and renewable energy within their national frameworks.

The Energy Community Secretariat is committed to assisting Contracting Parties in implementing these recommendations.

Individual assessments were prepared for each Contracting Party, and the collective findings were consolidated into a single document  titled "Permit-Granting and Planning of Energy Projects in the Energy Community: Overview, Recommendations, and Best Practices"

The Policy Guidelines on the Permit-Granting and Planning of Energy Projects and derived recommendations stem from this comprehensive study as well as from the Energy Community Secretariat's legal cases and its longstanding support to Contracting Parties in implementing the environmental and renewable energy acquis of the Energy Community Treaty.

Strategic Environmental Assessment and National Energy and Climate Plans

The Governance Regulation in the Energy Community requires Contracting Parties to develop integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). The Energy Community Secretariat supports this process in various capacities.

• Given that NECPs are subject to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive, the Secretariat conducted thematic training on the SEA requirements for NECPs.
• The Secretariat also provides assistance to ensure that SEA reports are effectively integrated into the NECPs. To this end, it organised a workshop on NECP and SEA assessment preparation in 2022. 

Policy Guidelines on small hydropower projects

The Policy Guidelines provides general guidance for environmental assessments (environmental impact assessments at project level and strategic environmental assessments at plan/programme level) applicable to the administrative and permitting procedures of new hydropower projects in the Contracting Parties. Furthermore, it reflects on the support schemes that may qualify as State aid and must therefore be notified, assessed and approved by the competent national State aid authority. Finally, it provides indications and criteria upon which the Secretariat may carry out its legal assessments in case of complaints submitted under Article 90 of the Treaty.

The Secretariat will follow the principles and considerations set out in these present Policy Guidelines when assessing the compatibility of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments in the case of small hydropower projects under Article 16 of the Treaty as well as when assessing the compatibility of environmental and energy aid under Article 18(1)(c) and 18(2) of the Treaty.

Clean Air Regions Initiative (CARI)

Air pollution is a pressing environmental and health issue in the Energy Community Contracting Parties. Air pollution is also a major threat to Contracting Parties’ food and water security as well as ecosystems. Burning fossil fuels, plastic and biomass for energy use is the principal source of air pollution in urban and rural areas. 

Nine Western Balkans municipalities launched the Clean Air Regions Initiative (CARI) in June 2021. Three further municipalities joined the initiative at a later stage. The Clean Air Regions Initiative (CARI) intends to incentivise regions and communities at a subnational level to mobilize in the field of air quality on a voluntary basis and to achieve improvements via the introduction of measures capable of reducing pollution into the air. The Secretariat assists committed regions and communities with specific trainings, knowledge transfer, networking and facilitates their access to finance.

The initiative is open-ended and municipalities that identify with its goals have the possibility to join upon their own motion. Currently, the second phase of the initiative is underway, focusing on the identification and implementation of measure to reduce air pollution in participating municipalities.

 

Large Combustion Plants Directive

The Large Combustion Plants Directive 2001/80/EC sets emission limit values for three pollutants; sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust.  According to Article 4(6) of Directive 2001/80/EC, as amended by Article 5 of Decision 2013/05/MC-EnC, Contracting Parties may opt for the preparation of national emission reduction plans (NERPs) as an implementation alternative by setting overall ceilings for the conglomerate of combustion plants brought under their scope. Following the submission deadline for NERPs, the Energy Community Secretariat  has nine months to analyse the plans and provide comments, if necessary.

On 19 December 2014, the Secretariat issued Policy Guidelines on the preparation of NERPs advising Contracting Parties on the methodologies to be applied when calculating the emission ceilings for large combustion plants brought under the scope of the plan. In its Opinion from 2016, the Secretariat summarizes its findings on the draft NERPs submitted.

Contracting Party reporting on existing large combustion plants

The Large Combustion Plants Directive took effect on 1 January 2018 in the Energy Community. Annex VIII.B of the Directive, as amended by Decision 2013/05/MC-EnC, obliges the Contracting Parties to report about the emissions reduction measures in place. For existing large combustion plants, two alternative implementation avenues exist:

• either compliance with the emission limit values for SO2, NOx and dust at individual plant level,
• or implementation of a National Emission Reduction Plan (NERP).

Every plant must be covered by either of the two options. The Secretariat publishes the submitted Contracting Party reports online. 

Industrial emissions Directive and new versus existing plants

The purpose of the present Policy Guidelines is to provide a legal analysis on the definition of the term “new” and “existing” plant under Decision 2013/06/MC-EnC on the implementation of Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control).

During the preparatory phase of the decision, the terms “existing” and “new” plants were used in the context of Directive 2010/75/EU, however without defining the two terms. As a result it is not possible to draw a conclusive interpretation of these two terms. A common understanding of these terms is necessary in order to allow for the implementation of the provisions of Directive 2010/75/EU.

As the Ministerial Council is the only institution that has the mandate to provide guidance in interpreting the provisions of the Treaty and the related Energy Community acquis. Therefore, while the Secretariat considers it useful to present its opinion in the form present analysis, this opinion is not binding on the institutions and Parties to the Treaty and is without prejudice to any conclusions the Ministerial Council may reach on the same subject in the future.