Climate action issues on the table

TALLINN - On May 20, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, at Stenbock House in Tallinn. The discussion focused on the global climate agreement, opportunities for environmentally friendly energy production, and the national allocation plan for greenhouse gas allowances.
According to Ansip, Estonia is interested in the global climate agreement and fully supports the leading role of the European Union at the global climate talks. “The European Union must continue to be active,” Ansip said. “Estonia supports the leading role of the European Commission in relations with other countries.”

Therefore, both Ansip and Hedegaard took the position that, regardless of the difficulties encountered at the climate talks, progress needs to be made on substantive issues.
Introducing the steps that Estonia has taken to increase environmentally friendly energy production, Ansip said that many positive changes have taken place in Estonian power engineering. He pointed out that power consumption in the economy and losses in the energy system have been significantly reduced. The prime minister also provided a summary of the government’s efforts to increase the ratio of sustainable energy.

“Based on the ratio of wind power in the electricity balance sheet, Estonia is among the top ten in the European Union,” Ansip said. “Last year, the largest wind farm in the Baltic States was put into operation in Estonia,” he added. Ansip and Hedegaard shared the conviction that everyone benefits from the introduction of so-called “green technologies.”
Moreover, at the meeting, a separate discussion was held about the national allocation plan for greenhouse gas allowances, about which Estonia and the European Commission have yet to reach a final agreement. Estonia is interested in increasing the quota offered by the Commission, primarily in order to guarantee companies the necessary quota for electricity generation.

Prime Minister Ansip explained that after the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, a large vacuum developed in the regional market, which is being filled by Estonian electricity suppliers. In order to generate the shortfall in electricity, an increased quota is required compared to last year’s needs.
“We are continuing to work towards achieving the necessary agreement,” Ansip said. “Estonia will do its best to draw up an allocation plan that corresponds to reality as precisely as possible.”

Commissioner Hedegaard also expressed her hope that an agreement will be reached. “The European Commission is also interested in arriving at an agreement,” Hedegaard said. “I think the experts of both sides should meet again and review the numbers,” Hedegaard added. After the visit to Stenbock House, Hedegaard also met with Rita Annus, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Environment.