20.12.21~20.12.27 What The EU-UK Agreement Says About Energy And Climate

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In a new agreement between the UK and EU that narrowly averts a no-deal Brexit, the two sides boast that there will be stronger cooperation on energy and climate.
The UK said the agreement facilitates the development of “hybrid projects” in the North Sea that combine offshore wind farms and giant undersea cables known as interconnectors. The UK even dangled the possibility of a “North Sea grid.”…Here is what the agreement says about energy and climate change, based on initial summaries of the deal from bothsides. 

  • The deal creates a “framework” to cooperate on renewable energy and climate change.
  • If either the UK or the EU breaches its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate deal, the “agreement” will be scuttled. Based on the language in the EU’s summary document, it isn’t clear whether the whole EU-UK agreement would be scuttled or simply the framework on renewable energy and climate change contained within it.
  • By April 2022, both sides must develop new “trading arrangements” to govern the trade in power and gas conducted through interconnectors beneath the English Channel. The UK is a net importer of electricity, obtaining some 10% of its power through interconnectors linked to France and other EU nations. 
  • Although the UK will no longer participate in the EU’s carbon pricing scheme, the agreement leaves open the possibility of linking the UK’s carbon scheme to the EU’s. (The UK previously said it would set up its own domestic trading scheme from January 1st, when it will exit the EU scheme.)
  • The EU and UK will cooperate on offshore energy in the North Sea, a lucrative oil-drilling zone off the coasts of the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. The North Sea is also popular with offshore wind developers for its high winds; what will become the largest wind farm in the world is under construction off the UK’s east coast. 
  • A separate agreement provides for cooperation on nuclear energy. The UK plans to ramp up its nuclear power in coming years, while neighboring France remains a nuclear plant powerhouse.

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An excerpt from https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/12/24/what-the-eu-uk-deal-says-about-energy-and-climate/?sh=2d6daa176b78