The Secretariat participated in a dinner debate titled "UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 7: Does coal have a role in providing affordable and clean energy?"
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(Picture Source: Energy European Forum)
On 9 July the Secretariat participated in a dinner debate in the European Parliament titled UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 7: Does coal have a role in providing affordable and clean energy?
The event was organised by the European Energy Forum (EEF) and the European Association for Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL).
The debate was opened and moderated by Prof. Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and the President of EEF.
Apart from the Secretariat, represented by Mr. Michal Drabik, Economic Affairs Officer and the Secretary of the UNECE Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane, the event featured the following speakers:
- Mr. Tomasz Rogala, President of EURACOAL and Chairman of the Polish Mining Group (Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A.);
- Mr. Haitze Siemers, Head of Unit for “New energy technologies, innovation and clean coal” in DG Energy;
- Mr. Hervé Martin, Head of Unit for “Coal and steel” in DG Research and Innovation.
In the discussion following the presentations participated also, among others, Mr. Jaromír Kohlíček, Member of the European Parliament, Vice Chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament.
The Secretariat presented UNECE as an inclusive platform for a rational and technically-oriented dialog on the future of energy. While renewable energy was highlighted to be the future in the long-perspective, the necessity of coal during the short- and mid-term perspective of the transition period was underlined. So was also the position that efforts for emission reduction in the coal sector should not be focused only on the extraction and energy production phase, but on the whole coal life cycle, including mine planning, as well as a period after cessation of extracting activities. The Secretariat stressed that Sustainable Development Goals should be considered together in an integrated approach, pointing simultaneously to the fact that all of them depend on energy, as none can be attained without reliable access to it.
To see the presentation delivered by the Secretariat please click here.
To learn more about the event please visit web pages of EEF and EURACOAL dedicated to the debate.