Presentation Report Clean Energy in Amsterdam

The generation of electricity from gas and wind is more profitable than from coals if you take the CO2 rights into full account. This is the most important conclusion from a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands. In their study 'A financial and economic comparison of coal, gas and wind as options for Dutch electricity generation' PwC compares the different production costs of electricity from gas, wind and coal. Investment in coals seems to be a loss-making option if you take the CO2 rights fully into account. For this profit forecast the price of CO2 emissions is very important. If you leave these costs out of consideration the production of electricity with coals will be much cheaper than clean energy. 'This shows that the polluter must pay for the CO2 emissions', says Climate & Energy campaigner Meike Baretta. Luckily the European Commission shares this point of view. 'A government that gives away CO2 emissions for free doesn't act in the interest of the climate and is thereby responsible for the wrong energy options'.