The Research On EU’s New Energy Laws And Policies

In this dissertation the author takes EU’s new energy laws and policies as theresearch subjects and makes a more comprehensive and systematic analysis on theconstitution, objectives, principles and contents of the EU’s new energy laws andpolicies. On the basis of the research on the overall EU’s new energy legal and policysystem, according to the division of EU secondary legislation on energy, the authorhas studied the legal policies of the EU renewable energy, nuclear energy laws andpolicies, legal policies of energy conservation and energy efficiency and thecompetition of the new energy in the energy market from four aspects. After doing so,the author has found the characteristics and shortcomings of the EU’s latest relevantlegislation and proposals and analyzed them. Meanwhile, through in-depth study ofthe EU’s new energy law and policy system, analyzing the shortcomings of China’snew energy laws and policies, and drawing on the successful experience of the EU’snew energy laws and policies, the author makes some recommendations on improvingChina’s legal policies.The European Union adopts a combination of laws and policies to promote andregulate the development of new energy sources. On the one hand, regulation, control,management, punishment, guidance as the specific functions of a law have beenbrought into play; on the other hand, taking advantage of the flexibility and varietythe policies, the various principal acts in the new energy field are guided effectively.EU’s renewable energy laws and policies have been built into a more completesystem. On the one hand, EU has the policy-oriented energy strategies as a guide; onthe other hand, it forms a specific legislative framework in the renewable energygeneration, transport, heating and cooling. At the same time, EU makes speciallegislative regulations on wind energy, bio-fuel and other types of energy. In addition,EU has made considerable progress in the renewable energy subsidy policies by theselection and combination of financial policy instruments at EU and its member stateslevel.The Treaty of Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community has created aframework of cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the EU memberstates. It has developed the secondary legislation and policies of the EU focusing onthe establishment of the European Atomic Energy Community, nuclear energyresearch and development and relevant knowledge dissemination, nuclear safety,supply of raw materials, nuclear materials safety control, and so on, which centered on the Treaty of Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. EU hasalways attached importance to nuclear safety legislation. Especially in recent years, ithas adopted the latest legislative measures in the safety of nuclear facilities,radioactive wastes and nuclear wastes safety, basic safety of radiation protection.After March2011Fukushima’s first nuclear power plant accident, EU has acceleratednuclear safety law and policy-making process to ensure that the EU nuclear energy isguaranteed to develop normally on the basis of security.Improving energy efficiency can be an alternative to increasing energy supply.Therefore, energy efficiency is seen as Europe’s largest energy resources in manyaspects. EU’s Legal Policies of energy saving and energy efficiency cover a widerange, which involves the five aspects: the end-use energy efficiency, the energyperformance of buildings, energy-consuming labels of products, cogeneration ofthermoelectricity and ecological design of energy-consuming products. The secondarylegislation of the EU mainly consists of the directives and regulations. EU has morepolicy instruments in energy saving and energy efficiency, including voluntaryagreements with industries, providing consumers with information, the Commissionsupported projects, etc. In funding policies, the EU mainly uses three types of tools:the public funds, tools on the basis of the market and personal support funds, whichformed the variety of the funded projects. In2011, EU proposed new energyefficiency legislative proposals reflecting the trend to integrate the legal policies ofenergy-saving and energy efficiency dispersing in various fields, and would take moreeffective measures to bind actions legally for member states in the implementation ofenergy conservation and energy efficiency.The design of the EU’s legal and policy system plays an important role in theEU’s internal energy market integration. It is not only an important tool for the EU torespond to the challenges of energy security, but also a principal measure to developthe new energy. What’s more, it is an indispensable condition for EU to achieve itsgoal of sustainable development. From the first Energy Legislative Package to thethird Energy Legislative Package, the free competition of the EU’s internal energymarkets penetrated into the various segments of the markets. The sectors of electricity,gas, renewable energy, nuclear energy, etc have been merged into the unified internalenergy markets, which is in favor of the new energy into the energy network toparticipate in the market competition. This kind of competition provides anopportunity for the development of the EU’s energy saving and energy efficiency technologies, which promotes the EU through a series of energy-saving and energyefficiency programs to improve the overall energy efficiency of its internal energymarkets.After several decades’ development, the EU’s new energy laws and policies haveformed some outstanding features, such as progressiveness, comprehensiveness andharmony. New energy will continue to be the key field of EU’s laws and policies.There are five developing trends of EU’s new energy laws and policies: EU’s newenergy laws and policies will be regarded as the main tools to promote the economicrecovery; energy efficiency will be the core of EU’s future new energy laws andpolicies; EU will promote its internal energy market to protect the energy’sfree-movement; new energy will be the crucial issue of technological innovation; andEU will develop a comprehensive strategy of international cooperation.With the rapid economic development in China and the accelerated process ofindustrialization and urbanization, the demanding for energy growing and building astable, economical, clean and safe energy supply system faces significant challenges.The development of new energy in China needs an improved legal system, which canprovide legal protection to increase the supply of energy, to regulate the energymarket, to optimize energy structure, and to maintain energy security. China can drawon the EU’s extensive experience in the new energy laws and policies of therenewable energy, nuclear energy, energy conservation and energy efficiency andcompetition in the market. China can start from the following aspects: bearingdifferentiated responsibilities, strengthening legislative research, exploring newenergy laws and policy system, enhancing the execution of new energy laws andpolicies, coordinating the use of policy instruments, as well as strengtheninginternational cooperation, and gradually perfect the new energy legislation and policydevelopment, then provide a good legal and policy foundation for the realization ofChina’s energy security and sustainable development by improving the legislation andpolicy-making of the new energy.