CEMBUREAU, the European Cement Association (www.cembureau.eu), supports the ongoing revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)1. Each and every one of the 200-cement plant in the EU operates in accordance with a permit granted by the authorities in the Member States following the provisions of the IED.
This note presents CEMBUREAU’s key priorities in view of the trialogue negotiations on the IED, after an initial reading of the texts developed by the three institutions.
- The sectoral scope in relation to minerals should be further clarified to avoid diverging interpretations.
CEMBUREAU welcomes the improvements brought by both the European Council and the European Parliament to clarify the scope of the IED in relation to the extraction of minerals. In our view, the approach taken by the European Council is preferable as it does not include the further development of a Delegated Act and an impact assessment by the European Commission – and therefore provides more legal certainty to extractive industries.
CEMBUREAU supports the European Council’s approach for the minerals scope expansion (Article 3.48, Annex I point 3.6)
- The IED should include realistic requirements for co-incineration plants.
In its report, the European Parliament suggests adding monitoring requirements for co-incineration plants during the start-up/shut down phase of installations. CEMBUREAU is strongly against these provisions, which would add an unjustified burden on cement operator (wastes are not used during the start-up/shut down of the co-incineration installations, making the amendment unnecessary), be impossible to implement in the cement kilns (Dioxins/Furans monitoring cannot technically be made every half hour), and are not aligned to the “Sevilla process” (current limits are established for emission averages during normal operating conditions). Please see our position paper on these amendments for more details2.
CEMBUREAU strongly suggests maintaining the existing approach on co-incineration plants and is strongly against the European Parliament’s proposal for additional requirements (Article 50.2a new, Article 55.2, Annex VI Part 8 point 1.2)
- The provisions on the strictest possible emission limit values should be proportionate and take into account the realities of industrial installations.
CEMBUREAU welcomes the amendments from both the European Council and the European Parliament that improve the provisions related to setting the strictest possible emission limit value. In our opinion, several positive provisions have been included, such as the term “strictest achievable emission limit”, the consideration of the cross-media effects and the consideration of the whole BAT-AEL range. With regard to the transitional provisions, CEMBUREAU believes that the approach by the European Parliament is clearer and easier to implement by the operators and by the national authorities.
CEMBUREAU supports the European Parliament’s approach regarding the provisions of this article and for specifying the transitional provisions. (Article 15.3.1, Article 2a)
- The provisions setting obligatory limits for energy efficiency risk impeding efforts to control pollutant emissions and require improvements.
CEMBUREAU welcomes the approaches taken by both the European Council and the European Parliament with respect to the obligatory limits for energy efficiency. Companies and installations are naturally inclined to look for energy savings and cost optimization, in light of the rising energy costs, the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) incentives, as well as the increased energy consumption due to the abatement techniques such as carbon capture. In that respect, the long-term process of drafting and implementing a legislative provision would always be lagging behind the real-world practices for energy consumption optimization.
CEMBUREAU supports the European Parliament’s approach for the definition of indicative performance limits, the specification of the implementation timing, the consideration of cross-media effects in the installations and the re-introduction of Article 9.2. (Article 15.3a, Article 9.2)
- The IED revision offers an opportunity to address unforeseen issues and developments.
CEMBUREAU supports the changes brought by both institutions with respect to derogation in case of a crisis due to extraordinary circumstances. In our view, the specific provisions shall consist of a new paragraph of Article 15 (i.e., 15.5), in order not to contradict with the provisions of Article 15.4. With regard to the specific text, CEMBUREAU is in favour of the approach by the European Parliament which is clear and does not include new terms that would require a further definition.
CEMBUREAU supports the European Parliament’s approach for the derogations for unforeseen issues (which should be established as a paragraph Article 15.5 new)
- The IED should include provisions about the deep industrial transformation.
CEMBUREAU supports the inclusion of provisions for the limited postponement of the permit revision of the installations which will undertake a deep industrial transformation in order to achieve their climate neutral objectives. In the case of the cement sector, a large number of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects are currently being deployed and the installation of such technologies should be taken into account.
CEMBUREAU supports the European Parliament’s approach for the deep industrial transformation. (Article 21.3a new)