StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU" discusses that in Europe, the EU Commission warns of a looming energy crisis and climate change; hence it is important to consider the sustainability of Belgium and determine whether it can achieve the sustainability requirements of the EU. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.4% of users find it useful

Extract of sample "Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU"

As a member of the EU, Belgium complies with the energy policy and sustainable development policy of the EU (EREC, 2009). Since energy is the main source of climate change, the country regulates energy and electricity products so that the companies involved behave sustainably. For instance, the Energy Policy of Belgium which is split over various government levels awards green certificates to those companies that comply with the policies of environmental sustainability.

Non-renewable energy use in Belgium results in various externalities. The most known externality is greenhouse gas emission and its effect on climate change. This externality is caused mainly by the extraction and use of non-renewable energy in the oil and gas industries as well as the motor vehicle industry. It results in climate change. In 1990, gas emission in Belgium was recorded in terms of CO2 as 146 million tons (EREC, 2009). By 2012, CO2 emissions had reduced to 109,000 Mt. Belgium ratified the Kyoto Protocol of 2003 which sets a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 7.5% annually (EREC, 2009). Reduction of greenhouse gas enables the country to contribute towards the EU’s goals on climate change.

Another externality resulting from non-renewable energy is energy desertification and deforestation. Use of non-renewable energy sources leads to desertification and deforestation because it involves cutting down trees, clearance of land for the extraction of oil, and water pollution which kills plant and animal life.
One key aspect of solving climate change and other externalities of non-renewable energy sources is to use of renewable energy sources. 77% of the energy consumed in Belgium comes from fossil fuels while 21% comes from nuclear power (EREC, 2009). The main renewable sources of energy in the country are hydropower, wind power, and biomass. Biomass and Biogas were used to generate 3.5 TWh in 2009, representing 3.8% of the total domestic energy consumption.

Wind power is a fast-growing renewable energy source in Belgium. The use of wind power in Belgium depends on regional governments (Brussels-capital region, Walloon region, and Flemish region). Wind energy producers get green certificates. The current technology is made up of wind turbines in the windiest areas of the country. The wind turbines are mainly installed offshore. Onshore turbines have been installed only in the Walloon and Flemish regions. In 2012, the total number of operational wind turbines was 498, producing 1080 MW of electric power (EWEA, 2013). In 2014, 16% of the energy consumed in Belgium comes from wind power. Belgium targets to produce 13% of its electricity and heating energy from wind power by 2020. Of the targeted 17TWh renewable energy in Belgium by 2020, 47% is expected to come from Wind Power (EWEA, 2013). There is great potential for wind power sources of energy as the country offers green certificates as incentives for further development of renewable energy. However, this is affected by limited space for the development of onshore turbines.

Belgium still relies mainly on non-renewable energy. This has resulted in negative externalities including greenhouse emissions and climate change. These effects cause negative impacts on the sustainability of the environment; hence slowing the economic growth of the country. However, the growth of wind power in the past few years has brought optimism for enhancing renewable energy. With the green certifications provided by the Belgian energy policy department, there is great potential for enhancing environmental sustainability as a source of continuous economic growth in the future. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU Research Paper, n.d.)
Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1820422-belgium-environmental-sustainability-in-the-eu
(Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU Research Paper)
Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1820422-belgium-environmental-sustainability-in-the-eu.
“Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU Research Paper”. https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1820422-belgium-environmental-sustainability-in-the-eu.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Belgium Environmental Sustainability in the EU

Causes and consequences of the 2008/09 Great Recession and how Belgium is now perfroming economically

Running Head: Great Recession and belgium Great Recession and belgium Great Recession and belgium Introduction belgium was one of the first countries to industrialize in the early 18th century.... hellip; Exports represent almost 65 percent of belgium's GDP.... In particular, belgium's highly developed transportation system, and highly skilled and productive workforce focus on efficiency and technological development and others have allowed the country to stand in the line of the economic superpowers (Elliott & Cole, pp....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Current and Future Challenges of European Cities

In 2006 the eu-27 imported 54% of its energy supply, which was dominated by oil and gas” (Hellendoorn).... hellip; In other words, sustainability of human life on earth may become a big challenge in future.... In other words, sustainability of human life on earth may become a big challenge in future.... The destruction of forest for making more fertile land may cause severe environmental problems in future.... Therefore, a European may contribute 100 times more to the environmental problems than an African....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The connection between incisive poverty and environmental degradation

From this model, poverty is an asset that is viewed as a combination of various components that include natural resources, human resources, on-farm resources, and community resources, which have a relationship with the sustainability efforts that communities use to manage the environment.... The closest this theoretical model goes to connect environmental degradation to poverty is related to the lack of sufficient resources that can help enhance sustainability efforts by investing in conservation efforts....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Relationship between Society and Business

Scholarly research examining and analyzing the theories and concepts of responsibilities of businesses on the society dates back to the mid-1950s (Banerjee, 2007).... These… Despite the overwhelming abundance of literature on the topic, there are still strong critiques on the concept of CSR. H (3): Third, most scholars strongly criticized the rational approach of The fact that Ahold and Enron were the source of empirical evidence may have incorporated some form of bias, as the two organizations were high-ranking CSR organization prior to the induction of the concept....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Cultural Diversity and Economic Performance in Belgium

In the paper “Cultural Diversity and Economic Performance in belgium” the author discusses the recession that started in 2005, which has a significant and lasting effect on the economic situation of the world in 2002, belgium in particular.... Despite the performance of the peripheral economies such as Nederlands and France that are the main trading partners for belgium the economy in 2013 indicated a significant inclination for growth (Bellini and Ottaviano et al....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Monetary Policy and Its Implications in Belgium

The process started by signatories of the treaty fixing their Monetary Policy and Its Implications in belgium al affiliation Monetary Policy and Its Implications in belgium The Euro's history The Euro came into existence on January 1st in the year 1999.... belgium uses the Euro as its currency.... The Euro started being used as the legal tender in belgium as from January 1st the year 2002 (Marsh 2011)....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us