Czech state energy policy could be approved in autumn, Hladík says

The State Energy Policy and two related climate documents could be approved this autumn. Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) said so on the Czech Television discussion programme Otázky Václava Moravce. He said he did not yet know whether the proposals would be discussed before the regional elections, which will take place in September. The government postponed approval of the policy and the other documents after a meeting in mid-July. Government representatives said at the time that one reason was their focus on discussing the tender for the construction of nuclear units at Dukovany.

Hladík did not specify the month in which the documents should be discussed. „That is not crucial for us. What matters is that companies need certainty. They are employers and generate gross domestic product,“ Hladík said.

A number of groups have criticised the planned approval of the strategies, saying it will lead to higher energy or fuel prices. Hladík said that, because of the policy, a litre of fuel could cost around two to three korunas more in 2027 or 2028. However, he said the government would have the option of adjusting fuel pricing in the future, for example by cutting excise duty. According to data from CCS on Wednesday this week, petrol is currently selling for an average of CZK 37.49/l in Czechia and diesel for CZK 35.74/l.

Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) said after a government meeting in July that Czechia would try to push for the abolition, or at least a substantial delay to the start of, the ETS 2 emissions allowance system in the European Union. Under the system, road transport and residential heating would also have to pay for greenhouse gas emissions. Stanjura said households and companies would bear the cost of the allowances, while he saw no benefits for the Czech economy from the system. He also voiced concern that the allowance system could undermine the European Union’s competitiveness against the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said in July that the documents needed to be reviewed again and any shortcomings corrected. Some media outlets call the set of documents the „Czech Green Deal,“ but he said that label was inaccurate. He also said the government could not accept setting targets more ambitious than those set by the EU. According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the Otázky Václava Moravce programme, ‚minor wording changes‘ had been made to the documents.

The State Energy Policy is a strategic document that sets the state’s future energy goals and priorities. It is binding on the public administration and is intended to show the market the state’s vision for the energy sector, as well as the outlook for individual measures and support schemes. The updated version envisages, above all, a gradual increase in electricity generation. Even so, the state declares in the policy its intention to gradually move away from coal after 2030. Gas is expected to serve as the transitional fuel. In the future, however, renewable energy sources and nuclear power are expected to gradually take over as the main pillars of energy generation.

The National Energy and Climate Plan builds on the policy in a number of areas. The plan envisages increasing the share of renewable energy sources in final consumption to around 30 percent by 2030. Their share in transport is also expected to rise. The third document, the Climate Protection Policy, sets out a vision, goals and a gradual transformation of the Czech Republic to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.