EU energy policy at the crossroads: challenges and opportunities for a competitive EU refining industry

9Feb
2010
Dinner debate in Strasbourg

Speaker: Isabelle Muller, Secretary General of EUROPIA, the European Petroleum Industry Association.

How to ensure that EU consumers and industry have reliable energy supplies on a competitive basis remains a key challenge for policy makers and industry alike; addressing Climate Change also has to be balanced with this challenge, as does improving air quality.

IEA forecasts indicate that even in a low carbon scenario, oil-derived products will remain the major fuel for transport well beyond 2030; many industries will also continue to rely on oil as a raw material for manufacturing plastics and others chemical products that are essential to our daily life. Oil refining industry has thus also a role to play in the EU energy security supply. Furthermore, in the quest for energy efficiency, its role both in developing efficient operations and providing clean and efficient oil products is essential.

During the debate, EUROPIA received valuable input from European decision-makers and elected representatives, on their expectations of the industry, as it seeks to meet the triple challenges of climate change, competitiveness and security of supply.