国际能源署-2022年比利时-能源政策检讨（英）-2022.4-151页_3mb

Belgium 2022 Energy Policy Review Summary

Core Content

This document provides an overview of Belgium's energy policy and its progress in transitioning to a low-carbon economy, as reviewed by the International Energy Agency (IEA). It outlines Belgium's energy and climate policy framework, key measures, challenges, and recommendations for further action.

Main Viewpoints

• Energy Policy Goals: Belgium aims to transition to a low-carbon economy while maintaining energy security, affordability, and market competition. It also seeks to integrate more deeply with the European energy system.
• Nuclear Phase-Out: Belgium plans to phase out most nuclear electricity generation by 2025, but has decided to extend 2 GW of nuclear capacity by ten years due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fossil fuel dependency concerns.
• Renewable Energy Growth: Renewable energy has seen significant growth, especially in offshore wind, which now has the sixth-highest capacity globally. The government has set ambitious targets for renewable energy in electricity, heating, and transport.
• Fossil Fuel Dependency: Despite progress, Belgium remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, which accounted for 71% of its energy supply in 2020. This limits GHG emissions reductions and poses challenges for the energy transition.
• Energy Efficiency and Climate Policy: Energy efficiency and climate policy are shared between federal and regional governments. The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) sets 2030 targets, including a 35% reduction in non-ETS GHG emissions and 17.5% renewable energy share in final energy consumption.
• EU Carbon Neutrality: Belgium supports the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality goal and has adopted its own Long-term Strategy (LTS2050). However, it lacks a clear national target for climate neutrality by 2050.
• Covid-19 Impact: The pandemic had a significant impact on Belgium's energy policies and markets, prompting temporary expansions of social tariffs and the approval of a EUR 5.9 billion National Recovery and Resilience Plan focused on energy and climate goals.
• Market Structure and Prices: Belgium's electricity prices are among the highest in IEA countries, limiting electrification incentives. The gas market is highly competitive, with low prices, but the electricity market remains concentrated.
• Energy Security: Belgium has made progress in securing gas supply as the Groningen field phases out, but lacks a national strategy for decarbonising the gas sector.

Key Information

Energy and Climate Policy

• Responsibility Sharing: The federal government is responsible for electricity transmission, large-scale generation, nuclear energy, and energy RD&D, while regional governments manage renewable energy, energy efficiency, and GHG emissions.
• NECP Targets (2030):
  • 35% reduction in non-ETS GHG emissions vs. 2005 levels.
  • Primary energy demand less than 42.7 Mtoe.
  • Final energy demand less than 35.2 Mtoe.
  • Renewable energy to reach 17.5% of gross final energy consumption, 37.4% of electricity generation, 11.3% of heating and cooling, and 23.7% of transport demand.
  • RD&D spending to reach at least 3% of GDP.

Renewable Energy

• Offshore Wind: Belgium has a dedicated offshore wind zone of 225 km² with 9 wind farms totaling 2.26 GW. A second zone of 281 km² is being developed with a planned capacity of up to 3.5 GW.
• Transport: A federal biofuels blending mandate requires a 9.55% biofuel share in 2020 and 2021, with a target of 13.9% by 2030. Vehicle taxation and incentives for low-emission and electric vehicles (EVs) are also in place.
• Buildings: Regional governments focus on reducing emissions and increasing renewable heating and cooling, with financial support, tax incentives, and building codes playing a key role.
• Industry: ETS and voluntary agreements between regional governments and industry are key drivers of emissions and energy demand reductions.

Energy Efficiency

• Social Tariff: Belgium has a social tariff that reduces energy bills for vulnerable consumers. In 2020, 9.7% of electricity consumers and 10% of gas consumers received the social tariff.
• Renovation and Incentives: Federal and regional programs support energy efficiency in buildings, including financial aid, loans, tax deductions, and energy performance certificates.
• Taxation Reform: The federal government is working on reforming taxation to align with climate goals, using the polluter-pays principle and creating price signals for decarbonisation.

Energy Security

• Gas Supply: Belgium is ahead of schedule in infrastructure projects to secure gas supply after the Groningen phase-out. It lacks a national strategy for decarbonising the gas sector.
• Electricity Security: The nuclear phase-out is expected to lead to the deployment of new gas-fired power plants, which requires a clear decarbonisation strategy.
• Infrastructure: Belgium has developed a modular offshore grid to connect renewable projects to the onshore grid. It also needs to expedite project permits for onshore wind and solar PV.

Covid-19 Response

• Social Tariff Expansion: The social tariff was temporarily expanded to include all consumers with a gross income below EUR 20,000 in 2020.
• National Recovery Plan: The EUR 5.9 billion plan includes significant investments in building renovation, transport modal shifts, and offshore energy hub development.
• Hydrogen and CCUS: The plan supports hydrogen production from renewable energy and a legal framework for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), including cross-border infrastructure for CO₂ transportation.

Key Recommendations

• Update NECP: The National Energy and Climate Plan should be updated to support the EU's 55% emissions reduction target and provide long-term certainty for investments.
• Set 2050 Carbon Neutrality Target: Belgium should establish a clear national target for carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Address Energy Poverty: Measures addressing energy poverty should promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, ensuring a just transition.
• Tax Reform: Use taxation reform to create price signals that support decarbonisation and electrification.
• Infrastructure Permitting: Improve infrastructure planning, approval, and permitting to support rapid and sustained renewable deployment, especially for the second offshore wind zone.