Prunerov goes ahead

Greenpeace and the Greens might be making a PR mistake by contesting the upgrade of the Prunéřov II power plant mainly on the basis that ČEZ isn't using the cleanest technology. This relies on the belief that carbon emissions matter, and many Czechs agree with Václav Klaus that they don't. Why spend billions more on cleaner technology if the CO2 doesn't add to global warming anyway? More effective might be to question why ČEZ is so emphatic about keeping certain suppliers for refitting Prunéřov. Of particular interest should be whether CEO Martin Roman committed ČEZ to hiring turbine-maker Škoda Power for the Prunéřov work as part of Appian's sale of Škoda Power to Doosan last year. It's common knowledge in the energy sector that he represented Appian in the negotiations with Doosan. This would make Prunéřov not merely a case of "brutal political manipulation" by Roman, as Greenpeace argues, but also a serious conflict of interest and probably even shareholder fraud. Which most people can easily understand.