The European Commission recently presented its proposals for post-2020 climate and energy policies. It is now up to Parliament and Member States to reach an agreement.
The current “20-20-20” targets focus on decarbonisation through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the deployment of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures.
The global context for energy and climate policies has changed since these targets were adopted in 2008. The economic crisis has prompted concerns about the impact of energy prices on households and on industrial competitiveness. The shale gas revolution, made possible by hydraulic fracturing technology, has helped the US reduce its energy imports and brought down energy prices. Global emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise while an international climate agreement is being negotiated.
The European Commission has proposed a 40% target for GHG reductions by 2030 and a 27% target for the market share of renewable energy sources, but as yet no new target for energy efficiency. The European Parliament supports three binding targets for 2030: a 40% reduction in GHG emissions, at least 30% renewable energy sources and a 40% target for energy efficiency. Member States and stakeholders are divided over the appropriate level of ambition and over the need for binding targets for renewables and energy efficiency.
It’s difficult to imagine the EU coming to some concrete and daring goals, there’s just so many member states whose economy depends on oil and coal export..
[…] a number of the targets, the Parliament in its previous positions has called for a more ambitious policy than what was agreed by the European Council. The European […]
[…] and initial reactions to the Commission proposal make for interesting reading in our briefing EU climate and energy policies post-2020. If this piques your interest, you can explore the topic further with our key source EU 2030 […]
[…] issues to be tackled more efficiently. The domains for this work could include nanotechnology, global warming, energy, and […]
[…] EU climate and energy policies post-2020: Energy security, competitiveness and decarbonisation / EPRS briefing, 27/03/2014, 8p. p.3: Security of supply “The EU is heavily dependent on energy imports – more than half of its energy consumption comes from imports. Two-thirds of the natural gas consumed and 85% of oil are imported. Security of energy supply is thus an important concern, in particular for Member States (MS) that have few indigenous energy sources and depend on a single supplier for most of their energy needs.” […]
[…] framework provides more information on the proposed policy framework. In addition, our briefing on EU climate and energy policies post-2020 and a publication Secure, clean and affordable energy for Europe explain EU energy policy in […]
“Renewables” should include hydro power as well, because the purpose is to replace the power from fossil fuels and nuclear power and because the renewable power generated in 2013 is 12.43% already, which is comparable to all other sources of power already. There are also countries like Iceland and Norway which have already almost 100% renewable power. How much wind or solar power should install they?