The
European Parliament’s Industry and Energy Committee (ITRE) voted on November 28
to reduce energy consumption by 40% by 2030 at EU level. MEPs wanted to be more
ambitious than the EU Commission, which had proposed a 30% reduction.
Each EU
country will have to set its own corresponding national energy-efficiency
targets that are needed to reach the overall goal of 40% reduction in energy
consumption. These would cover all stages of the energy chain, including
generation, transmission, distribution and end-use, the European Parliament
said on November 28.
In a
separate vote, which also took place on November 28, Industry and Energy
Committee MEPs agreed that by 2030, a minimum of 35% of all energy consumed in
the EU would need to come from renewable, cleaner sources. For the transport
sector, at least 12% of the energy consumed in each member state would have to
be produced from renewables, such as the sun or wind.
National
authorities need to make sure that financial programmes, supporting measures,
which increase the share of electricity produced from renewables, are stable
and predictable. They should refrain from making frequent changes and avoid all
retroactive changes.
MEPs
amended the legislative proposals to make sure that consumers who produce
electricity on their premises are entitled to consume it and install storage
systems without having to pay any charges, fees or taxes. They also ask member
states to assess existing barriers to consuming energy produced on your own
premises, to promote renewable self-consumption being developed further.
MEPs said
they want to help people setting up renewable energy co-operatives in their
communities, where they can install solar panels, wind turbines or
hydroelectric power jointly. They therefore ask member states to ensure that
consumers, particularly households, can join such renewable energy communities
without being subject to unjustified conditions or procedures.
“We want Europe to have a legal framework that
will stand the test of time and promote renewable energy development to
facilitate the energy transition, and that is why I think we should be more
ambitious,” said Spanish S&D member José Blanco López, who is responsible
for steering the plans through Parliament.
Overall,
different groups welcomed the European Parliament’s targets for Europe.
S&D
vice-president for sustainability, Belgian MEP Kathleen Van Brempt said,
“Energy efficiency can save us a lot of money in imports, will contribute to
fight climate change, and it will also be beneficial for families and
households. In any policy decision, we must look at how it affects those who
are most vulnerable in our society. Well, this directive does. We have introduced
energy poverty provisions in order to oblige member states to prioritise
measures for low-income and energy-poor households who are the most likely to
find themselves living in badly insulated houses, and therefore need to spend
more in heating, cooling and electricity”.
In reaction
to the results of the vote, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network
(CAN) Europe, said: “By calling for more ambitious renewable energy and energy
efficiency targets, MEPs reaffirmed their commitment to the promises of the
Paris Agreement. The results of today’s votes will send a strong signal on the
need to scale up clean energy to EU governments. The economic case of ever
cheaper green energy should prompt the EU to move even faster and adopt a 45%
renewable energy target.”
“While calling for higher ambition, the
Industry Committee also strengthened the annual energy savings obligation.
However, it failed to uphold national binding targets for renewable energy,
which would help ensure that the overall EU renewable energy target is met.
This needs to be corrected when the European Parliament’s plenary votes on its
position early next year,” Trio said.
EU
governments are expected to agree on their position on the Renewable Energy
Directive on 18 December. Their position on the Energy Efficiency Directive was
adopted in June.
The
geothermal sector, which provides solutions for energy efficient renewable
heating and cooling or power, warmly welcomed these targets allowing for a
robust internal market and draw the EU nearer to the objective of becoming
leader on geothermal energy. “The level of ambition shown by the Parliament on
renewables and efficiency is good, but it is only a minimum threshold to stay
consistent with the Paris Agreement,” EGEC Secretary General Philippe Dumas
said, adding that the targets also provide investors with a better long-term
perspective, needed to plan significant investments by reinforcing the
Commission proposal on support schemes. Such measures are essential to maintain
the dynamism of European renewable energy industries, including geothermal.
“For Europe to be a true climate and energy leader, the decarbonisation of the
heating and cooling sector must be undertaken and this report provides sound
basis for this,” Dumas added.
However, he
argued that the ITRE committee “did not manage to act on the issue of fossil
fuel subsidies awarded to fossil appliances in the name of efficiency. It must
be pointed out that a new fossil boiler locks dependency to gas, oil or coal
for decades. Renewables for heating and cooling are the solution. We hope to
see the Council takes this responsibility.”
Meanwhile,
the associations representing the renewable heating & cooling (RES-H&C)
industries, AEBIOM, EGEC and Solar Heat Europe, also welcomed the adoption of a
new, key measure to promote further deployment of RES-H&C up to 2030, in
the report on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, voted by the ITRE
Committee.
“While greatly appreciative of the ambition of
MEP Blanco Lopez’s report in the level of yearly increase of RES-H&C, the
industries regret that such ambition is not matched with binding obligations on
Member States,” the associations said.
“Today’s
vote (November 28) is a step in the right direction. These measures are highly
welcomed, and show the European Parliament’s commitment to reaching its
long-term climate and energy objectives. Decarbonising EU’s heating sector is a
major challenge for Member States, as well as an opportunity for generating
local jobs, fostering growth, establishing energy independence and creating
healthier environments. The European Commission and the Member States in the
Council must now join the Parliament in its commitment to tackle Europe’s
climate and energy challenge,” they said.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-parliament-sets-ambitious-green-energy-targets-europe/