Comprehensive deal on renewable energy reached by EU governments and European Parliament
Special Section: Energy and Climate Change Package
Tuesday, 16 December 2008 15:33
Agreement on the energy and climate change package took a big step in the right direction on 9 December when EU governments and the European Parliament reached an informal deal on boosting renewable energy by 20% by 2020. The deal, which still needs to be approved by Parliament when it votes during plenary this week, will impose mandatory national targets to try to achieve an increased share of renewable energy in the EU.
The Parliament’s rapporteur on the directive, GLOBE Member and MEP Claude Turmes, praised the outcome, saying that ‘with this major legislation renewable energy will be put at the very heart of EU energy policies and at the same time reinvigorate the European economy and jobs through green technology investments’. This enthusiasm was echoed by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), who believe it is proof of Europe’s determination to be ‘the leader of the energy revolution the world needs’.
Member States will be able to use cooperation mechanisms to reach their individual renewable energy targets according to the agreement. This means that countries from within the EU will be permitted to run joint projects with other Member States on green electricity production, heating and cooling. It will also allow ‘statistical transfers’ of renewable energy between cooperating countries, which means that only those States that have reached their interim targets, can sell excess renewable energy credits. Finally Member States will be allowed to link their national support schemes, however renewable energy investments in third countries will not contribute towards the EU’s target.
The compromise also commits the transport sector to derive 10% of its energy from renewable resources, a conclusion which had been reached during trialogue discussions the week before (see article here). On the issue of biofuels, negotiators did not take the opportunity to set targets for second-generation biofuels, and decided not to include sustainability criteria for indirect land use changes in the final text either.
This has been met with disappointment by environmentalists, with Greenpeace lamenting that the EU is ‘insisting on the large-scale promotion of biofuels’, a technology which many environmentalists believe is not sufficiently developed and potentially dangerous. The European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBio) however, moved to reassure such sceptical voices, insisting ‘that only those biofuels that comply with unprecedentedly strict environmental and social sustainability standards can be used’.
In addition, agreement was reached on the last contentious issue, when it agreed to review the implementation of the directive in 2014 following pressure from Italy, but that this could not in turn lead to a revision of the 20% target that has been set. This compromise was reached after Italy, supported by Austria, had called for such a review to lead to a possible revision of the target, but several other EU Member States as well as the European Parliament opposed such a move as they fear it would have potentially undermined investor confidence.
The Parliament’s rapporteur on the directive, GLOBE Member and MEP Claude Turmes, praised the outcome, saying that ‘with this major legislation renewable energy will be put at the very heart of EU energy policies and at the same time reinvigorate the European economy and jobs through green technology investments’. This enthusiasm was echoed by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), who believe it is proof of Europe’s determination to be ‘the leader of the energy revolution the world needs’.
Member States will be able to use cooperation mechanisms to reach their individual renewable energy targets according to the agreement. This means that countries from within the EU will be permitted to run joint projects with other Member States on green electricity production, heating and cooling. It will also allow ‘statistical transfers’ of renewable energy between cooperating countries, which means that only those States that have reached their interim targets, can sell excess renewable energy credits. Finally Member States will be allowed to link their national support schemes, however renewable energy investments in third countries will not contribute towards the EU’s target.
The compromise also commits the transport sector to derive 10% of its energy from renewable resources, a conclusion which had been reached during trialogue discussions the week before (see article here). On the issue of biofuels, negotiators did not take the opportunity to set targets for second-generation biofuels, and decided not to include sustainability criteria for indirect land use changes in the final text either.
This has been met with disappointment by environmentalists, with Greenpeace lamenting that the EU is ‘insisting on the large-scale promotion of biofuels’, a technology which many environmentalists believe is not sufficiently developed and potentially dangerous. The European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBio) however, moved to reassure such sceptical voices, insisting ‘that only those biofuels that comply with unprecedentedly strict environmental and social sustainability standards can be used’.
In addition, agreement was reached on the last contentious issue, when it agreed to review the implementation of the directive in 2014 following pressure from Italy, but that this could not in turn lead to a revision of the 20% target that has been set. This compromise was reached after Italy, supported by Austria, had called for such a review to lead to a possible revision of the target, but several other EU Member States as well as the European Parliament opposed such a move as they fear it would have potentially undermined investor confidence.
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