The European Parliament, Council and Commission have reached a final agreement on the Renewable Energy Directive for the period 2021-2030. The EU agreed to increase its 2030 renewable energy target, but the level of ambition of the revised directive still falls way short of what is needed to comply with the Paris Agreement.
In reaction to the agreement, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:
“Much more ambition is needed to match the scale of the action required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The lack of urgency to act to avoid catastrophic climate change impacts is alarming. And if the EU is to make the most of the benefits that renewable energy sources have to offer in terms of job creation, reductions in energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions cuts, the agreed 2030 binding target of 32% should be seen as a starting line for the race to greater ambition.”
“Next to the targets, it is important to make the revised renewable energy directive work in the real world. It is positive that the new law on renewable energy gives citizens the right to produce their own renewable energy without punitive charges. However, we are appalled at the lack of adequate sustainability measures regarding bioenergy in transport, electricity, and in the heating and cooling sectors.”
“To ensure there are enough incentives to scale up renewable energy in Europe, we must immediately turn our attention to the final negotiations on the Governance Regulation. Strong monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in case Member States do not progress enough on the deployment of renewables are needed.”
ENDS
Contact:
Nicolas Derobert, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, nicolas@caneurope.org, +32 483 62 18 88
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 150 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 40 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
