Europe votes for binding renewable energy targets

www.environmental-finance.com/
Paris, 11 September

European parliamentarians today voted overwhelmingly in favour of introducing binding national renewable energy targets to enable the EU to reach its target of producing 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Parliament's influential committee on industry, research and energy backed the compromise report by Green member of Parliament (MEP) Claude Turmes, which included binding interim renewable targets and provisions to ease the access of renewable sources to electricity and gas networks.

The committee also agreed that targets to increase the use of biofuels in transport fuel should be slashed. MEPs also voted to allow member states to cooperate to achieve their national targets by, for example, operating joint projects. "Member states which find it difficult to reach their national targets will be able to count investments in renewable production in other member states to help them achieve their target," said Turmes. They likewise backed the proposal to safeguard successful national support policies for renewable energy, such as Germany's feed-in tariff incentive.

Oliver Schäfer, policy director of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) said: "The efforts made by all political groups to find compromises on the most important issues have lead to significantly positive results on most issues." He particularly welcomed the broad agreement reached on a flexibility mechanism to enable member states to reach their renewable energy targets in the most cost effective way.

"This is crucial to ensure investors' security," said Schäfer. "Governments – with this proposal – will also be able to maintain control over their targets and policies to achieve them." Greenpeace likewise welcomed today's vote. "We are moving closer to the energy revolution in the fight against climate change," said Frauke Thies, Greenpeace EU renewable energy campaigner.

"It's now up to member states to seal the deal." MEPs backed the European Commission's proposal that 10% of transport fuel in the EU should come from renewable sources by 2015, but said that at least 40% of this target should be met with electricity and hydrogen from renewable sources or second generation biofuels – hence no more than 6% of transport fuel would come from grain-based biofuels.

The Parliament will now hold negotiations with national ministers and hopes to achieve a first reading agreement in Parliament by mid-December this year.