EU Energy Commissioner Backs Long Terms Renewable Energy Targets
16 December 2011 - To help businesses plan ahead, the EU’s Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger is asking for fixed goals to be set in place over the next two years for renewable energy targets that go beyond 2020
Mr Oettinger made the call when speaking at the much anticipated ‘Energy Roadmap to 2050’ conference, which intends to set out how the European bloc plans to almost entirely decarbonise its energy usage by the middle of this century.
A corresponding report published yesterday sets out a series of measures to achieve this, such as investment in renewable energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS), nuclear power and a host of other energy efficient improvements that set out to cut carbon emissions.
Concerns have been voiced that raising expectations for renewable energy during the current difficult economic times may be counterproductive, although the report states that "decarbonisation of the energy system is technically and economically feasible" and goes on to point out that these measures "can be less costly than current policies in the long run".
Speaking of the report, Mr Oettinger said: "With our roadmap we want to ensure that, for all participants, there should be an interesting discussion on binding targets for renewables by 2030. This should begin now and lead to a decision in two years' time."