Europe to Examine Need for More Renewables Under Green Deal

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s executive will decide over the coming months whether to recommend increasing the bloc’s goals for renewables and energy savings under an unprecedented plan to reach climate neutrality by the middle of the century.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants the region to toughen its 2030 target for reducing emissions by 50% or even 55% from 1990 levels as part of her flagship Green Deal strategy. The current objective is to cut pollution by at least 40%. Every sector will have to contribute to the transition, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told the European Parliament on Thursday.

“We will carefully assess in the coming months what is the most cost-effective way of achieving our increased ambition, including whether we will need to revise the targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy,” Simson told members of the assembly’s energy committee in Brussels.

The EU currently aims to get at least 32% of its energy from renewables by 2030 while its efficiency target calls for saving at least 32.5% of energy compared with a business-as-usual scenario. A commission assessment last year showed that both goals are at risk as some member states lag behind.

Under new EU rules, governments were obliged to submit by the end of December national energy and climate plans for this decade. So far only 18 states out of the bloc’s 28 members met the requirement, Simson said, adding she was going to write to the laggards to remind them of their duties.

“My services are now analyzing the different plans, with a view to presenting a comprehensive assessment of the overall level of ambition by the middle of the year,” she said. “If the ambition is not sufficient, I will propose additional measures at the EU level to support member states.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at ekrukowska@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Andrew Reierson, Lars Paulsson

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