Commission non-committal on renewables targets
Commission weighs up the options for renewable energy policy after 2020.
The European Commission has prolonged debate over whether to set binding targets beyond 2020 that would oblige member states to generate renewable energy.
In a strategy document published this week, which will be presented to EU energy ministers next Friday (15 June), the Commission weighs up the options for renewable energy policy after 2020.
Member states are currently subject to binding targets for 2020, but there has been debate over whether the development of renewables should be encouraged beyond then by imposing binding targets or through emissions trading. The electricity generation industry would prefer a market mechanism. But the renewables industry says capping emissions will not necessarily spur investment in renewable energy, because there are other low-carbon solutions.
The policy paper unveiled yesterday (6 June) by Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for energy, weighs the pros and cons of each option and does not indicate a strong preference. But it says a proposal should be put forward by 2014 in order to give the industry time to prepare.
“We need to see the reaction [to the paper] from member states and the
Parliament,” Oettinger said yesterday. “If we see that there is an acceptance for binding targets, we will submit a proposal.”?
The paper does not take a stance on whether member states’ schemes to support renewables – such as feed-in tariffs – should be harmonised. But it hints that the Commission is leaning in that direction, saying that recent member state changes to support schemes, “lacked transparency, have been introduced suddenly and at times have even been imposed retroactively”.?
The Commission will put forward non-binding guidelines for renewables support-scheme reform next year. “Retroactive changes destroy confidence,” said Oettinger.
Environmental benefits
Environmental groups expressed disappointment that the paper did not strongly support a 2030 target. “The paper shies away from clear recommendations for 2030, even though the Commission’s own research shows the benefits of a target,” said Imke Lubbeke of WWF. In March, the European Parliament called for a 2030 renewables target.
A call for such a target was originally included in draft Council conclusions on the 2050 energy roadmap, due to be adopted by energy ministers next Friday. But this has been removed from the latest draft.
The campaign group Oxfam expressed disappointment that the paper makes only vague references to the side-effects that some biofuel may have on food security in developing countries. At present, member states are obliged to obtain 10% of transport fuel from renewable sources, the vast majority of which comes from biofuel produced from food crops.
Oxfam believes the 2020 target should be scrapped. It had hoped that the Commission would have no new biofuel target in 2030 in its paper. “It is shocking that the Commission’s blueprint ignores that current EU policy is driving up global food prices and helping push people in poor countries off their land,” said Marc-Olivier Herman of Oxfam.
Novozymes, a Danish biotechnology company, welcomed the paper. “A dedicated…target for advanced biofuels would secure a market share by 2020 and beyond,” said Lars Christian Hansen, the company’s Europe president, adding that this needs to be done with “strict sustainability criteria”.
The paper says the Commission will soon put forward proposals to measure the sustainability of biofuel. But the issue has long been stuck in the Commission because of a conflict between the energy and climate- change departments.
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