European Parliament backs renewables in resolution
STRASBOURG, France, October 1, 2007.
The European Parliament has approved a resolution on renewable energies on the continent, and has instructed the EU President to forward the resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of its member states.
The vote on the ‘Roadmap for Renewable Energy in Europe’ (Thomsen report) was adopted by an overwhelming majority and confirms the European Parliament’s strong commitment to renewable energy, according to numerous groups. The vote comes just a few months before the European Commission is expected to propose new legislation for renewables in Europe.
The resolution refers to a number of directives for green power, green fuels and green heat on the continent, as well as recent initiatives on energy efficiency. The Spring European Council in March adopted an overall binding target for the EU to generate 20% of total energy consumed from renewables by 2020, which represents “a major step towards a sustainable European energy policy that will help to secure energy supply and affordable, competitive energy from renewable sources,” it explains.
In a resolution approved in December 2006, Parliament called for “ambitious, binding, sectoral targets” which would source 25% from renewables in primary energy by 2020 and proposed a roadmap for achieving a 50% share from renewables by 2040. Renewables are needed to limit the increase in average world temperatures to a maximum of 2ºC, it adds.
“Directives to promote renewable sources of energy in the field of electricity have resulted in, or boosted, sustainable developments in the member states” and “EU industries in the renewable energy sector are global market leaders thanks to their investment in research and thus make an important contribution to job creation and EU competitiveness, objectives set out in the Lisbon Strategy,” it continues. There are “no legal provisions existing on heating and cooling from renewable sources of energy” whereas renewables are “a key element in a sustainable energy mix” and contribute to “reduced import dependency and diversification of the fuel mix, lower CO2 and other emissions, the development of new innovative technologies, and employment and regional development opportunities.”
“Market developments in renewable energies vary enormously from one Member State to another, not only because of differences in potential, but also because of different, and in some cases inadequate, political and legal framework conditions, as well as excessive administrative obstacles to project implementation in many cases,” and geological, hydrological and climatic conditions vary greatly across the continent and the potential for developing renewables varies greatly as a result. “Achieving at least a 20% energy efficiency improvement by 2020 is essential to successfully achieving the 20% renewables target.”
The resolution calls on the Commission to present a proposal for a renewable energy legislative framework by the end of this year, which would be “strengthened and improved and accompanied by ambitious legislation on increasing the share of renewable energy for heating and cooling.” It urges the EC to propose “a sectoral approach within the legislative framework, setting clear and realistic binding targets for the electricity, transport and heating and cooling sectors.”
It urges the EC and member countries “to reach agreement as soon as possible on assigning the 20% renewables target, taking into account cost-effectiveness and sectoral analyses of the potential in each country, in such a way as ensures an active commitment from all Member States,” it adds. “Despite the fact that some Member States are lagging behind in their contributions to current EU measures on renewables, all Member States should fulfil their commitments to increase their share of renewables, in proportion to their potential and the contributions they have already made.”
The Commission must approve “strong measures” for the promotion of green power and “regrets that regional and local authorities in the EU continue to show too little interest in harnessing and using renewable energy sources,” the resolution adds. Each country must be free to choose the most appropriate renewable energy sources given the differences in potential, but “the target of 20% of energy from renewables means the contribution from renewable energy sources, not other low-carbon energy sources.”
The resolution “deplores the fact that the EU target of a 12% renewable energy contribution to the EU energy mix by 2010 will, in all likelihood, not be met” and claims the current statistical methodology “underestimates the contribution of wind and solar power to electricity production” and urges the EC to develop a methodology that does not distort competition between the various energy technologies.
There is a need for increased efforts to coordinate sites for renewables and grid interconnections, and the resolutions says the promotion of renewables must be accompanied by increased cooperation between national transmission system operators to integrate fluctuating energy sources. There is “enormous development potential of offshore wind energy and the significant contribution it could make to Europe's independence from energy imports and to climate protection,” it stresses, but “enormous efforts are still needed to fully develop this potential.”
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