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EU politicians want more funding for energy
PARIS , France: The European Parliament supports a plan to create a global fund to boost renewables and energy efficiency, but warns that the target budget of Euro 100 million is ‘woefully inadequate.' Parliament adopted a report with the European Commission's proposals for a Global Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Fund to encourage private investment in renewables in developing countries. The EC will provide Euro 80 million over four years, with other public finance institutions expected to boost the total to Euro 100 million. The Commission believes this could mobilise additional capital of Euro 1 billion “under ideal conditions” but members of Parliament say the suggested minimum funding target was too low and criticised the intention to kick-start the fund with only Euro 15 million. GEEREF was first discussed during the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg , but it was not unveiled by the EC until October 2006. The report was adopted by a vote of 343 to 11, with 11 abstentions. Parliament urged the Commission to increase its contribution and encouraged member states and multilateral finance institutions to join forces in order to significantly increase the size of the fund. It also called for the fund to focus on supporting small-scale projects that find it most difficult to attract private sector investment, noting that at least one-third of the finances should be given to projects costing less than Euro 1 million. The fund should prioritize the funding of renewables and energy efficiency projects over biomass projects, which should meet rigorous sustainability criteria, said the Parliament. The European Green party welcomed the intent to be strict on biomass investment “in order not to encourage dubious projects.” Parliament also wants the EC to ensure that GEEREF supports solar PV projects and calls on it to support the development of intelligent grid technologies, and to ensure that the fund supports development of local markets, manufacturing and capacity by supporting local small and medium sized enterprises. The fund should be consistent with and supplement other Member State and EU development policies and energy initiatives targeted at developing countries, and the program should explore ways of enlarging the fund in the future context of a post-2012 regime under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The report stresses that the key objectives of GEEREF should be the promotion of renewables, energy efficiency and energy saving, the reduction of GHG emissions, the improvement of access to energy services in poorest countries and the diversification of energy sources in the developing world.
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