London (Platts)--15Apr2010/554 am EDT/954 GMT

A report published Thursday by the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) sets out a "pathway" for moving the EU to renewable energy sources for all its electricity, heating, cooling and transport needs by 2050.

The report, RE-thinking 2050, to be launched later Thursday in the European Parliament in Brussels, examines how different renewable technologies could contribute to a "fully sustainable energy supply by 2050 provided there is strong political, public and economic support for all renewable energy technologies," an EREC statement said, adding that this is the only sustainable option in economic, environmental and social terms.

"The potential benefits of a future based on renewable energy are multiple: mitigating climate change, ensuring energy security and creating sustainable future-oriented jobs," said EREC president Arthourous Zervos.

The EU's existing goals for renewable sources to meet 20% of all energy needs by 2020 while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and boosting energy efficiency by 2020 by the same date are already set to cut annual energy-related CO2 emissions by about 1.2 billion metric tons compared with 1990 levels.

The report says the EU could potentially cut CO2 emissions by 90% by 2050, worth an estimated Eur3.8 trillion ($5.2 trillion) in fossil fuel and carbon costs.

"Higher upfront investments for renewable energy do pay off in the long-run, as the capital investment cost will be outweighed by the avoided fossil fuel and CO2 costs," Zervos said.

He also said a shift to a 100% renewables-based energy economy would create jobs, with up to 4.4 million employed by the renewables sector by 2030, rising to 6.1 million by 2050.

But he added that for this to happen, a "commitment towards a 100% renewable energy system for the European Union needs to be established as the guiding principle for all European policies in the fields of energy, climate, R&D, industry, regional development and international cooperation."

The report says the technologies are available to deliver the 100% renewables goal, but delivering it is a "matter of political will."

The full publication of RE-thinking 2050 will be available from April 20 at www.rethinking2050.eu

--Paul Whitehead, paul_whitehead@platts.com