Today EU employment and social policy ministers adopted underwhelming conclusions of ECA’s latest report on the state of play in renewables progress, without committing to concrete actions to revive the boom of renewable energy.
The European Court of Auditors’ report “Wind and solar power for electricity generation: significant action needed if EU targets to be met” published in June indicated that Member States should urgently work on closing the gap to meet the 2020 and 2030 targets and create a more favourable environment for renewable electricity generation through the simplification of administrative procedures.
The European auditors also recommend that EU countries further promote investment in grid infrastructure and electricity interconnectors.
In reaction to today’s EPSCO council, Veerle Dossche, EU energy policy coordinator at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:
“The latest ECA report indicates that the renewable energy targets for 2020 and 2030 are at risk of not being met if Member States do not hit the ground running now. Renewable energy costs keep falling and have become more competitive than any fossil fuel, but political barriers still block further progress. Too often EU funds are used to subsidise fossil fuel infrastructure instead of sustainable energy like solar and wind.”
“In order to close the gap towards the EU’s 2030 renewable energy target, the final national energy and climate plans due by the end of this year must aim at increasing ambition as well as lifting all barriers that are hampering progress. For this Member States must immediately exclude all fossil fuels from the scope of EU funds and grant fair conditions for the further uptake of renewables in the electricity, heating, cooling and transport sectors.”
ENDS
Contact:
Nicolas Derobert, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, nicolas@caneurope.org, +32 483 62 18 88
Note to editors:
The Council conclusions are accessible here.
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 160 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 47 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
