European Council suggests increasing EU 2030 renewables target to 30%

Sep 3, 2014 - The European Council has proposed an increase in the target for renewables in Europe by 2030 to 30% from 27%, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) said on Wednesday, urging it to uphold that position at a target setting meeting in October.

However, the organisation stressed that this revised goal will not be truly effective unless national targets are set as well in order to provide the needed stability and predictability for investors. “The proposal currently on the table still falls short on the objective of incentivising investments in renewable energy and creating the low carbon future a vast majority of Europeans want,” said EPIA CEO James Watson.

In a fresh report from last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global annual additions of renewable energy capacity will slow down and stabilise after 2014 due to current policy uncertainties. The projected lag may lead to renewables falling short of the absolute generation levels required to achieve global climate change goals, the agency stressed. EPIA noted that this is especially true for Europe.

On February 5, in a plenary vote the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) called for binding national targets for renewable energy with a 30% goal at the EU level, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reductions. The vote brought a picture that differs much from the European Commission’s (EC) proposal from January for a 2030 renewable energy goal of no less than 27% at the European Union (EU) level with no separate targets for each member state. The EC also proposed an emission reductions target of 40%, while it said that energy efficiency would be discussed later.

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