Photo: Pixabay
The European Commission has released an assessment of the EU member states’ first-ever draft integrated national energy and climate plans (NECPs), urging them to step up ambition to implement the Paris Agreement and reach the agreed EU 2030 energy and climate targets.
The European Commission’s assessment is that EU member states’ draft integrated national energy and climate plans (NECPs) currently fall short both in terms of renewables and energy efficiency contributions in terms of reaching the 2030 energy and climate goals. For renewables, the gap could be as big as 1.6 percentage points. For energy efficiency, the gap can be as big as 6.2 percentage points (if considering primary energy consumption) or 6 percentage points (if considering final energy consumption).
“Final plans are due by the end of the year and our recommendations show where more effort is needed: for example, stronger ambition, more policy detail, better specified investment needs, or more work on social fairness,” said European Commission Vice-President for the Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič.
For greenhouse gas emissions, the overall greenhouse gas reduction for the Union is estimated to be already in line with a -40% greenhouse gas emission reduction for 2030 compared to 1990. For the corresponding EU target for sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System, there is a gap of 2 percentage points.
Member States now have until the end of 2019 finalize their NECPs for the period 2021-2030, and to implement them effectively in the years to come. The national plans should provide clarity and predictability for businesses and the financial sector to stimulate necessary private investments.
Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Cyprus among countries that need to raise renewables ambition
Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Cyprus are among countries the European Commission is urging to make appropriate contributions to the EU’s 2030 target for renewable energy.
The European Commission invited Bulgaria to raise the level of ambition for 2030 to a renewable share of at least 27%, Romania to at least 34%, Slovenia to at least 37%, and Cyprus to at least 23%.
At the same time, the Commission advises Croatia to underpin “the welcome level of ambition” of a 36.4% renewable energy share for 2030 with detailed and quantified policies and measures, while calling on Greece to enable a timely and cost-effective achievement of its 31% contribution to the EU 2030 target for renewable energy.
Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia already reached their 2020 renewables targets
Each EU Member State has its own Europe 2020 target. The national targets take into account the Member States’ different starting points, renewable energy potential, and economic performance.
Among the 28 EU Member States, 11 have already reached the level required to meet their national 2020 targets: Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Finland, and Sweden, according to a press release from Eurostat earlier this year.
Moreover, Latvia and Austria are around 1 percentage point (pp) away from their 2020 targets. At the opposite end of the scale, the Netherlands (7.4 pp from its national 2020 objective), France (6.7 pp), Ireland (5.3 pp), the United Kingdom (4.8 pp), Luxembourg (4.6 pp), Poland (4.1 pp) and Belgium (3.9 pp) are the furthest away from their targets.
Be the first one to comment on this article.