Renewable industry leaders call the EU to support 2030 renewable energy target

Renewable energy industry leaders — including the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), Vestas, DONG Energy, and Gamesa, among 60 European companies and associations — have co-signed an open letter to the European Ministers of Energy, Commissioner for Energy, and Commissioner for Climate Action, calling for the European Union to adopt a “legally binding target for renewable energy” in the form of the Climate and Energy Framework for 2030.

The open letter, delivered on Tuesday, warns the EU that “2030 is already at our doorstep” and adding that “certainty about the regulatory framework of the next 17 years is needed.”

“We, as a group of 61 European companies and associations, strongly believe that a new climate and energy framework for 2030 needs to be based on mutually reinforcing tools and targets, including a legally binding target for renewable energy, and urge all policy makers to support a strong and ambitious regulatory framework for the years to come.”

With 2020 fast approaching, so too will the end of the EU’s current 20-20-20 policy framework, which set three key objectives for 2020:

• A 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels;
• Raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20%;
• A 20% improvement in the EU’s energy efficiency.

And while the authors of the letter acknowledge that “the European Union has set a clear direction for its energy and climate policies up to 2020″, they also note that “[g]iven the long investment cycles in the energy sector and the fact that investment decisions in the EU’s liberalised energy markets strongly depend on reliability”, the need for a clear path ahead is vital.

The EPIA on their website said that “the Climate and Energy Framework for 2030, currently under discussion, needs to be based on mutually reinforcing tools and targets, including a legally binding target for renewable energy,” and urged European policymakers to “support a strong and ambitious regulatory framework for the upcoming years.” 

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/09/20/renewable-industry-leaders-call-eu-support-2030-renewable-energy-target/