Environment Energy Mining Watch SEE|News|EU Parliament gives final nod to 32% renewables target

EU Parliament gives final nod to 32% renewables target

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The European Parliament today signed off on new rules on renewables and energy efficiency, including on a binding EU-wide renewable energy target of at least 32% for 2030.

The European Commission said in a statement that when the new policies are fully implemented, the whole EU will achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, instead of the previously targeted 40%.

The new law that concerns renewables also improves the design and stability of renewable energy support schemes, cuts red tape and sets a clear regulatory framework on self-consumption. It increases the level of ambition for the transport and heating/cooling sectors and aims to ensure the sustanable use of bioenergy.

The 32% renewables target comes with a review clause by 2023 for an upward revision.

Commenting on the news, the CEO of WindEurope, Giles Dickson, praised the fact that the new legislation sets out concrete measures to ensure member states contribute to achieving the green energy targets and gives five-year visibility on public support for renewables. It also removes administrative barriers to the development of corporate renewable power purchase agreements .

When it comes to energy efficiency, a separate law has been approved, setting a new 2030 energy efficiency target for the block of at least 32.5%, with an upwards revision clause by 2023. It also extends the annual energy saving obligation beyond 2020 and strengthens rules on individual metering and billing of thermal energy. It also requires Member States to introduce national rules on the allocation of the cost of heating, cooling and hot water consumption in multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings.

Each Member State has to prepare a national energy and climate plan for the period 2021-2030. Drafts for those plans should be submitted by the end of the year.

Today’s approvals mean that four of the eight legislative proposals in the 2016 Clean Energy for All Europeans package have now been cleared by the Parliament. This package, introduced in late 2016, includes measures to keep the EU competitive during its clean energy transition.

The Council of Ministers is expected to formally approve the three new laws in the coming weeks so they could enter into force three days after the texts are published in the Official Journal of the Union.

Source: renewablesnow

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