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Renewable Energy in the EU |
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“The promotion of renewable energy has the greatest impact on emissions in most Member States for both implemented and planned policies.”
Analysis of greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2004 - EEA report Technical report N°4/ December 2004
Renewable energy (sources) or RES are a diverse group of technologies that capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. Neither fossil fuels nor nuclear power are renewable forms of energy.
Read more about renewable energy:
Wind Power - Biomass Energy - Solar Power - Hydropower - Geothermal Energy
The global energy challenge of our time is to tackle the threat of climate change, meet the rising demand for energy and to safeguard security of energy supplies. Renewable energy are effective energy technologies that are ready for global deployment today on a scale that can help tackle these problems.
Increasing our use of renewable energy reduces Carbon Dioxide emissions; cuts local air pollution; creates high-value jobs; curbs our growing dependence on imports of fossil energy (which often come from politically unstable regions) and prevents us being hostage to finite energy resources.
Renewable energy sources are expected to be economically competitive as their costs already have fallen significantly compared with conventional energy sources in the medium term especially if the massive subsidies to nuclear and fossil forms of energy are phased out. Finally, new renewable energy sources offer huge benefits to developing countries, especially in the provision of energy services to the estimated 2 billion people who currently lack them.
CAN-Europe believes that the EU has a key role to play in the development and promotion of renewable energy sources. At present it is the market leader for most renewable energy technologies, most notably wind energy.
But renewable energy sources need to be vigorously promoted if they are to deliver their benefits as fast as is needed. At the moment the EU’s member states have a variety of promotion mechanisms. The EU institutions need to support these and to let the most effective of these work. At present, conventional energy sources are obscenely over-subsidised, and these perverse subsidies must be phased out. Support for renewable energy sources in the meantime merely compensates in part for these market distortions. The EU also needs to put renewables at the heart of its broader spending programmes – trans-European networks, structural funds, Euromed, co-operation with non-EU Europe and many more. Currently these disproportionately support conventional energy.
Internationally, the EU must set an example by committing itself to longer-term targets, starting with a target for 2020. These targets must be matched with clear policy and funding frameworks for meeting them. Finally, the EU must engage with international partners to create a global framework for promoting renewable energy sources.
The basis for much EU policy on renewable energy traces its origins back to the highly influential Commission White Paper ‘Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy’. December 1997
EU Legislation on renewable energy
The promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources
A Directive on the promotion of the electricity produced from renewable energy source in the internal electricity market was adopted on the 27th September 2001. The overall indicative target of the directive is to increase the share of renewable energy production to 12% of total energy use and of renewable electricity production to 22% of total electricity consumption in 2010. The directive holds indicative targets for the share of renewable electricity production per EU Member State.
Direct link to directive text: (Directive 2001/77/EC).
Related documents
Directive on renewable transport fuels
This European directive adopted on the 17th May 2003 aims to substantially increase the use of biofuels for transport, and in particular for road transport. National measures are to be taken by countries across the EU aiming at replacing 5.75 % of all transport fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) with biofuels by 2010. Directive (2003/30/EC) for the promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport.
A great weakness of the directive is that it the targets are only indicative and not mandatory, this has led to low compliance so far among Member States. In their national reports, several Member States deviated from the reference value of 2% by 2005 that is stated in the directive. Having examined the reasons given, the Commission considers that the targets adopted by seven of the Member States are not in compliance with the Directive’s requirements. These are Denmark (target of 0.0%), Ireland (0.06%), Finland (0.1%), the United Kingdom (0.3%), Hungary (0.4-0.6%), Poland (0.5%) and Greece (0.7%). Malta and Italy have not submitted any progress reports at all. The Commission’s negative assessments rest on the fact that the reasons given lack relevance, seem incorrect, put the desirability of the Directive itself into question, or would – if correct – apply to all Member States; or that the proposed target would not promote the use of biofuels.
Member States’ national reports under the biofuels Directive.
Related documents:
Looking ahead
Renewable energy in Member States is already contributing significantly towards meeting countries commitments under Kyoto. If properly developed they could play an even greater role in decarbonising Europe’s energy system in addition to all the other benefits renewable energy has. It is clear that adopting ambitious, legally-binding, national targets for renewable energy would demonstrate the EU long-term commitment to renewable energy and would significantly enhance investor confidence. A growing number of actors are calling for the adoption of 2020 targets; this would also dramatically increase the Community’s likelihood of meeting 2010 targets.
Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign
In order to promote the uptake of renewable energy and to promote energy efficiency the European Commission in July 2005 launched a Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign with the aim to raise public awareness and promote sustainable energy production and use among individuals and organisations, private companies and public authorities, professional and energy agencies, industry associations and NGOs across Europe.
EU Biomass Action Plan
The Commission is preparing a Biomass Action Plan in order to boost the growth of biomass use in Europe. The action plan is scheduled to be released before the end of 2005. It is still unclear what the outcome of the action plan will be, the indications that came out of the first stakeholder meeting are a focus on:
DG TREN information on the BAP, including presentations given at the first meeting in March 2005
"Intelligent Energy - Europe" (EIE) is the Community’s support programme for non-technological actions in the field of energy, precisely in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The duration of the programme is from 2003-2006.
The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) is the Union’s main instrument for the funding of research in Europe. "Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems" is a Priority thematic area, and "Sustainable energy systems" a sub-priority.
An important part of the Action Programme for Renewables contained in the European Commissions White Paper is the Campaign for Take-Off for Renewables (1999-2003), which forms an integral part of the Community Strategy and Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources by 2010.
Renewable Energy Certificate System
Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS) is the initiative of European companies to create a voluntary market for green energy. RECS advocates a standard certificate as evidence of the production of renewable energy and provides a methodology for trading or otherwise using it separate to the associated physical energy. This enables a market for renewable energy to be created, so prompting the development of new renewable energy capacity in Europe.
Eugene
EUGENE (EUropean Green Electricity NEtwork) is an independent group of experts from environmental and consumer organisations, and from research institutes that has developed a quality label for Green Electricity.
Support of the EUGENE Standard is open to all non-government based non-profit organisations, that do not represent industry and which have an interest in the promotion of sustainable energy technologies and are active in, have a focus on, or interest in climate change and energy issues.
Switching to Green Electricity can make a difference! – The role of businesses and public authorities in promoting climate protection, WWF, July 2002.
JREC
At the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in September 2002 in Johannesburg, some 86 states - the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC) -, adopted a joint declaration "The Way Forward on Renewable Energy".
One of the few tangible outcomes of the JREC constellation is the creation of a database were countries provide information on their renewable energy policies, measures and targets related to renewable energy, including terminations of existing policies.
CURES
NGOs created the network "CURES" (Citizens United for Renewable Energies and Sustainability) to monitor the energy-related international processes in the follow-up of the Johannesburg Summit. CURES elaborated a joint declaration entitled "The Future is Renewable" (this can be downloaded and signed at the CURES website).
Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference, 2005
The Chinese government will host BIREC 2005, the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005 on November 7-8, 2005. The purpose of the conference is to follow up on the Bonn conference outcomes and to share experiences on the development and promotion of renewable energy.
CSD 14
The fourteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14) will meet at UN Headquarters in New York from 1-12 May 2006. As the first year of the second implementation cycle, CSD-14 will review progress in the following areas: Energy for Sustainable Development; Industrial Development; Air pollution/Atmosphere; and Climate Change. It is expected that a large part of the discussions will focus on the promotion of renewable energy.
REN21
One of the outcomes of the Bonn 2004 Conference was the creation of the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) Its goal is to allow the rapid expansion of renewable energies in developing and industrial countries by bolstering policy development and decision-making on international, national, and sub-national levels.
One year after the Bonn Renewables 2004 conference, the German Government prepared an overview describing the follow-up activities and status of implementation of the conference results. The document outlines the areas in which successful action has been taken.
Bonn International conference for renewable Energies, 2004
At WSSD, Germany invited the international community to an international conference for renewable energies - The International conference for Renewable Energies, 1-4 June 2004, Bonn.
The high profile event had three forms of outcomes;
NGO views related to Bonn Conference
Deploying Climate-friendly Technologies through Collaboration with Developing Countries - IEA
Renewables 2005 - Global Status Report prepared by The Worldwatch Institute
Global Renewable Energy Policies and Measures Database - IEA
Towards a Sustainable Energy Systems: Integrating Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency is the Key Discussion paper prepared by the Wuppertal Institute and German Technical Cooperation GTZ.
The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is a coalition of progressive governments, businesses and organisations committed to accelerating the development of renewable and energy efficiency systems (REES).
GreenPrices aims at stimulating renewable energy by giving clear information about the market for green energy.
European Barometer 2002 - The 2002 Overview of renewable energies, 2003 Barometers (wood energy, biogas, geothermal, solar thermal, wind, photovoltaic).
International Energy Agency Renewable Energy related WebPages.
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