Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The Council of the European Union and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on more ambitious environmental targets aimed at fighting against climate change. Negotiators agreed on March 30 to up the target for the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy mix by 2030 to 42.5%, with the option to up the figure further to 45%, Reuters reports.
The move is part of the EU’s broader push to aim for more ambitious environmental targets and will help it to replace Russian energy imports with alternatives including solar and wind power.
The bloc’s renewable share target for 2030 is forecast at 32% and the EU generated roughly 22% of its power from renewables in 2021. The share of renewables varies significantly among the bloc’s diverse members, from approximately 63% in Sweden to less than 13% in Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands.
The European Commission stressed the importance of setting more ambitious targets for renewables in order to meet more ambitious climate targets, reminding that the EU is to cut CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
According to new rules, bloc members would have to increase the share of renewable energy in the transport sector to 29% by 2030 and increase the share by 1.6% annually in the industry sector.
Ambitious new targets
New rules would require EU member states to produce 42% of hydrogen from renewables by 2030 and reach 60% by 2035. According to the EC, the bloc would have to invest an additional €113 billion in renewables and hydrogen technologies by 2030 to replace Russian fossil fuels with alternative sources of energy.
The body has stepped up its push for more ambitious targets for renewables after its dispute with Russia over the war in Ukraine and is looking to wean EU member states off Russian fossil fuel imports by 2030.
The move will require significant investments in solar and wind energy as well as power grid infrastructure and energy storage to support the switch to a greener energy mix. The EC pointed out that EU Member States and Parliament have still yet to formally approve the new rules before they can come into effect.