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Barroso drops binding green energy goal
The European Commission will later this month announce a change from its existing policy of setting legally-binding targets for both emissions reduction and renewable energy share, allowing member states greater freedom to set their own energy mix.
The Commission will extend only the binding emissions target, most likely setting a reduction level of 40% down from 1990 levels by 2030. This is up from the 20% reduction set for 2020. In contrast, the binding target for a 20% share of EU energy from renewables by 2020 will be downgraded to a non-binding goal of a 30% share by 2030, according to sources working on the issue.
While the 2020 target came with legally binding national targets that are enforceable through infringement action, the 2030 goal will not be broken down into individual national obligations.
The new strategy, to be proposed by the Commission on 22 January, will allow countries such as France and the UK to opt to increase nuclear power capacity instead of renewable energy, leaving action by other countries – for example Germany and Denmark – to fill the gap and account for most of the EU renewable energy increase.
A binding renewable-energy target for 2030 might be politically unpalatable and practically unworkable, with member states increasingly pursuing divergent energy paths. Germany, which favours a new binding target, has been unable to convince many other member states of the merits of its case. Sigmar Gabriel, the new centre-left German energy minister, did persuade seven other countries, including France, to co-sign a letter published this week calling for a 2030 target, but it avoided any suggestion that the target should be binding.
The new strategy is a departure from the ‘20-20-20' strategy set by Barroso in 2008. Along with the aim of obtaining 20% of energy from renewable sources, that set a target of a 20% emissions cut from 1990 levels and a 20% rise in energy efficiency by 2020. The first two targets are binding, while the efficiency target is indicative.
For 2030, the Commission will opt to impose a binding target only for reducing emissions, according to sources working on the file. There is still internal debate about whether this should be set at 35% or 40% of 1990 levels, but it is most likely to be set at 40% given that anything lower would violate the EU's low-carbon roadmap. The file will be circulated to other Commission departments tomorrow (10 January).
There will be no new efficiency target at all. The EU is currently on course to fall well short of its 2020 efficiency target after the legislation setting out measures to get there was heavily watered down by member states in 2012. The other two 2020 targets look likely to be met ahead of schedule.
MEPs are likely to resist this approach. The European Parliament's environment energy are set to vote today on whether to endorse a report that would call for three binding targets for 2030.
Barroso, with an eye to his legacy as he comes to the end of a second five-year term – which he said would focus on climate issues – is keen to have member states endorse the 2030 emissions reduction target by the end of his tenure in the autumn. Hedegaard is also intent on achieving an agreement before she leaves office. They want member states to take a decision after they discuss the proposal at the March European Council, or at the June council at the latest, for fear the strategy will be rendered null and void by the change of commissioners at the end of the year.
However, if Barroso is looking to secure a reputation as a climate change warrior by achieving the adoption of this target before he leaves office, he may be disappointed in the response from green campaigners. Many have criticised the Commission's rush to put forward the 2030 target so early, saying it would be better to wait a few years when the political and economic climate might be more amenable to bolder climate action.
“We're only in 2013,” said Brook Riley, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth Europe. “The 2020 policy was adopted in 2008. Let's not lock in insufficient ambition. This is happening purely because of short-term politics, because Barroso and Hedegaard think this is the best they can do for the moment.”
A 40% target could be seen as unambitious, with many member states viewing it as a bare minimum. Earlier this week ministers from the four biggest member states – Germany, France, Italy and the UK – wrote to Commissioner Hedegaard calling for a target of “at least 40%”, without the use of offsets through international aid as in the 2020 target.
However, it is expected that Poland would veto anything higher than 40%. According to sources, Poland will only support even a 40% target in exchange for the Commission backing off proposing new legislation on shale gas drilling. The Commission may do just that. As part of its 22 January proposal, the Commission will instead put forward non-binding ‘guidelines' for shale gas drilling, disappointing campaigners who believe the process harms the environment.
The January proposal will contain two further elements: a proposal to structurally reform the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) by establishing a reserve mechanism that would respond to economic conditions, and an analysis of the causes of high energy prices in Europe.