The negotiators of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement aiming to increase the use of renewable energy to 32 percent by 2030, a statement from the Commission said Thursday.
According to the statement, today's deal means that two out of the 8 legislative proposals in the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, adopted by the European Commission on 30 November 2016, have been already agreed by the co-legislators.
The first element of the package, the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, was adopted on May, 14.
"Thus, progress and momentum towards completing the Energy Union is well under way and the work started by the Juncker Commission, under the priority of a resilient Energy Union and a forward-looking climate change policy is delivering its promises," said in the statement.
The new regulatory including a binding renewable energy target for the EU for 2030 of 32 percent with an upwards revision clause by 2023 will greatly contribute to the Commission's political priority to become the world number one in renewables, the Commission said.
The previous target for renewables was 27 percent.
"This will allow Europe to keep its leadership role in the fight against climate change, in the clean energy transition and in meeting the goals set by the Paris Agreement. The rules agreed today serve also to create an enabling environment to accelerate public and private investment in innovation and modernization in all key sectors," the statement read.
Renewables are good for Europe, and today,
Europe is good at renewables, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel
Arias Cañete was quoted in the statement.
"This deal is a hard-won victory in our efforts to unlock the true
potential of Europe's clean energy transition. This new ambition will help us
meet our Paris Agreement goals and will translate into more jobs, lower energy
bills for consumers and less energy imports. The binding nature of the target
will also provide additional certainty to the investors," Canete said.
The Commission informed in the statement that following this political agreement, the text of the Directive will have to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council.
Once endorsed by both co-legislators in the coming months, the updated Renewable energy Directive will be published in the Official Journal of the Union and will enter into force 20 days after publication. Member States will have to transpose the new elements of the Directive into national law 18 months after its entry into force, according to the Council.
(Anadolu Agency, 14/06/2018)
