The ambitious renewable energy targets that have helped so far solar and wind applications spread across Europe face an uncertain future under a landmark set of EU climate and energy measures were unveiled yesterday.
As the FT reports, green campaigners said the package, which will guide EU energy use up to 2030, was weak and toothless because it weakened renewable energy goals and gave a green light to shale exploration, two measures for which the UK had lobbied. But Ed Davey, UK energy secretary, welcomed the package, saying: "It looks very much in line with the things the coalition has been arguing for."
At the heart of this latest EU blueprint, which extends 2020 targets set nearly seven years ago, is a mandatory requirement for EU countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030. But instead of producing another legally binding target for renewable generation - such as the 20 per cent goal in the 2020 climate deal - Brussels has set a 27 per cent target for 2030 that individual countries will effectively decide how to meet.
Senior EU officials insisted this goal was still binding because each country would have to discuss and analyze its national energy plans to help develop a coherent EU-wide plan that would see the 27 per cent target reached.
