|
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the
own-initiative report drafted by Claude TURMES (Verts/ALE) on
the share of renewable energy in the EU and proposals for concrete actions.
(Please see the document dated 21/06/2005.) Parliament felt that there is a real need for a post-2010 renewable energy
strategy, and called on the Commission to set ambitious but realistic
targets for ultra-low or non CO2 emitting and CO2 neutral energy technologies
to supply 60% of EU electricity demand by 2020, in support of European
climate and security-of-supply objectives. Twenty-one renewable energies for the 21st century:Parliament
recognised the potential from a wide diversity of more than
twenty-one different renewable energy technologies, which in principle cover
not only all geographical areas but also all relevant energy uses. Renewable
energies are the fastest growing sector of the energy industry in Europe and even worldwide, with a growth rate above 20% a year for wind and solar
photovoltaic (PV) energy. The development of renewable energy technologies
has created more than 300 000 jobs. Parliament called for adoption of the
Biomass Action Plan, greater promotion of solar thermal power stations in the
south of the EU and a coordinated major project for North Sea wind power to
promote the rapid expansion of these renewable energies. It also referred to
the potential for geothermal energy for both heat and electricity production
and called for more political attention to be paid to the potential in
geothermal energies. Parliament welcomed moves to promote hydrogen technology
and a hydrogen-based economy. Paving the way for the EU as a world market leader
for renewable energies: Parliament noted that with a more
systemic approach to energy policies, a share of 25% of the EU's overall
energy consumption could be provided by renewable energies by 2020. A further
reduction in the relative costs of renewable technologies would play an
important role in achieving such a share, in particular by stimulating demand
and R&D. It noted that, in order to provide the necessary signals for
such highly differentiated energy markets as the electricity, transport fuels
and the heating and cooling sectors, the EU target must be broken down into
both sectoral and national targets. In this way, simpler and more
economically-attractive conditions can be created for investment in research
on renewable energy. Parliament asked the Commission to come up with
mandatory targets for each of these three sectors. Incentives in the form of
tax cuts are generally an effective way to promote renewable energies, and
Member States are encouraged to use such instruments. Heating and cooling: A major market for
low-temperature renewable energies: Parliament noted that the heating and
cooling of buildings accounts for roughly 40% of all energy use in the EU and
urged a systemic approach that will integrate best available technologies for
reducing heat and cooling demand with low-density energy from low-temperature
renewables or co- or tri-generation units. It stressed that, in contrast
to its approach to the electricity and fuel sectors, the EU has no systematic
approach towards supporting renewable energies in the heating and cooling
sector, even though dependence on gas and oil imports is particularly high in
this sector and the costs associated with increasing the share of renewable
energies are comparatively low. Parliament called for an EU-wide strategy
aimed at making renewable heating and cooling units competitive by increasing
production. Bureaucratic regulations imposed on house owners and builders are
not the appropriate way to achieve this, but rather a directive that sets
realistic but ambitious targets and coordinates the Member States' actions on
the basis of temporary limited incentives for market access. Electricity: Fair market conditions for renewable
electricity production: Parliament recalled the target of
21% of renewable energies in the overall electricity mix of the EU set out in
Directive 2001/77/EC. The EU electricity market is still suffering from a
number of serious distortions, such as insufficient ownership-unbundling
requirements, ineffective wholesale markets, increased market concentration,
large direct and indirect subsidies, no non-discriminatory access to
balancing facilities like the large hydro-storage
power plants, non-segregated decommissioning funds and non-internalisation of
external costs. Parliament insisted that the Commission tackle these issues
in its reports on the internal electricity and gas markets at the end of the
year and put forward new legislative initiatives to put an end to those huge
market distortions which penalise renewable energy production. Transport: Efficiency first, renewable fuels second:The
transport sector was identified as creating huge dependence on oil imports at
highly volatile prices, causing significant health problems due to air
pollution and being responsible for the fastest growing CO2 emissions.
Parliament took note that in the transport sector efficiency gains through
structural measures like better urban and regional planning, modal shifts in
goods and passenger transport and the gradual raising of efficiency
performance standards for vehicles and airplanes are complementary to
renewable fuel strategies. Biomass: The sleeping giant amongst renewable
energies: Parliament
regretted that the enormous potential of biomass in the field
of renewable energies had not been exploited in line with its technical
potential at feasible cost. It welcomed the Commission's announcement that it
will present a Biomass Action Plan. It asked the Commission and the Member States to use the Structural and Cohesion Funds to promote the use of biomass, as
well as to use the enormous potential of the second pillar of the CAP (rural
development) to promote the sustainable use of biomass. The eco-efficient use
of biomass must also be included in the Commission’s priorities for the
specific programmes under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development (FP7). Furthermore, national taxation policy must
not hinder the development of biomass production.
|
