The European Union agreed on an increase in the share of renewables in energy production in the community up to 32 percent by 2030.
The draft rules foresee a higher target but less than the level required by some governments and the European Parliament.
The final EU bill provides for the termination of the use of palm oil (a large imported product from Southeast Asia) by 2030 and the removal of certain barriers to some renewable energy producers. The measures aim to help the EU meet the overall target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
“This agreement is a hard-winning victory in our efforts to unlock the true potential of Europe’s transition to clean energy,” EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete announced.
The EU initially proposed a 27% target, a compromise which was supported by Member States. But at a meeting of energy ministers on Monday, a group of European leaders insisted on a higher target, which was rejected by Germany as unachievable. Many governments talk about climate policies and transition to renewable energy, but they are not quick to leave the polluting elements of their energy, as it remains largely dependent on coal and gas plants.
The agreement achieved today allows for a review of the EU’s target in 2023.
By 2020, the share of renewables must reach 20 percent in the EU. Experts stressed that the sharp drop in the price of renewables would allow higher targets, but without increasing the budget.
According to data from NSI, the share of RES in Bulgarian energy is currently about 19 per cent. Our country has already reached and even exceeded the level of renewable energy used under the Europe 2020 strategy, according to Eurostat’s consumption analysis in 2016.
RES resources include sunlight, wind, rain, tidal and geothermal energy. The dangers of climate change, oil prices and increasing state subsidies lead to increased investment in renewable energies. The largest solar thermal power plant is located in the Mojave desert in the United States, Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programmes, including the production of bioethanol from sugar cane, with the ethanol giving 18% of the country’s fuel consumption.
