The European Commission has presented a package of measures to curb the EU’s energy consumption by 40 per cent by 2030, following a knife-edge vote in the bloc’s Parliament earlier this week.
The Commission presented the wide-ranging package yesterday (30 November), which includes a binding target to reduce energy consumption by 40 per cent by the end of next decade across the EU
The industry and energy committee agreed the target on Tuesday with 33 votes in favour, 30 against and two abstentions.
The right-of-centre European People’s Party had backed sticking to the 30 per cent originally proposed by the Commission, which MEPs voted to raise.
Each EU country will have to set its own corresponding national energy-efficiency targets that are needed to reach the overall goal of 40 per cent reduction in energy consumption. Even though it is due to leave the EU in 2019, the UK has been set a target.
The package also includes a separate target that a minimum of 35 per cent of all energy consumed in the EU must come from renewable sources by 2030.
This incorporates goal that 12 per cent of the energy consumed in each member state would have to be produced from renewable sources, according to the package.
The renewables target was approved by the committee with 43 members voting in favour and 14 against.
José Blanco Lopez, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for renewables said: “Europe needs to do more, Europe needs more ambition in renewables to meet the Paris commitments, combat climate change and lead the energy transition.
“The industry and energy committee, through a very broad majority, defends raising the binding target for renewables at EU level from 27 per cent to 35 per cent, to enshrine self-consumption as a right, to give security and certainty to investors and to increase the ambition in the decarbonisation of transport and heating and cooling sectors.”