The European Commission has unveiled a new €1 trillion energy strategy for the next ten years, without which the region will be unlikely to reach its 2020 energy and climate change targets.
The Commission warns that the EU’s existing energy and climate strategy is wholly adequate to replace existing resources and meet new demand in line with requirements on emissions.
“The energy challenge is one of the greatest tests for us all,” says Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. “Putting our energy system onto a new, more sustainable and secure path may take time but ambitious decisions need to be taken now. To have an efficient, competitive and low-carbon economy we have to… focus on a few but pressing priorities.”
The first priority is energy efficiency, which according to the strategy should be focused on where the biggest savings can be made: buildings and transport.
The Commission wants to accelerate the renovation of Europe’s existing building stock through programmes of incentives and other financial mechanisms.
Efficiency standards for cars and a ‘robust’ car labelling system would be used to tackle transport emissions, which account for around a fifth of Europe’s total.
The other main priority would be the creation of an integrated pan-European energy market for both electricity and gas.
The Commission also proposes undertaking four major projects to explore and drive forward Europe’s competitiveness in intelligent networks and electricity storage, second-generation biofuels and ‘smart cities’.