The European Commission’s fourth annual report into the State of the Energy Union, released this week, details the success of the Energy Union so far.
The State of the Energy Union 2019 report commends progress made since the adoption of the Energy Union strategy in 2014, noting that the EU is “on the right track” towards a full and effective transition to clean and renewable energy sources. In addition to contributing to the EU’s climate change reduction goals, the report highlighted the beneficial effect of policies implemented under the terms of the Energy Union on the EU’s internal energy market and energy security across Member States.
Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: “Europe has now in place the world’s most ambitious and advanced climate and energy framework. We agreed all the legislation to meet our 2030 targets, with higher targets for renewables and energy efficiency. But the Energy Union is more than rules and policies: we mobilised record levels of clean energy investments in Europe, we brokered the Paris Agreement and triggered its quick entry into force, we further integrated the European energy market, and we set a long-term vision for climate neutral Europe by 2050. But we still have a long way to go. We need to keep up the deployment of renewable energy across Europe and step up efforts to save more energy. We must embark in a process of transformation with a much greater sense of urgency than I see today. With our climate-neutral strategy by 2050, we have sketched out how this can be done, and presented a solid analysis of why and how Europe can achieve climate neutrality; why this model can be replicated by other countries in the world; how climate neutrality, economic prosperity and social fairness can and must go together.”
Following on from the State of the Energy Union 2019, the EU is to implement a new legislative framework, increasing the ambition of its environmental targets to be achieved by 2030. In accordance with recommendations detailed in the report, the bloc intends to deploy targeted policies aimed at boosting the European battery industry.
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President in charge of the Energy Union, said: “The Energy Union is Europe at its best: tackling together the big energy security and energy transition we can’t solve within national borders. From the daunting challenge of the energy transition we made an economic opportunity for all Europeans. To do this, we had to truly transform our energy and climate policies: not just tweaks at the margins but systemic change. No Member State could have delivered on its own. Our report shows how all the Energy Union measures combine to make our policy fit for the future. Today, our framework redirects investments into future oriented technologies and solutions. We have also kick-started measures for industry such as battery manufacturing in Europe, while making sure we’re not leaving any European behind in the transition. It is now for each Member State to follow suit and rapidly integrate national measures on energy, climate, mobility and all other related areas, so Europe leads the way towards climate neutrality by mid-century.”
