at least 32.5% renewables in energy consumption, binding at EU level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAccelerating clean energy in all sectors<\/h2>\n
The Commission first set out its vision for a climate-neutral EU by 2050 in November 2018, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently emphasized the importance of these efforts in times of Covid-19: \u201cBy using the European Green Deal as our compass, we can turn the crisis of this pandemic into an opportunity to rebuild our economies differently and make them more resilient, so that we also leave a better place for our children.\u201d (3)<\/em>
\nThe EU first took action with the European Green Deal, a roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable. It highlights the need for clean, affordable and secure energy based largely on renewable sources.
\n![\"European](\"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/05\/green_deal.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nImage 1: European Green Deal. Image Source: (4) Source:eur-lex.europa.eu\/ <\/em><\/p>\nIn March 2020, the Commission presented a proposal for a European Climate Law, a legislation proposal dedicated to the EU’s political commitment to be climate neutral by 2050. EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Ca\u00f1ete said: “The EU has already started the modernisation and transformation towards a climate neutral economy. And today, we are stepping up our efforts as we propose a strategy for Europe to become the world’s first major economy to go climate neutral by 2050. Going climate neutral is necessary, possible and in Europe’s interest. It is necessary to meet the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. It is possible with current technologies and those close to deployment.\u201d (5)<\/em> A public consultation is currently open.
\nThe new Climate Law addresses the necessary steps to get to the 2050 target and will include:<\/p>\n\n- The proposal of a new EU target for 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reductions.<\/li>\n
- The proposal of the adoption of a 2030-2050 EU-wide trajectory for greenhouse gas emission reductions, to measure progress and give predictability to public authorities, businesses and citizens.<\/li>\n
- A review, and where necessary proposal to revise, all relevant policy instruments to deliver the additional emissions reductions for 2030 by June 2021.<\/li>\n
- An assessment of the consistency of EU and national measures with the climate-neutrality objective and the 2030-2050 trajectory by September 2023, and every five years thereafter.<\/li>\n
- The Commission will be empowered to issue Recommendations to Member States whose actions are inconsistent with the climate-neutrality objective, and Member States will be obliged to take due account of these Recommendations or to explain their reasoning if they fail to do so.<\/li>\n
- Member States will also be required to develop and implement adaptation strategies to strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Notably, the initiative tries to tackle the problem of persistent fossil fuel subsidies and aims to align taxation of energy products and electricity with EU energy and climate policies, hoping to create incentives for investments in new technologies and the use of more sustainable energy products and electricity. This could be an excellent carbon pricing tool, if tax rates were set relative to C02 emissions per energy content.<\/p>\n
Renewable energy for green future<\/h2>\n
The EU has been pursuing an ambitious decarbonisation agenda since 2018, notably by constructing a robust Energy Union with the Clean Energy for All Europeans<\/em> package, which includes the above-mentioned 2030 goals for energy efficiency and deployment of renewable energy in EU Directives.
\nFor the energy supply side, this implies cheaper and better- performing renewable energy generation technologies integrated across the energy system, and on the demand side an increased overall energy efficiency is necessary.
\nIn the first months of 2020, the share of renewable generation in the EU plus UK has increased by 6.8% despite a decreased actual total load (-5.8%), which resulted in a -17.2% drop of gCO2\/kWH.(6)<\/em> This is a temporary progress, but we must realize long-term plans across Europe – with green investments and a transformation towards a more sustainable economy as the key pillars of the EU’s future economic strategy. The European Green Deal contains the right ideas, but a European Climate Law will be necessary to make sure results will be delivered.<\/p>\nThe renewable energy sector is one of the few forecasted to grow over the next year, despite the expected recession, and would benefit from individual governments and the EU deciding to accelerate the shift to low-carbon energy. While the Covid-19 pandemic is a human tragedy, we must not allow Covid-19 to distract us from the climate-change and environmental issues the world is facing right now, because these also threaten our existence and require us to take action now. Investing in climate resilience is the best way to unlock lasting economic but also social benefits, such as affordable energy.Europe Day 2020 is not only an occasion to remember the history of European solidarity, but also a chance to redefine it and learn to do it better, so let us work together on developing strength and resilience as an inclusive society for present and future generations alike.<\/p>\n
![\"References\"](\"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/05\/REF_EuropeDay_c.png\" "\\"\\"")
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About Reuniwatt (www.reuniwatt.com<\/a>)<\/strong>
\nReuniwatt is a major player of the solar radiation and cloud cover assessment and forecasting. Based on solid Research and Development works, the company offers reliable products and services intended for professionals of various fields, making the best out of two key facets of the meteorology: atmospheric physics and data sciences. A particular focus has been placed on solar energy forecasting, while developing cutting edge solutions to improve the short-term prediction of the solar resource.
\nThe company has won many grants, including H2020\u2019s SME Phase 1 programme, which makes Reuniwatt a European Champion with regard to innovation. Reuniwatt has also been selected among the national fast-growing companies to join the prestigious French Tech 120 programme in January 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":5678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company-news","category-press-room"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5674"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11480,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5674\/revisions\/11480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reuniwatt.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}