Brussels, 11/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The inter-parliamentary network Eufores, meeting for its annual conference in Stockholm on 1 October, says that many scenarios demonstrate that 100% renewable energy share by 2050 is feasible. It is up to national parliaments to translate these scenarios into policies.
“The necessity of promoting renewable energy in our energy mix is now beyond dispute. Many studies and scenarios show that anything up to 100% renewable energy share by 2050 is feasible. It is now up to policy-makers in the national parliaments to translate these scenarios into policies”, resumed UK MP Alan Whitehead, after two days of discussions on developing green energy and ways of financing it, in which 60 MEPs and 22 national MPs, along with representatives of the European Commission, industry, NGOs and the scientific community took part.
Parliamentarians also discussed energy efficiency and the draft directive tabled by the Commission in June of this year (see EUROPE 10403). Following the lead of German MP Bärbel Höhn, they called for stronger action, going beyond the few measures imposed by the directive - in other words, they want binding energy efficiency objectives rather than what currently remain options by 2014 in the draft directive. “Energy efficiency is the weak spot of European energy policy, in spite of its economic and ecological benefits. With the new directive, the Commission should oblige member states to take stronger action. This opportunity must not be missed”, says Höhn in a press release.
The final word rests with Eufores President Claude Turmes MEP (Greens) who, in the face of climate change and nuclear accidents, such as at the Japanese Fukushima power plant, calls for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency to be speeded up. “We cannot let some lobbies with other agendas stop us”, he argued. (EH/transl.rt)