Brussels, 10/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee is advocating subsidies for limited time periods and a strategy that is more in tune with climate objectives.
In an opinion adopted at the end of December, Ulla Sirkeinen (employers' group, Finland) argued that the EU's 2050 climate objectives should be replaced by EU-wide targeted measures “tailored to each renewable technology”, in conjunction with EU CO2 reduction targets after 2020. Sirkeinen said that national subsidies for the commercial roll-out of renewable technologies should be limited in time, until these technologies become competitive to avoid high costs and the sometimes mistaken price indications provided in the past.
In order to ensure the cost-effective promotion of renewable energy beyond 2020, the EESC argues for a flexible system of EU-wide common support schemes, tailored to each renewable technology's maturity and differing circumstances. Until the single market is completed, systems providing aid should, nevertheless, be adapted to each electricity price zone or to the individual member state, thereby promoting cooperation and trade in the sector, Sirkeinen said. The EESC has criticised the lack of predictability, transparency and cost effectiveness of some of the national mechanisms in place, which have changed over time and which have failed to help provide an appropriate framework for long-term investment in renewable energy.
In an effort to attain the 2050 climate target of an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, Sirkeinen calls for renewable energy targets to be replaced by an overall emissions reduction target, accompanied by the setting out of a balanced price in emissions, which would encourage energy improvement and efficiency measures and help develop R&D activities and investment without choking the European economy. (EH/transl.fl)