On Wednesday 14 July, the European Commission unveiled its proposals for revising EU legislation on renewable energy (‘RED II Directive’ - 2018/2001) and energy efficiency (EED Directive - 2018/2002), as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package designed to enable the EU to achieve a reduction in its net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
40% renewable energy target
With regard to the revision of ‘RED II’, the European Commission proposes raising the EU target for renewable energy in the Union’s gross final energy consumption by 2030 from at least 32% to “at least 40%”.
As stated in the draft revision proposal (see EUROPE 12743/4), the text does not include binding national targets.
The proposal also includes specific binding targets for the use of renewable energy in transport, heating and cooling, buildings and industry by 2030.
Transport
In order to raise the level of ambition of renewable energy in transport, the European Commission suggests setting a greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity reduction target of 13%.
It also wants to raise the sub-target for advanced biofuels (currently set at ‘at least 3.5%’) from at least 0.2% in 2022 to 0.5% in 2025 and 2.2% in 2030, and to introduce a sub-target of 2.6% for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), such as renewable hydrogen, by 2030.
Heating and cooling
As regards the heating and cooling sector, the European Commission did not propose increasing the indicative annual growth target for the share of renewable energy in this sector (the current target is an increase of 1.3% per year on average or 1.1% for Member States where waste heat and cooling is not used).
However, the proposed revision would make this target binding and would require Member States to carry out an assessment of their potential for energy from renewable sources and use of waste heat and cooling in the heating and cooling sector.
The European Commission also suggests raising the target share of the annual increase in energy from renewable sources and recovered heating and cooling in district heating and cooling networks from at least 1% to at least 2.1%.
Buildings
For renewable energy in buildings, the text sets an EU-wide “indicative target” of 49% by 2030.
Industry
For industry, the European Commission suggests that Member States should aim for an average annual increase in renewable energy of 1.1 percentage points (indicative target) as well as setting a binding target of 50% for renewable non-biomass fuels used as feedstock or as energy carriers.
Biomass
As regards biomass, the proposed revision includes a requirement to phase out, with some exceptions, public support for biomass electricity generation from 2026 onwards, while strengthening the current sustainability criteria (EUROPE will revisit this topic).
In addition, the European Commission proposes setting up an EU-wide certification scheme for renewable fuels, including hydrogen.
Revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive
The proposed revision of the EED, on the other hand, foresees setting a target for Member States to collectively ensure a reduction in energy consumption of at least 9% by 2030 compared to the 2020 baseline projections (a projection of where current EU policies, combined with market trends, are likely to lead).
According to the European Commission, this amounts to an energy efficiency target of 39% for primary energy consumption and 36% for final energy consumption.
The objective: that the Union’s final and primary energy consumption should not exceed 787 mega tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) and 1023 Mtoe respectively by 2030.
Member States will have to contribute to the EU’s target through “indicative national contributions”, the proposal says. These would be based on criteria reflecting each country’s national circumstances, such as energy intensity, GDP per capita, and energy saving potential.
If countries fall behind their indicative contribution, “gap-filling” mechanisms will be triggered.
In addition, Member States will be required to take measures to achieve final energy savings of at least 1.5% per year between 2024 and 2030, compared to the current 0.8%.
Public sector contribution
In particular, the European Commission wants to see more efforts in the public sector, which accounts for 5% of the EU’s final energy consumption.
The proposed revision thus includes an obligation for this sector to reduce its energy consumption by 1.7% per year.
Member States are also expected to be required to renovate at least 3% of the total surface area of buildings belonging to all levels of public administration each year (not just ministerial buildings).
Energy poverty
In addition, the European Commission wants to require Member States to ensure that a specific share of energy savings is directed toward vulnerable consumers, people affected by energy poverty, and people living in social housing.
“The share of efforts to be focused on the most disadvantaged communities will reflect the share of the population belonging to this category in each Member State”, the institution said.
See the proposed revision of the EED Directive: https://bit.ly/3elbvzb and of the RED II Directive: https://bit.ly/36y3ORX (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)