The revised Renewable Energy Directive will provide the EU with a new framework for the funding of renewable energy. The share of renewable energy in final energy consumption within the EU is to increase to at least 32% by 2030. In addition to common funding rules for electricity from renewables, the directive also addresses the heating and transport sectors, which account for two-thirds of energy consumption.
For example, the Member States will need to increase the share of renewable energy they use for heating and cooling by 1.3 percentage points from 2021 onwards. In the transport sector, the marketers of fuels are obliged to increase the share of renewable fuels by 14% by 2030 – largely via the use of new technologies such as electric mobility and power to X (using electricity to generate synthetic fuels). The updated Directive will also restrict the share of first-generation biofuels – biofuels that are produced from food crops.

© Fotolia.com/Thomas Kleber
European solutions are of the essence when it comes to reconciling the objectives of energy security, competitiveness, and climate change mitigation as the energy transition is progressing. The European climate and energy framework for 2030 and the legislative packages of the European Union for an energy union are of key strategic significance for the future direction of European and national climate and energy policies, and thus for the successful implementation of the energy reforms.
The European Union has set itself the target to bring down greenhouse gas emissions within the EU by at least 40 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. In addition, the share of renewable energy in the EU's final energy consumption is to be increased to 32 per cent while the EU's primary energy consumption is to be reduced by 32.5 per cent compared to a baseline scenario. In order to reach this goal, the European electricity markets are to grow closer together and to be made fit for the growing proportion of intermittent renewable energy across Europe. In addition, the rights and options of final customers in the electricity markets are to be strengthened.
“Clean Energy for All Europeans” package
Together with legislation on climate policy and the gas sector, the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package forms the framework for the implementation of the Energy Union and the European climate and energy targets up to 2030. The package itself consists of four Directives and four Regulations.
The Federal Government welcomes the adoption of the legislative package. The agreement on ambitious but attainable objectives in combination with robust instruments for their implementation sends out a strong signal for a European energy transition. This will have a key impact on the energy transition in Germany over the next decade.