EU 2030 renewable target needs to be enforced on Member State level – UK House of Lords

The EU needs to implement a mechanism to ensure its 2030 renewables targets are monitored and enforced, and that Member States share the effort comfortably, says the UK House of Lords EU Committee.

The EU has a bloc-wide target of providing at least 27% of its energy consumption by renewables by 2030, but this is currently not augmented with specific Member State targets – leading many to question how the goal will be achieved. The 2030 approach differs fundamentally from the EU’s 2020 renewable target which has Member State specific targets that add up to a 20% total.

A report from the House of Lords EU Committee says that the 2030 target will not be delivered unless it is backed up by a monitoring and enforcement mechanism that acts as a guarantor for the agreement.

The Committee has called on the European Council to ask the European Commission to introduce a mechanism that guarantees the agreement, and ensures Member States live up to their own commitments and fairly share the effort to meet the 2030 targets.

The report also calls on the UK government to do more to report on its own progress on energy and climate goals. The Committee says the UK government should also be clearer about its own long-term renewable energy strategy and energy and climate targets to ensure that investors are confident to invest in energy for the long term.

In the report the Committee also supports the development of capacity markets to ensure security of energy supply across the EU. It says that common standards should be implemented to help develop these markets, and that national energy markets should be opened up to cross-border transactions and greater cooperation across Member States.

It also backs another aspect of the European Commission’s Energy Union strategy – regional energy networks to help distribute renewable energy from Member State to Member State when needed.