Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg are urging the European Union to set a renewables benchmark for 2040. In a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, the ministers pointed to geopolitical instability and disruptions involving the Strait of Hormuz as motivation to speed up efforts to curb fossil-fuel reliance. They wrote, "We should accelerate the rollout and integration of renewable energy across Europe."
The EU is shaping its longer-term pathway to reach climate neutrality by 2050, after earlier targets for 2020 and 2030. For 2030, the bloc's aim is for clean energy to make up 42.5% of total generation. Some members are going further, with Spain setting a 48% goal. The bloc is also working to reduce imported-fuel exposure.
After Russia invaded Ukraine - and later, with the onset of the war of Iran - the drive to cut energy imports has only intensified. That has sent countries down different routes at home, with some planning more nuclear capacity while Spain moves to reduce it. Portugal and Luxembourg do not operate any nuclear reactors.
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Sara Aagesen, Spain's environmental transition minister, said, "Each energy crisis reminds us of the cost of relying on imported fossil fuel." She added that Europe can ramp up the output of clean, competitive energy, and that recent years show renewables are the "technology that can be rolled out fastest." A person familiar with the issue said skipping a 2040 target risks undermining the EU's medium-term aims and could sow uncertainty in a sector expected to ramp up deployment and improve integration. As the ministers put it, "The 2040 EU renewables target should send a clear signal to investors and markets."
Setting a 2040 benchmark would provide a clear cue to investors and markets.
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