PURPOSE: to promote the use of energy from renewable sources (recast).
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the EU has long been worldwide leader in the development of renewable energy. The 2030 framework for climate and energy sets out the EU target of at least 27% for the share of renewable energy consumed in the EU in 2030. If no new policies are put in place, EU energy system projections indicate that current Member States and EU policies would only lead to approximately, 24.3% of renewable energy consumption in 2030. This level would be well below the minimum 27% EU level binding renewable energy target. It would prevent the Union from collectively delivering on the commitments made in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Accordingly, the Commission indicates that reaching the EU level target of at least 27% calls for a change in policies in the form of a Union level framework leading to EU, national and regional level measures.
The European Parliament called upon the Commission to present the renewable energy legislation and to increase even further the ambition level to at least 30%.
This proposal is linked to the proposals the recast of the Third Energy Package (please refer to 2016/0379(COD), 2016/0380(COD), and 2016/0378(COD)).
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commission considered it opportune to go ahead with a recasting proposal for the Renewable Energy Directive. In particular, it has opted for more proportionate and less burdensome provisions for the heating and cooling sector combined with strengthened provisions in the governance framework to safeguard the achievement of the 2030 targets.
CONTENT : the proposed Directive identified six key areas for action:
- creating an enabling framework for further deployment of renewables in the electricity sector;
- mainstreaming renewables in the heating and cooling sector;
- decarbonising and diversifying the transport sector;
- empowering and informing consumers;
- strengthening the EU sustainability criteria for bioenergy;
- making sure the EU level binding target is achieved on time and in a cost effective way.
The main provisions which substantially change Directive 2009/28/EC or add new elements are as follows:
- the proposal sets out the Union binding overall target for 2030: Member States shall collectively ensure that the share of energy from renewable sources in the Union's gross final consumption of energy in 2030 is at least 27%. It establishes the 2020 national targets as baseline;
- it lays down the general principles that Member States may apply when designing cost-effective support schemes;
- the provision which regulates how to calculate the share of energy from renewable sources now includes a decreasing maximum share of biofuels and bioliquids produced from food or feed crops starting from 2021;
- the proposal includes a new calculation methodology (anchored on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) of minimum levels of energy from renewable sources in new and existing buildings that are subject to renovation;
- it establishes a permit granting process for renewable energy projects with one designated authority ("one-stop-shop");
- it includes some modifications to the guarantees of origin system;
- it empowers consumers by enabling them to self-consume without undue restrictions;
- Member States will endeavour to achieve an annual increase of 1% in the share of renewable energy in the heating and cooling supply;
- the proposal establishes a EU-level obligation for fuel suppliers to provide a certain share (6.8% in 2030) of low-emission and renewable fuels, in order to stimulate decarbonisation;
- the draft regulation strengthens the existing EU sustainability criteria for bioenergy, by extending their scope to cover biomass and biogas for heating and cooling and electricity generation.