The 2030 climate and energy framework, set by the European Council in 2014, provides for three main goals for the year 2030:

  • At least a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 levels;
  • At least 27 percent of total energy consumption from renewable energy; and
  • At least a 27 percent increase in energy efficiency.

In order to achieve the European Union's 2030 climate and energy framework, the European Commission introduced, on November 30, 2016, the "clean energy" legislative package. It includes a recast of several directives from the 2030 framework. In this context, parliamentary proceedings began in late 2016 and resulted on November 28, 2017, in the proposal of two new binding objectives:

  1. Each EU country must set its own national energy-efficiency targets that are needed to reach the EU objective of 40 percent reduction in energy consumption; and
  2. By 2030, a minimum of 35 percent of all energy consumed in the European Union must come from renewable sources. For the transportation sector, at least 12 percent of the energy consumed in each Member State should be produced from renewable energy sources.

On January 17, 2018, the European Parliament adopted provisional versions of two directives and one regulation regarding energy efficiency, promoting the use of energy from renewable sources and governance of the Energy Union:

  • On energy efficiency, the Parliament voted in favor of a binding minimum of 35 percent reduction in energy consumption (instead of the 40 percent suggested in the November 2017 proposal) as the EU target and indicative national ones (to be suggested by each Member State).
  • The share of renewable energy should be 35 percent of energy consumption in the European Union in 2030. National targets should also be set, from which Member States would be allowed to deviate by a maximum of 10 percent under certain conditions.
  • To achieve such Energy Union targets, each Member State will be required to file an integrated national energy and climate plan to the EU Commission by January 1, 2019, then every 10 years. The first plan should cover the period from 2021 to 2030. Subsequent plans should cover the 10-year period immediately following the end of the period covered by the previous plan.

It will take another several months until this legislative framework is adopted in its final version, and modifications could still be made. One purpose of adopting such regulations is to strengthen European leadership in the area of renewable energy by increasing incentives for affordable and integrated clean energy solutions through the implementation of financial instruments to boost private-sector investments, including, for instance, ongoing EU-financed investment programs such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Opportunities will include the development of renewable energy as well as the implementation of new techniques, in particular for energy storage, or new ways to reduce water consumption in energy production. The European Parliament also insists on finding cost-effective methods for increasing energy efficiency.

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