EU states agree to double the share of renewables by 2030

The States of the European Union and MEPs agreed on Thursday, March 30, to almost double the share of renewables in energy consumption by 2030, a key component of the ambitious European climate plan.

The approved text consecrates biomass (wood burned to produce energy) as green energy, to the chagrin of environmental NGOs worried about the impact on forests, and takes into account the role of nuclear power to produce carbon-free hydrogen, bone of contention between the Twenty-Seven.

Simplified procedures

The deal, reached after a night of final talks, sets a binding target of at least 42.5% renewable energy in European consumption by 2030, a near doubling of the current level of around 22 % (19% in France).

This is a clear increase from the current EU target for 2030 (32%). MEPs and States have agreed to strive to reach 45%, an “indicative” figure corresponding to what the European Commission and Parliament initially demanded. The text simplifies and speeds up the authorization procedures for renewable energy infrastructures, with dedicated territories where the regulations will be relaxed and a presumption of‘overriding public interest’.

Nearly half of renewable for the building

The EU plans 49% renewables in building energy consumption, with a gradual greening trajectory for heating and cooling through specific national targets.

In transport, the States must, by 2030, either reduce the intensity of greenhouse gases by 14.5% thanks to the use of renewables, or reach 29% of renewables in the sector’s final energy consumption. . With the binding target of 5.5% of “advanced biofuels” (derived from non-food raw materials) or “renewable fuels of non-biological origin” (renewable hydrogen, synthetic fuels based on hydrogen) in renewables dedicated to transport.