On April 20, 2022, the following was covered: Mending EU gas policy was discussed and fast-tracked for negotiations; Purchasing a majority of the supply for winter of 2022 and 2023 is a priority; Shifting to renewables instead of gas is another strategy, but regional and non-voluntary cooperation are crucial to increase renewables to 45% of energy needs by 2030.
Certain commodities (maize and rubberware) are increasing deforestation and need urgent regulation. Indigenous people highly rely on forest ecosystems and their rights need to be protected. Europe is doing well in hydrogen and batteries but still behind in the solar downstream sector.
On the 14th and 16th of March various important meetings took place for tackling key topics such as the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, the Social Climate Fund and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).
The current Russian aggression in Ukraine is significantly affecting EU Energy policies. Hydrogen holds potential for delinking EU gas demands from Russia, although its technology is still at the early stage. There is a need for continuous dialogue between EU policymakers and the energy industry, and to stay in line with the Paris Agreement.
Energy efficiency means being independent from Russia’s oil and gas, focusing on renewable energy sources and innovation at EU level. Renewable energy usage should be reflected in the EU’s ambition by more than 40% by 2030, with a particular focus on hydrogen. Energy efficiency is strongly related to energy waste, in the sense that at EU level there should be a new behavior towards minimizing consumption and waste in general.
Energy taxation should take into account the mix of energy, energy poverty and monitoring, and the difference between the Member State practices. The scheme for energy taxation should be implemented as soon as possible, taking into account the urgency of the climate crisis. The energy taxation should be used as a catalyst for speeding up the use of renewables within each Member State
On March 17th, the Environmental Council met to discuss the extension of the ETS to road transport and buildings and the Social Climate Fund. A majority of countries support extension of the ETS though some still have concerns regarding social impacts. Support for the Social Climate Fund was more limited. The Council shared a progress report on other files and it was announced that a general approach on CBAM was reached.
There have been discussions regarding how the EU’s FitFor55 targets could be achieved. Discussions on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism included a more rapid phase-in and a centralised oversight system. The aviation and the maritime sectors have been identified as sectors which require more ambitious goals
Concerning aviation and the maritime sector, MEPs recognize the need to shift to alternative “green” fuels. However, some fear that this will diminish the EU’s competitiveness. The same issue arises for the ETS revision where some argue the additional costs for achieving the climate goals are highly problematic. Some MEPs say that here the social climate fund comes into play, which should help low-income families and SMEs with the transition. The French presidency agrees with the importance of a socially fair transition and is in line with opinions on the energy efficiency directive that transport poverty must be avoided e.g., by focusing on public transport.
What is a ‘No Climate Policy’ Scenario? Read on to find out how the IPCC have assessed potential future scenarios. The sixth assessment report is the most comprehensive analysis of the climate crisis to ever be released. The AR6 also highlighted the risk of compound events, recognising that extreme weather events such as heatwaves and droughts are more likely to occur simultaneously, as well as becoming more frequent in the future.