"The only drawback is that EU politicians are insisting on the large-scale promotion of biofuels. They are not sufficiently protecting the planet from the ravages that can be caused by unsustainable biofuels," said Thies.
The directive defines binding national targets in each member state that will make up the EU's overall 20% renewable energy target by 2020. It foresees new or improved support policies for renewable energy in electricity, heating and cooling, and transport. It gives member states the option of cooperating to achieve their targets and also includes provisions to streamline administrative procedures and ease the access to energy networks for renewables. Finally, although the 10% target for renewables in transport has been weakened, the directive still encourages a very large share of biofuels whose sustainability is not guaranteed.
"Some EU politicians have shown with this deal on renewables that they are capable of offering us a clean and sustainable energy supply. But this agreement could be like a sunny spell before heavy showers, as European leaders create loophole after loophole in other parts of the EU's package of laws to tackle climate change," said Thies.
A new Greenpeace report, the European Energy [R]evolution, demonstrates that developing renewables and improving efficiency could lead to €500 billion in fuel cost savings until 2020. The blue-print for a clean energy future carried out by the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) shows how the EU can reduce its emissions by investing in clean energy and phasing out nuclear power and coal.
