Green target compromise

Megan Darby says the fudge on 2030 renewables targets is progress of sorts.

Renewables target: stain on the purity of a carbon market or essential to investment in our green future? That has been the big ideological fault line in the run-up to the unveiling of Europe’s 2030 climate and energy framework.
Proponents of targets say they cut the cost of renewables by making them more attractive to investors. Detractors say renewable energy is not necessarily the cheapest route to cutting emissions (energy efficiency and switching from coal to gas generally cost less) and a technology-neutral carbon market is more efficient. The UK government is in the latter camp.
Last week the European Commission came up with a curious compromise. It proposes a binding target to get “at least” 27 per cent of energy from renewables by 2030, across the EU. However, it will not dictate the contribution each member state must make. Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso says national targets “risk the fragmentation of the internal market and do not allow us to reach the targets in the most cost effective way”. Nations can come up with their own plans and the Commission will attempt to co-ordinate so the figures add up.
While acknowledging the theoretical superiority of a technology-neutral approach, Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, would prefer to see binding member state targets. She says: “Politics frequently trumps economics in the real world, and when politicians go wobbly on renewables, the targets help keep investment flowing.”
Nor are the sceptics satisfied. Energy secretary Ed Davey says the UK “remains concerned about any renewables target”, especially since the debate has “moved on” to technology-neutral options as the best way forward.
Meanwhile, proposed reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System will go some way to restore carbon price signals, given time.
On the whole, it seems the Commission has come up with a package most people can live with. Next, it is a case of getting the Council and Parliament on board and setting the policies to make those targets happen.