Peers demand EU 2030 targets to be backed up

Peers have demanded that the binding EU-wide 2030 renewable targets should be backed up by monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, warning that a failure to do so risks the goal being missed.

The House of Lords EU Committee has stated that introducing these systems will act as a guarantor for the agreement and will ensure that member states share the effort of achieving the target equitably.

The committee’s report also states the UK government needs to be “transparent, timely and comprehensive” in its reporting on its own progress against its renewables targets and against its own additional domestic targets.

The report warned that “rapid and unexpected changes in policies, even if they are designed to encourage investment, create policy uncertainty and may undermine investor confidence”.

To increase investor confidence, the committee said the UK government needs to be clearer about its long term renewable energy strategy and energy and climate change targets to “ensure investors are confident to invest in energy for the long term”.

The development of the capacity market and of European energy networks were supported in the committee’s report, which added that common standards need to be created to allow for greater co-operation and energy trading between member states.

Committee chair Baroness Scott of Needham Market said: “If we are to focus national government minds on meeting their responsibilities they have to know how far they have got to go domestically and have a clear idea on how they will get there.

“To that end we recommend that our own government should be clearer and more open about progress in meeting its own targets and also provide consistency in energy and renewable policy to provide investors with the confidence to provide the funding needed to meet our targets.”