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A greenhouse gas target alone will not spur investment in low carbon technology, the Renewable Energy Association warned ahead of an EU Environment Council meeting on Monday.
The industry body is urging UK ministers to rethink their opposition to a binding renewable energy target as part of Europe’s 2030 climate framework. The UK has been lobbying for a single “technology-neutral” carbon reduction target.
Energy secretary Ed Davey and environment secretary Owen Paterson are due to discuss the European Commission’s proposals for 2030 at the meeting in Brussels. These include a 40 per cent carbon reduction target and a 27 per cent EU-wide renewable energy target that is not binding on member states.
In a letter to the ministers, REA chief executive Nina Skorupska argued nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies had an “inherent advantage” over renewables, as they are backed by established energy companies.
She said: “Technology-neutral policy won’t deliver technology-neutral results when the dice are already loaded. For affordable green energy in the 2020s and beyond, we need a renewables-first approach to 2030, with CCS and nuclear filling in the gaps renewables can’t fill yet.”
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