Council and Parliament reach provisional deal on renewable energy directive

 

Press material Thursday 30 March 2023

● Council of the EU   30/03/2023 08:07 | Press release | Council and Parliament reach provisional deal on renewable energy directive   The Council and the Parliament negotiators today reached a provisional political agreement to raise the share of renewable energy in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030 with an additional 2.5% indicative top up that would allow to reach 45%. Each member state will contribute to this common target. This provisional political agreement will now need to be endorsed by both institutions. The Council and Parliament negotiators provisionally agreed on more ambitious sector-specific targets in transport, industry, buildings and district heating and cooling. The purpose of the sub-targets is to speed-up the integration of renewables in sectors where incorporation has been slower. Transport The provisional agreement gives the possibility for member states to choose between: a binding target of 14.5% reduction of greenhouse gas intensity in transport from the use of renewables by 2030 or a binding target of at least 29% share of renewables within the final consumption of energy in the transport sector by 2030 The provisional agreement sets a binding combined sub-target of 5.5% for advanced biofuels (generally derived from non-food-based feedstocks) and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (mostly renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels) in the share of renewable energies supplied to the transport sector. Within this target, there is a minimum requirement of 1% of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) in the share of renewable energies supplied to the transport sector in 2030. Industry The provisional agreement provides that industry would increase their use of renewable energy annually by 1.6%. They agreed that 42% of the hydrogen used in industry should come from renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) by 2030 and 60% by 2035. The agreement introduces the possibility for member states to discount the contribution of RFNBOs in industry use by 20% under two conditions: if the member states’ national contribution to the binding overall EU target meets their expected contribution the share of hydrogen from fossil fuels consumed in the member state is not more 23% in 2030 and 20% in 2035 Buildings, heating and cooling The provisional agreement sets an indicative target of at least a 49% renewable energy share in buildings in 2030. It provides for a gradual increase in renewable targets for heating and cooling, with a binding increase of 0.8% per year at national level until 2026 and 1.1% from 2026 to 2030. The minimum annual average rate applicable to all member states is complemented with additional indicative increases calculated specifically for each member state. Bioenergy The provisional agreement strengthens the sustainability criteria for biomass use for energy, in order to reduce the risk of unsustainable bioenergy production. It applies a cascading principle to make sure biomass is used according to its highest economic and environmental added value. Faster permits for projects The provisional agreement includes accelerated permitting procedures for renewable energy projects. The purpose is to fast-track the deployment of renewable energies in the context of the EU’s REPowerEU plan to become independent from Russian fossil fuels, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Member states will design renewables acceleration areas where renewable energy projects would undergo simplified and fast permit-granting process. Renewable energy deployment will also be presumed to be of ‘overriding public interest’, which would limit the grounds of legal objections to new installations. Next steps The provisional political agreement reached today will first be submitted to the EU member states’ representatives in the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the Council and then in the Parliament for approval. The directive will then need to be formally adopted by the Parliament and then the Council, before being published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force. Background The proposal to revise the renewable energy directive, along with other proposals, tackles the energy aspects of the EU’s climate transition under the ‘Fit for 55’ package. The Commission presented the ‘Fit for 55’ package on 14 July 2021. This package aims to align the EU’s climate and energy legislative framework with its 2050 climate neutrality objective and with its objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. In addition, as part of the REPowerEU plan, the Commission proposed on 18 May 2022 a series of additional targeted amendments to the renewable energy directive to reflect the recent changes in the energy landscape. The elements of the proposal were integrated into the agreement found today. The current renewable energies directive in force since December 2018. It sets an EU-level target of 32% share of renewable energy in the total EU energy consumption by 2030 at EU level. "Fit for 55": Council agrees on higher targets for renewables and energy efficiency (press release, 27 June 2022) General approach on renewable energy directive Proposal for a review of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) ‘Fit for 55’ package (background information)

Press material Tuesday 28 March 2023

● Council of the EU   28/03/2023 17:29 | Press release | Gas package: member states set their position on future gas and hydrogen market   The Council today agreed on its negotiating positions ('general approaches') on two proposals that set common internal market rules for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen. The purpose of the legislation is to design the transition of the gas sector towards renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular biomethane and hydrogen, in view of reaching the EU’s goal of climate neutrality in 2050. "I’m glad we have found a balanced agreement on the gas package. Europe is on a journey to shift away from natural gas to renewable and low-carbon gases and we have to create the right market conditions for that to happen, in a way that promotes competitiveness, protects consumers and advances our climate-neutrality objective for 2050." Ebba Busch, Swedish Minister for energy, business and industry The hydrogen and gas markets decarbonisation package consists of a proposal for a regulation and for a directive that set common internal market rules for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen. The proposals aim at creating a regulatory framework for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure and markets and integrated network planning. They also set rules for consumers protection and strengthen security of supply.