Offshore wind carry EU to meeting Paris goals, says IEA

(EurActiv, 19 Nov 2019) Under a scenario consistent with the Paris climate targets, offshore wind will dominate by 2050, while gas will be the key to secure short-term emission cuts, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook.

As part of the implementation of the new Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), EU member states are currently drafting 10-year National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

These plans describe the precise mixture of renewable energies set to be used to meet climate objectives in transport. The deadline to submit the plans is by the end of the year.

Farm Europe, a think tank specialising in agricultural topics, has published a study suggesting that the current draft plans risk being ineffective due to the lack of a calculation method on the cost-effectiveness of the proposals.

The RED II offers a variety of measures to decarbonise transport, ranging from electrification to conventional, advanced biofuels and hydrogen.

According to the study, only three member states (Finland, Italy and Spain) have a robust transport decarbonisation plan while just seven (Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia) have considered all options “realistically”. In addition, a public consultation on NECPs took place in only nine countries.

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EurActiv, 19 Nov 2019: Offshore wind carry EU to meeting Paris goals, says IEA