A new report published by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network identifies concrete investment proposals as listed in National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) of 14 Member States to be funded in order to ensure a green recovery. The report titled “EU Funds for a Green Recovery”, comes right after the president of the European Council Charles Michel’s proposal to increase the climate spending target of EU funds from 25% to 30%, and makes it clear that if the EU funds are used wisely, they could both ensure a green recovery and boost climate ambition.
The European Commission aims to make hydrogen a crucial part of becoming climate-neutral, proposing a massive scale up in the short term, but needs to focus early enough on hydrogen produced with renewable electricity, the only hydrogen able to deliver the needed climate benefits in hard to decarbonise sectors. The Hydrogen and the Energy System Integration Strategies revealed today rely on the use of fossil gas up to 2050 and “cleaning the gas sector” as stated by Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson at the press conference this morning without giving a clear end date for fossil gas use. This is in stark contrast with the need to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C and avoid dangerous climate change.
Read more: A carbon-neutral Europe should have fossil-free foundations
Offshore wind plays a key role in the energy transition to limit temperature rise to 1.5° as stated in the Paris Agreement. The North Seas Countries, including Germany, and the European Commission met today to discuss how to improve planning and cooperation to ensure offshore wind is deployed in a timely and consistent manner.
The Committee for regional development of the European Parliament has adopted its position on the Just Transition Fund. By allowing the fund to finance fossil gas, they set the Parliament up against the European Commission and the Council, while diverting away from earlier European Parliament's decisions to end fossil fuel subsidies.
The European grid operators ENTSO-E and ENTSOG have updated their scenarios for the Ten Year Network Development Plan 2020. CAN Europe welcomes that the grid operators improved transparency of their scenario building, however, while we are in a climate emergency and the European Commission plans to increase the EU climate targets, these scenarios are still trapped in an old energy world.