Make Europe Fit for 55% – EREF’s demand to design effective and strong policy instruments for decarbonisation and the fight against climate change

EREF welcomes the Commission’s launch of the Fit for 55% package and congratulates the Commission officials in the various services who have worked relentlessly to meet this timeline. EREF, as so many others,  underline the urgency and expectations that today’s legal proposals – in concertation with the recently agreed Climate Law as well as the revision process of the state aid guidelines – will deliver on the EU’s ambition to substantially decrease GHG emissions by 2030, and put us on track to becoming climate neutral by mid-century.

EREF has said so before: with 2030 less than 9 years away, we need to adopt and implement the most effective and robust policy instruments. Aligning our climate and energy targets with the Paris Agreement is a legal and a moral obligation and battling to keep our planet inhabitable for the generations to come requires rapid action and putting forward ambitious policy and legal initiatives.

We simply cannot afford to miss this opportunity and give in to all the recent hideous lobbying efforts undertaken by incumbent industries, such as fossil and nuclear. As denounced in a report that was issued by a Brussels think-tank, we cannot have the most polluting sectors and their resourceful interest groups continuously slowing down climate action and sabotaging the much needed transition to sustainable systems that are based 100% on renewable energies.

Throughout this process, EREF has been advocating for binding and higher renewables targets – hence today, we regret the Commission does not propose more than a 40% renewables share by 2030– nor requires Member States to reach legally binding targets. Although targets send out strong signals to policy-makers at all levels, EU scepticism will only grow further, if the EU Commission, the Parliament and Council do not get their heads together and succeed in creating the framework conditions that will truly decarbonise our energy, mobility and heating sectors. The upcoming legislative process will unveil whether the legal files, such as the revised Renewable Directive (or “RED III”) will deserve its name and promote energy systems that are fossil free, sustainable, and run on: renewables, renewables and – renewables.

Hence EREF urges decision-makers and stakeholders from across civil society to take the “climate healing” pathway, to be courageous and push forward by all means available. To EREF, the battle for our planet will be lost or won on the – renewables – energy front.

Yet, today’s climate package  launched by the European Commission for obtaining 55% less GHG emissions within the next 9 years, is still too prudent – it will now take a major effort from everyone to take fierce and vigorous climate action, by continuing to work hard and improve the measures and instruments that have now been put on the table.      

14 July 2021

EREF