EREC Position Paper on the Renewable Energy Framework Directive.

Amsterdam/Brussels, 1st October 2007: The European Renewable Energy Council takes the opportunity of the Amsterdam Forum to present its position paper on the future Renewable Energy Framework Directive. One day before the Commission invites stakeholders to discuss the issue, EREC outlines the industry’s needs and concerns.

"One of the most important issues now is the rapid proposal and adoption of the framework directive. We only have 13 years left to fulfill the target, so we need to implement the necessary legislation rapidly. We expect no more time to be wasted by the Commission or Member States due to lengthy negotiations. The EU target will only be met if legislation is adopted timely", says EREC Policy Director Oliver Schäfer.

Three key targets on renewable energy, energy efficiency and greenhouse gases have been agreed by the Heads of State earlier this year for 2020. Each of them makes sense and stands for itself. Efforts to downplay the renewable energy target by stressing the reater significance of the greenhouse gas reduction target - for instance by including nuclear energy to count towards the renewables target - need to be turned down.

In this position paper, EREC details the measures needed in the electricity, heating and cooling, and biofuels sectors to fully tap the renewable energy potential in all sectors and all Member States. "It is high time to address the heating and cooling sector which has been neglected far too long".

Harmonisation of support schemes in the renewable electricity sector is premature at this stage. "There is a serious risk of stopping development even before it starts in some Member States", says Oliver Schäfer. Nevertheless, a list of criteria applying to all support mechanisms should be set to ensure successful deployment of renewable energy.

Some Member States have been calling for an EU-wide trading mechanism. Such a market requires sellers and buyers. "So far Member states calling for an EU-wide trading mechanism only expressed an interest in buying, not in selling. If trading is allowed, several Member States will reduce their efforts and count on buying "guarantees of origin" abroad at the latest possible stage. A trading system will lead to under-achievement of the target, if no one can give an answer to the question of who should be the sellers…" states Oliver Schäfer. "There is no reason to introduce such an artificial mechanism if it is meant to produce disincentives for domestic investment and to endanger prosperous support schemes with additional bureaucratic mechanisms".

Furthermore, EREC advocates strong sustainability criteria applying not only to biofuels but also to biomass - whatever its final use (be it biofuels, food, electricity or other uses). No biomass outside these sustainability criteria should be counted towards the renewable energy target.

Last but not least, the European Commission must give itself the means to impose fines on Member States if it becomes clear that they will not reach their national binding target.

EREC Full Position Paper

EREC, the European Renewable Energy Council, is the umbrella organisation of the major European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations active in the field of photovoltaics, small hydropower, solar thermal, bioenergy, ocean & marine, geothermal, wind energy and biofuels. It represents an industry with an annual turnover of more than 30 billion € and more than 350.000 employees.