RENEWABLES ON TRACK FOR 2020, BUT MEMBER STATES MUST PROVIDE STABILITY

Brussels, 27th June 2013 - This call comes as the Keep on Track! project, which aims to monitor the fulfilment of the 2020 renewable energy targets across the EU, publishes the first edition of an annual publication from now until 2015, EU Tracking Roadmap 2013.
 
“It’s plain sailing for the 21 Member States who have already achieved their 2012 targets in 2011. However, there are worrying signs on the horizon as current growth rates are insufficient to meet the 2020 targets. EU Member States should create and implement predictable and stable legislative frameworks for renewable energy sources”, said EREC President Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes.
 
The research work carried out focused on eleven EU Member States, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Among these, only three (Austria, Italy, Sweden) are actually expected to meet their 2020 targets. The consortium has serious doubts as to whether Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and Portugal will be able to meet theirs and Belgium, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom are expected to miss their targets altogether.
 
“The 2020 targets by their simple presence are providing growth and employment throughout Europe. The EU’s renewables sector directly and indirectly employs more than 1.2 million people, which represents a 30% increase in just two years,” said Hinrichs-Rahlwes (1). “By 2020, 2.7 million people in the EU could be employed by the renewables sector”, added Hinrichs-Rahlwes (2). In 2012, there were 5.7 million jobs worldwide in renewable energy industries, and the potential for job creation continues to be a main driver for renewable energy policies (3).
 
To download the EU Tracking Roadmap 2013 and the accompanying in-depth Policy Recommendations 2013 and Analysis of deviations and barriers, visit the Keep on Track! website: http://www.keepontrack.eu/publications/
 
View this press release on the Keep on Track! website.
 

(1) EurObserv’Er: The State of Renewable Energies in Europe. 2012
 
(2) EREC: Hat-trick 2030 – An integrated climate and energy framework. 2013
 
(3) REN21: Renewables 2013. Global Status Report. 2013