By IPS Correspondents
BRUSSELS, Apr 27 2004 (IPS)

Three leading environmental groups are calling on the EU to step up its efforts to increase the use of renewable energy.

The three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Friends of the Earth Europe, WWF and Greenpeace are urging the European Commission, the EU executive, to raise the share of renewable energy used in Europe to 25 percent by 2020. Renewable energy sources include sunlight, wind, waves, biomass and hydro energy.

The move follows the leaking of an official note that indicates that the Directorate-General for Energy has not proposed any new target for renewables. The note says new targets should not be set until the EU is convinced that the 2010 targets can be met.

The EU set a goal of doubling the share of renewable energy sources across Europe from 6 percent in 1997 to 12 percent by 2010. The Commission said last month that the EU is not on track to meet its 2010 goals. It predicts that only 10 percent of EU energy will come from renewable energy sources by then.

The Commission argues that in the face of “uncertainty” that the 2010 targets will be met, new targets for 2020 “would not be appropriate.”

But the environment groups say the EU should set long-term goals instead of focusing on immediate targets. The three groups argue that the lack of a long-term target would seriously undermine investor confidence and slow growth in renewable energy.

The groups say that current data for renewable energy is “out-of-date” and underestimates the demand for energy.

“The current draft must be revised to reflect Europe’s true potential for developing the new and efficient energy technologies,” said Mark Johnston of Friends of the Earth Europe. “As experience has already clearly shown, only a framework based on firm long-term targets can provide the investor confidence necessary to fund new projects on the ground.”

The NGOs say that the 2010 target is no longer a “sufficiently important tool for investors, as it offers no medium term financial security.” They say that without a post-2010 target the “uptake of renewable energy could actually decline rather than increase.”

The groups add that “setting a post-2010 target will encourage governments and other actors to rapidly address their failings to avoid falling further behind the general EU trend of supporting renewable energy sources.”

The EU’s paper on renewable energy sources is still under internal discussion, but is expected to be adopted by Commissioners next month.

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