2030 targets must be 'fair', says EU council

The European council has called on the commission to develop mechanisms that will ensure efforts to meet long-term climate change targets will be fairly divided among member states

In its first meeting to discuss the commission’s proposed energy and carbon targets for 2030, the council concluded that the policy framework must ensure support for renewable energy technologies, a secure and affordable energy supply and flexibility for member states to choose how to meet the targets.

A reformed EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) must be central to the approach, it stated.

The council called on the commission to further develop elements of the framework. These include analysing the impact of EU-wide targets on individual member states, developing measures that will result in “fair effort sharing” across the bloc and ensuring that the plans do not make EU-based energy-intensive industries uncompetitive.

The commission must also complete its review of the Energy Efficiency Directive “in a timely manner”, says the council, and develop a strategy for energy efficiency, which is currently missing from the proposed framework.

The council will review the commission’s progress at the end of June, and make a final decision on whether to implement the 2030 energy and climate change policies by the end of October.

Meanwhile, EU authorities have agreed legislation relating to the technical implementation of a second commitment period under the Kyoto protocol.