15 July 2022

ITRE COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORTS ON RED AND EED

On 13 July, the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee adopted two reports on the revisions of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), proposed by the Commission as part of the Fit for 55 Package. MEPs voted to increase the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency targets to match the EU climate ambitions.

With regards to the revised RED, MEPs agreed to raise the share of renewables in the EU's final energy consumption to 45% by 2030, compared to 40% originally proposed by the Commission. In the transport sector, the ITRE Committee raised the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target to 16%, three percentage points higher than the Commission proposal. This would be possible through the use of higher shares of advanced biofuels and a more ambitious quota for renewable fuels of non-biological origin such as hydrogen. In addition, MEPs brought forward the phase-out date for palm oil and soy-based biodiesel from 2030 to the entry into force of the Directive, possibly as of next year.

On the EED, MEPs raised the EU energy efficiency target to 14.5% by 2030 compared to the 2020 reference scenario, 1.5 percentage points higher than the Commission proposal. This corresponds to a reduction of energy consumption of at least 40% by 2030 in final energy consumption and 42.5% in primary energy consumption compared to 2007 projections. Member States should set binding national contributions to achieve these targets in different sectors including transport.

Both reports will be voted by the Parliament in Plenary session in September. After their adoption, negotiations will start with the Council - which set out its general approaches on 27 June - in order to find a compromise.

Source: European Parliament, Euractiv