In October the EU member states set the EU climate targets for 2030. Among other things the 2030 policy framework sets a target of at least 27% for renewable energy and energy savings by 2030, and a binding target to reduce EU domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030.
The Energy Union has emerged as a response to the mounting pressures on European energy and climate policy. Among the objectives of the Energy Union is to collaborate on making the European energy market work and on meeting EU's long term targets on energy supply security and climate change.
DONG Energy believes that the Energy Union should be utilized to realize EU's 2030 targets, and supports the European wind industry's five priorities for the Energy Union to ensure the EU lives up to its ambition to be a global leader in renewable energy. The priorities are:
•Guarantee stable frameworks to attract investment and stabilise national energy policies
•Provide energy security based on zero-carbon indigenous resources
•Complete the internal energy market to facilitate trade, enable fair competition and drive down costs for consumers and taxpayers
•Support growth in the renewable energy industry through proactive industrial, innovation and trade policies
•Combat climate change with a forward-looking climate policy as a catalyst for economic development
Jakob Askou Bøss, Vice President in DONG Energy, said:
"The modernisation of Europe’s energy sector requires significant investment between now and 2020. EWEA has put forward a set of tangible priorities, which will help to maintain Europe's global leadership in renewable energy, advance the Energy Union and attract the investment needed to continue the modernization and decarbonisation of Europe's energy systems."
