Commission respond to EU energy report

• No Country is an Energy Island: Securing Investment for the EU's Future - Report
• No Country is an Energy Island: Securing Investment for the EU's Future - Commission Response

The report, 'No Country is an Energy Island: Securing the EU’s Future', was the conclusion of the Committee’s inquiry into EU energy policy. The fundamental question at the core of the Committee’s inquiry was how can the push for green energy be made consistent with pulling the EU (and the UK) out of the current economic mire? The major recommendations made by the report included: a 2030 energy policy framework; a revised EU Emissions Trading System (ETS); and a 2030 renewables target.. The European Commission responded to the report on 30 August 2013.

Other recommendations in the report included:

• better use by Member States of fiscal policies to unlock investment;
• the Commission and Member States working with large-scale investors to highlight opportunities within the energy sector;
• assessments by the Commission of the impact of national energy policies on neighbouring Member States;
• a regulatory approach to boosting carbon capture and storage;
• development of a regulatory structure for the exploitation of shale gas in the EU;
• a greenhouse gas reduction target of 40% compared to 1990 levels, in line with an 80% reduction by 2050;
• development of electricity interconnections between Member States;
• better public engagement on the benefits of new energy structure;
• avoiding excessive reliance on capacity mechanisms, such as that proposed in the UK, to pay companies to guarantee a supply of energy; and
• that the UK Government also examine the potential for a regulatory framework to increase gas storage.