The discussion focused on key developments for the EU refining industry, in particular on the European Green Deal, recovery, and the role of the renewable and low-carbon fuels on the way towards climate-neutrality.
On the regulatory side over the past year the EU has launched a number of initiatives.
Together, they build a foundation for the climate neutral Europe:
- A Climate Law was introduced
- A Climate Target Plan was prepared to speed up the EU´s efforts for 2030
- Strategies on hydrogen and energy system integration were presented
- The next big step will be the Fit for 55 package coming in June 2021
So in June the EU will bring forward a set of proposals aligning our legislation with its new climate ambitions.
Aside from the Fit for 55 package, the EU is also in the process of updating its Industrial Strategy, aiming to publish in March 2021.
EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson stated:
- Already by 2030 we will begin to see a visible change in the mix of transport fuels
- By 2050 transport fuels will be a mix of electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, biomethane and e-fuels
- By 2050, we could be consuming over half of the energy in the form of electricity
- And as we approach the middle of the century, gases and liquid fuels that make up the other half will be increasingly decarbonised
- By 2050, technologies like renewable hydrogen that now seem a distant dream will be an everyday reality
Investment is the other.
And the challenge is even bigger on this side.
To reach the goals, annual investments for energy production and use will need to increase by around €350 billion per year compared with what the EU invested in the decade leading up to 2020.
To fight the economic uncertainty the pandemic entails, last year the EC announced an historic recovery package, standing shoulder to shoulder with a reinforced EU budget for the next 7 years.
Together, they bring the financial firepower of the EU to €1,8 trillion the biggest EU budget in history.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson was born in Estonia.
In 2019, she became the European Commissioner for Energy.
Despite the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Simson remains optimistic that Europe’s recovery can be closely aligned with the EU Green Deal.
Author: Elena Alifirova