The European Commission has announced the new 2020 State of the Energy Union Report and its accompanying documents focused on different aspects of EU energy policy.
This year’s Report is the first one since the adoption of the European Green Deal, and looks at the Energy Union’s contribution to Europe’s long-term climate goals.
Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, commented on the report: “The National Energy and Climate Plans are an essential tool for our work with Member States to plan the policies and investments for a green and just transition.
“Now is the time to turn these plans into reality and use them to lead us out of the COVID-19 crisis with new jobs and a more competitive Energy Union.”
Individual assessments of the 27 National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) analyse the pathway and ambition of each Member State towards the current 2030 climate and energy targets.
The overall assessment shows that the Member States are capable of meeting these targets and are mostly making good progress towards them.
The Reports underline the contribution the energy sector can make to the EU’s recovery from the economic crisis created by COVID-19.
The Energy Union has so far proven to be robust in the face of the challenges placed on our energy systems and energy workers by the pandemic.
The Report looks at the five different dimensions of the Energy Union – decarbonisation including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy security, the internal energy market; and research, innovation and competitiveness.
The Report provides guidance on the swift implementation of the NECPs and on how energy-related investment and reforms can boost the EU’s economic recovery.
It highlights how the NextGenerationEU recovery plan can support Member States through a number of flagship funding programmes.
This year’s State of the Energy Union Report is for the first time accompanied by an analysis of energy subsidies, which identifies a clear need for better data on energy subsidies and greater efforts to reduce those which support fossil fuel production and consumption.
A clean energy competitiveness report has also been published, showing that EU industry has been successful in grasping the opportunities of the clean energy transition.
The sector is outperforming conventional energy technologies in terms of value added, labour productivity and employment growth.
The Commission also adopted progress reports on the internal energy market, energy prices and costs, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
