High levels of energy efficiency and stronger energy interconnections
across Europe make a 100% renewable energy system possible.
The biggest potential lies in increasing efficiency. Europe-wide, society
could reduce its energy demand by half by 2050 – which means less renewable
energy needs to be provided or stored.
Connecting sectors, such as heat, cooling, electricity, and electric
transport would unlock the storage potential of water in heating systems
along with potentially millions of batteries in electric cars.
And – according to the Federation of European Renewables – the switch to
100% renewables entails energy system change away from centralised
monopolistic utilities to decentralised community and citizen based
renewable power projects and innovative business models.
The new Energy Atlas – co-published by Friends of the Earth Europe, the
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, and the Green European Foundation – also reveals that:
Technology now available makes a 100% renewable energy system viable – with
today’s smart energy storage, sector connections, and demand response tools
helping to overcome the longstanding renewable energy challenge of variable
supply;
Cities and consumers are at the vanguard of Europe’s energy transition –
which is seeing Europe’s energy shift to greater democratisation and
decentralisation. Close to 1,000 local leaders are committed to carbon
neutral cities by mid-century, and 42% of renewables in Germany are owned
by citizens and cooperatives
An economic transformation is taking place, with more Europeans now
employed in well-paying and secure jobs in the renewables sector than are
employed in the coal industry.
Dörte Fouquet, Director of the European Renewable Energies Federation
(EREF), commented: “This Energy Atlas confirms that a 100% only renewable
energy system for Europe is viable.
“But the proposed 2030 renewable energy and energy efficiency targets
within the EU Clean Energy Package are far too modest, particularly given
the falling technology costs and the availability of new renewables
technology. European leaders must now make good on their promises to honour
their commitments of the Paris Agreement.”
The launch comes as EU energy ministers, MEPs and EU Energy Commissioner
Miguel Arias Cañete reach a crunch point in negotiations on the next
generation of energy legislation – talks that will be decisive for Europe’s
energy transition going into one of the last-chance decades for climate
change action.
For more information: https://cloud.foeeurope.org/index.php/s/PWPRN7N2RFs7N2R
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