Drie doelen voor duurzame energie: concurrentie, duurzame ontwikkeling en veiligstellen van toelevering (en)
’The Union’s energy policy should respect three objectives: competitiveness, sustainable development, and security of supply,’said Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, at the meeting of chairpersons of parliamentary economic committees in EU Member States. The Needs and Capacity to Finance the European Union’s Energy Policy until 2020debate took place on September 12, 2011 at the Senate of the Republic of Poland.
Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak emphasised that the funding of low-emission energy transfer shall be based on instruments drafted by the European Commission as part of the EU’s budget. ‘Funds available to us include structural funds, the Cohesion Fund i, and scientific research funds from the 7thFramework Programme,’declared the Deputy Prime Minister. He pointed out that the European Investment Bank and the World Bank will be crucial in co-funding of European energy policy objectives. ‘Let us bear in mind, however, that transformation costs shall be shouldered primarily by Member State economies, and by fuel and energy recipients,’ he added.
Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak reminded those in attendance that climate protection is a matter of global importance, which is why support from non-European Union partners will be indispensable. ‘Without the commitment of countries such as China, India, United States or Brazil we will not be successful in abating CO2emissions efficiently; forcing Europe to adopt excessive reduction objectives may be considerably detrimental to the competitiveness of European Union economies,’he remarked.
Furthermore, the Minister of Economy highlighted issues of energy efficiency. ‘This is the cheapest solution for emissions abatement and improving energy security,’ he declared. ‘Intelligent networks and demand management measures, central heating and cooling mechanisms, and proliferating electricity-driven vehicles are all technologies ensuring efficiency improvement throughout the power chain,’ he said. Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak believes that an energy efficiency directive providing for a broad assortment of assistance instruments should be adopted as soon as possible.
EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger i, who took part in the meeting, pointed to the issue of future energy prices, which may also impact the Union’s economic condition. ‘Should exceedingly high prices in the European Union affect industry, for example, we may be facing a phenomenon of capital outflow from Europe, followed by job losses,’ said Commissioner Oettinger.
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The main objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy include CO2emissions abatement by 20-30% by 2020, improving energy efficiency by 20%, and raising the share of renewable energy sources to 20%.