The European Commission has today published its new Renewable Energy Strategy, which lays out plans to bring in a new set of legally binding renewable energy targets for 2030.
The report says the continued strong growth of renewables could create over 3 million jobs and save the EU economy up to 550 billion Euros in fossil fuel imports by 2050.
Today's report is part of the negotiating process of building on the Commission's current target of delivering 20% of the region's energy mix from renewable technology by 2020.
But UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey says a new target is not needed and the focus should shift from renewable energy to cutting carbon emissions.
However, today's EC report criticised the abrupt changes in support mechanisms for renewable energy, such as the Feed-in Tariff, which it claims could put the 2020 targets in jeopardy.
And it claimed a continuation of an EU-wide specific renewable energy framework beyond the current 2020 agreement would result in a net GDP growth of between 0.36-0.40% by 2030".
"European Ministers must turn this message into action and back a renewable energy target for 2030, as supported by the Strategy's Impact Assessment," said Stephane Bourgeois, Head of Regulatory Affairs of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in Brussels.
"A legally binding renewable energy target for 2030 is crucial if we want to foster Europe's leadership in wind energy, and in particular offshore wind".
The EWEA said it also backs the European Commission's criticism of recent abrupt changes in support mechanisms for renewable energies in several EU Member States.
"Retroactive changes in support mechanisms undermine investor confidence in the sector and could put the 2020 renewable energy targets at risk. We share the Commission's concerns, but the Commission must now take all legal means to prevent this," said Bourgeois.
