The European Union (EU) unveiled new measures on Wednesday to promote the production and use of renewable energies, aming to achieve a 20 percent share of renewables in the EU's energy mix by 2020.
In its proposal for a long-term Renewable Energy Roadmap, the EU executive also set a binding minimum target of 10 percent for transport biofuels for the EU by 2020, and laid down a pathway to bring renewable energies in the fields of electricity, heating and cooling and transport to the economic and political mainstream.
Part of the European Commission's proposed new energy policy for Europe, the roadmap is drafted in response to new challenges like climate change, increasing oil and fossil fuel dependence and rising energy prices.
To implement the roadmap, the commission will propose new legislation later this year, which will include legally binding targets but allow each EU member state to decide the best renewable energy mix for its own circumstances.
The roadmap called for coordinated development of biofuels throughout the EU.
The commission will also seek to remove barriers to the integration of renewable energy sources into EU energy systems and encourage greater transparency, which will allow innovative new players to enter.
It will cooperate with grid authorities, electricity regulators and the renewable industry to enable better integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid.
