June 5 (Bloomberg) — Germany's Green Party proposed a renewable-energy organization, based on previous European projects like the coal and steel pact of the 1950s, to reduce oil imports and cut carbon-dioxide emissions in the region.
Europe could supply all its electricity needs with wind turbines, solar panels and other technology, according to a study commissioned by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Green Party. Only 10 percent of the EU's energy potential is being used at the moment, it said.
The 27-nation EU seeks to reduce emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, by increasing the percentage of energy generated by renewable sources to 20 percent by 2020. Countries in the bloc including Germany are losing momentum to implement policies that support clean power, said Reinhard Buetikofer, co-leader of the Green Party.
“Governments are no longer a driving force on renewable energy,'' he said today during a presentation in Berlin. “This proposal is an opportunity to provide an answer to a major challenge and to offer a vision for the future.''
The project would help integrate electricity networks and implement policies and strategies to reduce the region's dependency on imported fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil. It would also help coordinate the establishment of markets for the exchange of energy from countries that have excess potential, such as Spain, to those that don't, including Germany, the study said.
Spanish Presidency
The proposal comes as negotiators from almost 200 nations struggle to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol treaty to stem climate change and agree on ways to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. Europe has been more active than other regions and countries in promoting renewable energy, said Kim Carstensen, director of Gland, Switzerland-based WWF's Global Climate Initiative.
Creating the organization may be “realistic'' under the Spanish presidency of the EU in 2010 because of the country's commitment to renewable energy, said Buetikofer.
West Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg formed a common market for steel and coal in 1953, considered to be the foundation of the EU. The cooperation led to a deepening of ties among the countries which resulted in the establishment of institutions such as a regional parliament, court of justice and common defense structures.
