The State of the Energy Union Report

During the press remarks, Vice-President Šefčovič summarised and introduced the Report results. The EU's dependency on Russian fossil fuels was reduced, while the transition to clean and renewable energy accelerated. In more detail, the EU's net greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 32.5% compared to 1990 levels, falling another 3% in 2022. Commissioner Simson restated the importance of tools like demand reduction, storage policy, and AggregateEU for reducing dependency on fossil fuels from Russia and securing the wellness of European citizens for the upcoming winter time. Then, she introduced some key figures coming from the State of the Energy Union Report: wind and solar energy deployment saw a 47% increase, and even heat pumps and electric vehicles sales "rose to unprecedented levels". However, the EU still holds a strong dependency on foreign countries over the imported technologies needed for this clean transition and for harnessing renewable energy.

Despite the difficulties, according to Simson, "we are on track towards the EU's 2030 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% - and possibly even surpass it. Of course, this requires a strong focus on the implementation of these European-wide targets by Member States and on facilitating increased investments in clean energy".

The European Wind Power Package

Commissioner Simson proceeded with her press remarks presenting the European Wind Power Action Plan. It's meant as an investment tool destined for the wind energy industry to innovate and scale up the sector, in which the EU lost its leadership due to pressure coming from international competitors. "Wind power is a technology born here in Europe. The wind industry is a European success story, and it must remain so." Simson stated.

The EU Wind Power Package breaks down into six actions:

• Simplifying bureaucracy: the instrument aims to streamline project approval processes by fostering legislation, training, digitalization, and best practices. It also seeks to provide predictability for government auction plans, assist manufacturers in scaling up, and establish an IT tool for deployment plans. Additionally, there will be support for expanding electricity grids through the upcoming Grids Action Plan.
• Improving the auction system: Member States should introduce pre-qualification criteria, such as environmental, sustainability, and cybersecurity requirements, to select qualified contractors for participating in auctions, and to mitigate any money-wasting risks in the projects' implementation.
• Improving finance access: the EC, together with the European Investment Bank (EIB), will set up a counter-guarantee instrument to help manufacturers get easier access to loans within six months. There will also be a double-up of the next Innovation Fund call - scheduled for the upcoming November - for clean technology manufacturing projects to 1.4 billion euros. Moreover, wind power projects will benefit from priority access to the Projects Development Assistance Facility.
• Helping access to foreign markets: the Wind Power Package will contain measures destined to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU wind sector, by using trade defense instruments and protecting its needs in ongoing negotiations for new agreements.
• Education: the instrument will help the wind sector by facilitating reskilling to best benefit it, and by training 100,000 people annually through Net-Zero Academies.
• Creation of an EU Wind Charter, to which the industry and Member States are invited to agree on.

The Climate Action Progress Report

Commissioner Hoekstra concluded the press remarks by presenting the Climate Action Progress Report, which tracks the EU's progress on the delivery of climate targets and gives an overview of overall emission reductions. The results are encouraging: the EU saw an overall cut in emissions, compared to last year and pre-pandemic levels, but with a decrease in nuclear power and hydropower, mainly due to plants being temporarily offline and drought. This meant that the EU had to resort to an increase in coal usage, to replace gas as a short-term measure. Hoekstra also gave some highlights about the greenhouse gas emissions actions that must be taken to fully achieve the 2030 and 2050 targets: significant emission cuts must happen in building, transport, and agriculture. Moreover, the natural carbon sink needs to grow.

For further information, you can read the full State of the Energy Union, the Climate Action Progress Report, and the full EU Wind Power Package Plan.