Interview: EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger on renewable energy targets and emission trading

"Four instruments may be too much"

By Sonja van Renssen

In an upcoming policy paper on renewable energy, the European Commission says a "binding supportive framework" for renewable energy is needed beyond 2020. But the Commission has not yet decided whether such a framework should be primarily based on markets (i.e. on emission trading) or on a combination of EU targets and national support schemes. In an interview with EER, Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger says he is "open" to the idea of extending the current renewable energy target by another decade to 2030. About the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) he says it is not sufficient to promote renewable energy on its own. "A CO2 stand-alone target is not the guarantee for ambitious investments in renewables". He also says that "four instruments" (the 2020 targets for CO2 emission reductions, energy efficiency and renewable energy, plus the ETS) "may be too much". Sonja van Renssen reports from Brussels.

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