PUTTING INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF 2030
Can the new EU 2030 climate and energy proposals drive European innovation and competitive edge? And what can be done to ensure this opportunity becomes Europe’s reality?
New independent energy publication Energy Post, in partnership with Shell, is pleased to welcome the European Commission’s new Director-General for Energy, Dominique Ristori , to join us for debate about “Putting innovation at the heart of 2030 climate and energy policies”.
Just days before European Heads of State and Government meet to decide the new 2030 energy and climate proposals, Energy Post’s Sonja van Renssen chaired a debate on climate, energy and industrial policy, bringing together guest speakers including: Dominique Ristori, Director General of DG Energy, David Clarke, CEO of the Energy Technologies Institute, Marco Landolfi, Coordinator of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications at the Italian Permanent Representation to the EU, Tomas Wyns, Researcher at the Institute for European Studies (IES) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and President-Director of Shell Netherlands, Dick Benschop.
Europe has carved out a niche for itself in new energy technologies. It held 40% of all renewable energy patents in the last decade – more than the US. EU energy-intensive goods still dominate global export markets – despite the US shale gas revolution – thanks to energy efficiency improvements. These achievements have come paired with job creation, even during the economic recession. But what have been the costs and could these goals have been delivered in more cost-effective ways?
Low-carbon innovation is central to achieving Europe’s climate, energy and industrial goals and a 2030 climate and energy policy needs to drive it in the most effective way. Is this through a revived, reinvigorated EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)? Does it require specific targets for energy efficiency and/or technologies such as wind, solar, bioenergy and carbon capture and storage (CCS)? What is the role of EU R&D support and funding? These are some of the questions addressed in the debate.