The European Commission is expected to publish a new renewable energy package by the end of the year, which will include a new Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) for the period 2020-2030. The European Council has agreed that renewable energy should account for at least 27% of final energy consumption by 2030 in the EU; however, concrete measures on how to reach this target are absent. The EU’s ongoing efforts to meet the 2020 renewable energy target have been the subject of some criticism; the current support framework is too fragmented, and hasn’t always encouraged cost-effective and smart investments. Other concerns are the persisting non-financial barriers to the deployment of renewables, and the need to improve the use of renewables in the heating/cooling sector. This Policy Dialogue brought together a wide range of stakeholders to assess whether the EU’s policy on renewables is on the right track, what has worked and what has gone wrong, and what can be expected from the new Renewable Energy Directive.

Speakers included: Annika Hedberg, Senior Policy Analyst, EPC, Pierre Loaec, Policy Officer, Renewables and CCS Policy Unit, DG Energy, European Commission, Corinna Klessmann, Principal Consultant, Ecofys, Ilkka Hämälä, CEO, Metsä Fibre, Alexandre Roesch, Policy Director, Solar Power Europe, Christelle Verstraeten, Director Government Affairs and Policy Europe Energy, General Electric, Thomas Nowak, Secretary General, European Heat Pump Association