EVENTS

The Roundtable for Europe’s Energy Future (REEF) applauds European Commission for its Communication “A Clean Planet for all”. It does not only fully reflect the believe of the Roundtable that decarbonisation by 2050 is possible but it also embraces the seven guiding principles that the Roundtable has presented to the Commission in advance. As does the Commission, the Roundtable understands the centrality of infrastructure for the integration of renewable energies but also the necessity to adapt to the digital age to make better use of flexibility options while at the same time paying the utmost attention to maintaining cyber-security. If we want to make the energy transition possible and ensure security of supply at the same time, we need to strengthen our power grids and exploit digital solutions for integrating rising shares of fluctuating and decentralised renewable energy.

As the Roundtable, the Commission has also included the realisation that the energy transition can only succeed if citizens actively engage as consumers and citizens. A point that is reflected in the Roundtable’s call for mobilising consumers for stronger demands of green products. As the Commission, we further believe that it is vital to keep the adequacy of the single energy market design high on the energy agenda in the coming decades to achieve zero carbon power in a cost-effective way and avoid stranded assets. We thus welcome very much that the Commission took up the recommendation to consider carbon pricing by acknowledging in its Communication that “environmental taxation, carbon pricing systems and revised subsidy structures should play an important role in steering this [energy] transition.” We too believe that carbon pricing should be employed to account for negative environmental impacts.

The REEF will continue to be in close dialogue with the Commission and commit to supporting the Commission in reaching Europe’s decarbonisation by 2050 in a way which benefits consumers by spurring innovations in the areas of sector coupling and digitisation, developing new business models and pushing carbon prizing forward.