EU Far from Reaching Energy Targets, Needs Better Planning

The ambitious plans made by the EU currently seem unlikely to turn real, according to Niina Kautto, a researcher at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University.

The EU aims at increasing the proportion of renewable energy to 20 percent by the year 2020, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels.

However, by the way things are looking now, Kautto says these targets are a bit far fetched, especially since the planning of biomass usage is poor.

“There is a gap between what is included in countries’ and regions’ current biomass plans and what should be included if they want to meet the targets.”

The research conducted by Kautto comes with various measures intended to improve the plans so that they help the EU meet its targets.

“Really, it’s about a simple quality management cycle, where a structured approach is taken”, says Niina Kautto.

Aside from a well-thought action plan that takes into consideration all aspects of such a goal, Kautto recommends that an evaluation should be made to determine how the use of biomass for energy generation affects other possible fields of use.

“Even if it may seem time-consuming, it is often worth the trouble, because a good process where everyone feels involved leads to greater understanding and then it becomes a lot easier to implement the plan.”

Kautto’s research is based on the biomass action plan which the EU drew up in 2005, but since then a new directive on renewable energy has been drawn up.

The directive implies that all EU countries must now plan not only their biomass usage, but also all their use of renewable energy.

“However, many of the basic problems remain the same, so my recommendations could be used here as well”, the researcher concluded.