WindEurope

Further information

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Paris Agreement and net-zero emissions

• WindEurope has stated support for the Paris Agreement.[3] [4] [5]
• WindEurope has stated support for the EU Green Deal’s target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.[6] [7] WindEurope has stated support for the EU’s Fit for 55 plan.[8]

Carbon pricing

• WindEurope states that “the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has the potential to be an important piece in the energy transition puzzle” and supported reform of the EU ETS to align with the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas emission ambition.[9] [10]

Energy efficiency

• WindEurope has stated support for higher EU energy efficiency targets.[11] [12]
• WindEurope is a member of the Electrification Alliance, which published a 2021 position paper on the EU Fit for 55 package that stated “electrification comes with major efficiency benefits” and suggested a number of recommendations for the revision of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.[13] These included recommendations to “increase the 2030 energy efficiency target to levels in line with European Commission scenarios” and “review the accounting mechanism to fully recognise the efficiency advantages of electrification”.[14]

Decarbonised hydrogen

• WindEurope has stated support for renewable hydrogen for the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors.[15]
• WindEurope is a founding member of the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition which promotes the role of renewable hydrogen in achieving the EU’s decarbonisation targets.[16] In 2022, the coalition published a press release calling on policymakers to adopt a definition of renewable hydrogen, streamline the permitting of renewable hydrogen installations and adopt ambitious binding targets for the uptake of renewable hydrogen.[17]
• In a 2022 position paper, WindEurope called for the Renewable Energy Directive to include a clear definition of renewable hydrogen and “enshrine the 75% target for the use of renewable hydrogen in industry”.[18]

Natural ecosystems

No position

Carbon capture and storage

• A 2021 report by WindEurope’s ETIPWind project, ‘Getting fit for 55 and set for 2050’, acknowledged the role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the cement sector, and the use of captured CO₂ in the production of synthetic fuels.[19]

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and benchmarks, sustainable finance taxonomies

• In its December 2021 feedback on the EU’s draft Taxonomy Delegated Act, WindEurope stated that it welcomed the draft regulation and provided a number of comments on the proposed screening criteria.[20]

Coal

No position

Electrification with renewable or low-carbon power

• WindEurope has stated that “direct electrification, complemented with the indirect electrification of hard-to-abate sectors, is the most cost-effective and energy efficient way to cut energy sector emissions to net-zero by 2050.”[21] WindEurope has stated support for electrification with renewable power.[22] [23]
• WindEurope is a member of the Electrification Alliance, which calls for “electricity to be recognised as the key energy carrier for an efficient and decarbonised European future”.[24]
• In a 2022 WindEnergy statement about REPowerEU, WindEurope has stated support for the plan, and in particular the importance placed on electrification with renewable energy.[25]
• In a 2022 letter to the President of the European Commission, WindEurope highlighted the challenges faced by the European wind industry and called for simplified permitting, supportive procurement and innovation.[26]
• In a 2022 WindEurope statement and related advocacy, WindEurope has stated support for the European Parliament’s revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and called on the European Parliament to simplify renewables permitting.[27] [28]
• In 2022, WindEurope organised a panel discussion at COP27 on the topic “how to deliver the EU goal that wind is 43% of Europe’s electricity by 2030”.[29]

Gases and methane

No position

Road transport: Passenger cars and vans

• In 2022, WindEurope and a number of other associations “called on European policymakers to implement the right policies to back the transition towards zero-emission transport”.[30]
• In a 2022 paper on the Fit for 55 Package, the Electrification Alliance called on the European Commission to “Tighten the CO₂ emission standards for cars and vans for 2025 and 2030 to levels in line with the 55% greenhouse gas emission reduction target and 2050 carbon neutrality” stating that this “should eventually culminate in an emissions limit of 0gCO₂/km in 2035, ensuring all new light duty vehicles entering European roads are zero-emissions”.[31]

Road transport: Heavy-duty vehicles

• In a 2022 Renewable Hydrogen Coalition press release, the coalition called on policymakers to introduce ambitious targets for the use of renewable hydrogen and derived e-fuels in hard-to-electrify transport.[32]

Heavy industry decarbonisation

• WindEurope has stated that renewable hydrogen has an important role to play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy industrial processes, heavy duty road transport, shipping and aviation.[33]

Aviation

No position

Shipping

No position

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