EU governments settle for 27% renewables target

Energy ministers agreed on Monday after gruelling talks that the EU should derive at least 27% of its energy from sustainable sources by 2030, as they adopted their position on a proposal to reform the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).

With the union on track to meet a 20% renewable energy target by the end of the current decade, the EU Council is in effect calling for less than half the increase in the decade to 2030 than demanded by the European Parliament’s industry and energy committee, which recently called for a 35% renewables share.