European power sector declares its full commitment to Paris Agreement and EU Climate objectives

EURELECTRIC reiterates the European electricity sector’s full support of the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. In light of recent developments in other major economies, the European electricity sector declares that it remains fully committed to leading in the decarbonisation transition which is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of the global economy.

“The Paris Agreement is a landmark global agreement which sent a clear signal to governments, businesses and the general public of the universal commitment to fight climate change,” said EURELECTRIC Secretary General, Kristian Ruby.

“The European electricity sector is fully committed to the Paris Agreement, and we are taking important action to pursue our commitment of delivering carbon neutral electricity to European consumers by 2050.”

The sector views the increasing demand for electricity as essential to tackle the climate change challenge. As the electricity sector becomes increasingly decarbonised, electricity is an obvious choice for driving sustainability. 

A strong supporter of carbon markets, the European electricity sector supports cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions in the EU. With discussions on the reform of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) advancing to the trilogue stage, the sector has reiterated its support for a strong EU ETS as the cornerstone instrument of the EU’s climate and energy policy.

 “We support a strengthened EU ETS as a key driver for market-based investments in low-carbon electricity generation, and call on policymakers to align the instrument with the EU’s long term climate ambition and for it to deliver a strong carbon price signal in the short and medium term,” Ruby added.

“We believe that increasing the annual linear reduction trajectory to 2.4% in the current ETS reform would be a strong signal of the EU’s ambition in the 2050 perspective.”

Today, EURELECTRIC has published a Statement on the impact that overlapping policies, arising from other instruments and targets under the EU’s climate and energy framework for 2030, will have on the effectiveness and proper functioning of the EU ETS. The Statement is available for download here.