EC pushes renewables research

Chemistry World
12 October 2009

The European Commission has called for a dramatic increase in investment in low carbon technologies to address climate change and secure the future energy supply. It proposes that over the next decade, an additional €50 billion (£46.7 billion) will be needed - a near-tripling of the EU's current annual investment of €3 billion - to implement the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan).

According to economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquín Almunia, the Commission and the European Investment Bank have already significantly increased funding for renewable energies, but 'We need to mobilise more public and private sector funds,' he said. The cash is needed to pay for both basic and applied research, as well as early market take-up.

In the current economic climate, this seems like a huge challenge, but it's essential, claims science and research commissioner Janez Potocnik. 'In crisis times, putting additional investment into low carbon technology can look like a luxury,' he said at a meeting in Brussels on 7 October. 'But, on the contrary, such investment is part of the necessary structural reform of our economy. It will provide a strong shift to an investment-based growth.'

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