Renewable energy currently makes up 21.8 per cent of overall EU consumption. Reuters.
Renewable energy currently makes up 21.8 per cent of overall EU consumption. Reuters.
Renewable energy currently makes up 21.8 per cent of overall EU consumption. Reuters.
Renewable energy currently makes up 21.8 per cent of overall EU consumption. Reuters.

EU seeks to double renewable energy use by 2030


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

The European Union will aim to double its use of renewable energy by 2030 under a deal announced on Thursday.

It addresses the EU’s twin goals of drastically cutting its carbon emissions and replacing the Russian fossil fuels it once relied upon.

EU states will have new targets for clean energy use in the transport, heating and industrial sectors.

Pro-atomic energy countries such as France won a concession allowing them to use nuclear reactors to make hydrogen.

The overall goal is for renewables to make up 42.5 per cent of the EU’s energy consumption by 2030.

The target is being raised from 32 per cent under a previous EU law. The current figure is 21.8 per cent.

A higher target of 45 per cent, sought by EU headquarters, has been watered down to a non-binding aspiration.

The provisional deal was struck between negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member states. It will need formal endorsement from both groups.

“This is a good day for Europe’s energy transition,” said Markus Pieper, a German MEP who represented the parliament’s largest centre-right bloc in talks.

“This will bring us closer to the Paris climate goals and reduce our dependence on others. It will mean a massive boost for renewable energies in Europe.”

EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson called it an "ambitious compromise".

Among the targets is that the energy used in buildings, for example for heating and air conditioning, should be 49 per cent renewable by 2030.

Hydrogen used as an industrial fuel should be 42 per cent renewable by that date. However, countries can lower this target if they at least avoid using fossil fuels and stay on track for their overall climate goals.

The small print keeps the door open for countries such as France to make hydrogen with nuclear energy, which is neither renewable nor carbon-intensive.

It comes despite objections from Austria and others who say nuclear power has no place in a renewable energy push.

The transport sector, which currently uses only 9.1 per cent renewable energy, will be asked to vastly raise its contribution.

The announcement follows an EU deal this week on making zero-emission cars the norm from 2035.

Europe’s biggest carmaker, Germany, won a concession that means combustion engines with synthetic e-fuels will still be in the frame as well as electric cars.

It also coincides with a batch of green policy announcements in the UK on Thursday.

The “Powering Up Britain” plan includes measures on wind, nuclear, hydrogen and insulation, but the opposition called it a rehash of earlier promises.

In Germany, climate activists have called for protests after accusing ruling parties of watering down emissions targets.

A compromise deal between parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition includes plans for new motorways and eases a ban on gas boilers.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Structural%20weaknesses%20facing%20Israel%20economy
%3Cp%3E1.%20Labour%20productivity%20is%20lower%20than%20the%20average%20of%20the%20developed%20economies%2C%20particularly%20in%20the%20non-tradable%20industries.%3Cbr%3E2.%20The%20low%20level%20of%20basic%20skills%20among%20workers%20and%20the%20high%20level%20of%20inequality%20between%20those%20with%20various%20skills.%3Cbr%3E3.%20Low%20employment%20rates%2C%20particularly%20among%20Arab%20women%20and%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jewish%20men.%3Cbr%3E4.%20A%20lack%20of%20basic%20knowledge%20required%20for%20integration%20into%20the%20labour%20force%2C%20due%20to%20the%20lack%20of%20core%20curriculum%20studies%20in%20schools%20for%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jews.%3Cbr%3E5.%20A%20need%20to%20upgrade%20and%20expand%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20particularly%20mass%20transit%20infrastructure.%3Cbr%3E6.%20The%20poverty%20rate%20at%20more%20than%20double%20the%20OECD%20average.%3Cbr%3E7.%20Population%20growth%20of%20about%202%20per%20cent%20per%20year%2C%20compared%20to%200.6%20per%20cent%20OECD%20average%20posing%20challenge%20for%20fiscal%20policy%20and%20underpinning%20pressure%20on%20education%2C%20health%20care%2C%20welfare%20housing%20and%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20which%20will%20increase%20in%20the%20coming%20years.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: March 30, 2023, 8:50 AM`