Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

Abstract

The Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC ("the Directive") established a European framework for the promotion of renewable energy, setting mandatory national renewable energy targets for achieving a 20% share of renewable energy in the final energy consumption and a 10% share of energy from renewable sources in transport by 2020. These goals are headline targets of the European 2020 strategy for growth, since they contribute to Europe's industrial innovation and technological leadership as well as reducing emissions, improving the security of our energy supply and reducing our energy import dependence. The Directive also requires the simplification of the administrative regimes faced by renewable energy, together with improvements to the electricity grid, to improve access for electricity from renewable energy. It established a comprehensive sustainability scheme for biofuels and bioliquids with compulsory monitoring and reporting requirements. All biofuels used for compliance with the 10% target and that benefit from national support are required to comply with the scheme. The purpose of this Report is to assess Member States' progress in the promotion and use of renewable energy along the trajectory towards the 2020 targets and to report on the sustainability of biofuels and bioliquids consumed in the EU and the impacts of this consumption in accordance with the Directive1. The assessment covers recent developments and is based on the latest Eurostat data on renewable energy (for 2009 and 2010), Member State renewable energy progress reports submitted to the Commission in 20112, the Commission's own research, as well as research carried out for the Commission.