Les Verts demandent un traité européen sur les renouvelables[en][de] 

According to a study presented in the Parliament yesterday (24 June) by co-author Lutz Mez from the Free University of Berlin, a "European Community for Renewable Energies" (ERENE) could be based on the model of the Euratom or the now defunct European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) treaties. 

It would feature commitments to renewables demonstration projects and the establishment of joint ventures as a means of encouraging the sector, Mez explained, adding that such a treaty could also be pushed through via enhanced cooperation of member states. 

Funding for projects under the proposed treaty could come from the proceeds obtained from the auctioning of emissions permits under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) (see our Links Dossier), he suggested. But such a move is unlikely to win the backing of member states, which are generally reluctant to earmark any financial revenues in advance. But Mez believes this could change and hopes that ERENE could feature prominently in future debates at EU level and as a main issue during European Parliament elections in June 2009. 

His study, which was funded by the German Heinrich Böll Stiftung, nevertheless immediately won the endorsement of the Green Group in the European Parliament. 

Indeed, the EU has committed itself to reaching a 20% share of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020. Whereas the current strategy - as put forward in a Commission proposal of January 2008 - places the emphasis on achieving country-specific renewables targets through national action plans, the Greens say the ERENE model, which would be implemented beyond national frameworks on the basis of a Community Strategy, could achieve better results. 

The use of joint ventures and demonstration projects is indeed already being championed by Green MEP Claude Turmes, who is Parliament's rapporteur on the proposal (EurActiv 13/05/08) and whose report will be voted upon by Parliament's Industry (ITRE) Committee on 16 July. 

German Green MEP Rebecca Harms also lamented that the EU's energy mix is still too focused on nuclear and fossil fuels like coal, with renewables playing only an additional role. "Renewables should not remain in a corner," she said. 

According to the study, the EU has "the theoretical, technical and economic potential [...] to meet all electricity needs from renewable sources". 

Germany's renewable electricity potential, for example, is estimated to be some six times higher than what is currently produced, whereas the EU's electricity potential from wind energy is estimated to be some twenty times higher than the amount produced in 2005.