Roadmap to 100% renewable energy in the EU

Europe strives to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050. To achieve this objective, it must now lay the foundations for an energy system based entirely on renewable energy. It is clear that solar and wind power deployment has to be accelerated, an integrated strategy across all sectors of production and consumption has to be developed, and that power infrastructure needs to be improved to enable sector integration and cross-border electricity trade. Current developments have also brought the external dimension of the energy transition to the foreground. Europe will continue to import energy in a 100% renewable system. This will be particularly true for renewable gases, but also increasingly for electricity. Europe therefore has a vital interest in building a global hydrogen economy that respects development needs of its partner countries. Another challenge is Europe’s dependence on the import of raw materials and intermediate products in photo-voltaic module production.

Political debates about Europe’s energy transition constrained by deeply ingrained beliefs, concerns about energy prices, vested commercial interests and a perceived clash between security and sustainability considerations. To navigate these complex challenges, the Heinrich Böll Foundation European Union and Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe) has convened a group of experts from different EU Member States to develop a Roadmap to 100% Renewable Energy in the EU.