The Bootleggers in European Green Deal

The Bootleggers in European Green Deal

“Strong sectoral integration required for 100% renewable energy system in Europe” a news article posted back in May, discusses the goal of recovering Europe’s energy sector after damage to the economy caused by COVID-19. According to the article,

“[a] new report shows that it is entirely possible to achieve a 100% renewables scenario in which Europe meets the climate-neutrality target before 2050. The report also finds that a 100% renewable energy system is the most cost-efficient way to become climate neutral in Europe by 2050, with levelized costs of energy 5-6% lower than in a less ambitious scenario”

         Various executives in Europe’s energy discuss the impacts of the report, with some praising it as a needed ambition, an “ambition to turn the proposed COVID-19 support into an EU green recovery and to continue our fight against climate change” as Thomas Nowak, the Secretary-General of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA),  asserted. Several others in the renewable and battery sector made similar claims, to turn the disaster of COVID-19 into an opportunity to create an energy transition and save the plant, to turn an evil into a good.

Yet, while they proclaim this gospel of saving the world broken by COVID through completely clean energy production in Europe, they are more bootleggers than Baptists. While many are strong advocates of clean energy to combat climate change, it is worth noting how much they will gain from Europe’s Green Deal, which was announced in December 2019. One of the biggest bootleggers here are the EHPA. They stand to benefit enormously from the Green Deal. As of now, heat pumps supply less than 10% of buildings in Europe (Market Data, EPHA), but with the Green Deal, they will be required if the Green Deal is to be successful. Every other sector the article mentions would see similar benefits, which is why they all sing the praises for the report and for the European Green Deal.

References

Market Data. (2019, May 02). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.ehpa.org/market-data/

Strong sectoral integration required for 100% renewable energy system in Europe. (2020, May 12). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.pv-magazine.com/press-releases/strong-sectoral-integration-required-for-100-renewable-energy-system-in-europe/