Future Energy Policy - 2050

Europe’s current energy system is confronted with a number of uncertainties: unpredictable and highly volatile fossil fuel prices and the resulting economic challenges, geopolitical risks related to import dependency, and the harmful environmental consequences of fossil fuel based energy generation. However, what remains certain, is that if we continue on the energy pathway of the last few decades, climate change will have a more and more unpredictable and disastrous impact on our lives, our energy import dependency will rise, and fossil fuels will become scarcer and concentrated in a few countries around the world.

By switching from fossil fuel, greenhouse gas intensive sources of energy to renewable sources of energy, Europe is able to fully grasp its sustainable potential - in economic, ecologic and social terms.

Today's energy decisions will shape Europe's supply system for at least the next 50 years, thereby determining the future level of greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel dependency and the competitiveness of European economies. In view of the fundamental transformation needed to ensure a sustainable Europe by the middle of the 21st century, a fundamental structural change is needed. As investments in the energy sector are of long-term nature, the decisions we take today will have an impact on the energy system of tomorrow.

For all these reasons, Europe must prepare the ground for a 100% renewable energy future, starting today. RE-thinking 2050, published in April 2010, outlines a pathway towards a 100% renewable energy supply system by 2050 and clearly shows that it is not a matter of technology, but rather a matter of making the right choices today to influence tomorrow. The challenge ahead of us is huge, but we have no choice if we want to act responsibly towards future generations. “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors: we borrow it from our children” (Native American proverb, likely coined by 20th century environmentalist David Brower).

The figure below gives an outlook of the RES (renewable energy sources) industry, looking into how the different renewable energy technologies can contribute to a fully sustainable energy supply by 2050 provided there is strong political, public and economic support for all renewable energy technologies.

Figure 1: Contribution of RES Technologies to final energy consumption (Mtoe)