The Renewable Energy Directive: An NGO's Perspective

The document evaluates the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED), praising the expansion of renewable energy targets into heavy industry and the prevention of double counting for carbon capture and utilization (CCU). However, it criticizes the lack of strong sustainability criteria for biomass, noting that food crops are still labeled as renewable energy. The author emphasizes that 'additionality' in renewable energy production is critical for green hydrogen and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) to prevent increased natural gas consumption in the power sector. The text also discusses the necessity of grid strengthening and demand-side flexibility for the EU to potentially achieve 100% renewable energy.

• The revised RED proposal is viewed positively for expanding the scope of the Directive to include renewable energy targets for heavy industry and for implementing safeguards against the double counting of emission reductions for carbon capture and utilization (CCU) products.
• The document argues that without ensuring 'additionality'—the deployment of new renewable energy production to power electrolysers—the production of green hydrogen and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) could lead to higher natural gas consumption and increased emissions in the power sector.
• The author contends that the RED revision fails to sufficiently strengthen sustainability criteria for biomass, specifically noting that food crops are still categorized as renewable energy despite evidence from the Joint Research Centre (JRC), which may drive deforestation.
• The Renewable Energy Directive is aligned with other Fit for 55 initiatives, specifically mirroring targets in the ReFuel EU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime regulations and the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to promote RFNBOs in transport and industry.
• Achieving 100% renewable energy in Europe would require strengthening electricity grids for transport and implementing high-level demand-side flexibility via smart grids to manage non-dispatchable generation.

APA

Contributor, C. (2021). The Renewable Energy Directive: An NGO's Perspective. ClimaTalk. https://climatalk.org/2021/11/21/the-renewable-energy-directive-an-ngos-perspective/

Chicago

Contributor, ClimaTalk. The Renewable Energy Directive: An NGO's Perspective. ClimaTalk, 2021. https://climatalk.org/2021/11/21/the-renewable-energy-directive-an-ngos-perspective/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Contributor |first1=ClimaTalk |title=The Renewable Energy Directive: An NGO's Perspective |publisher=ClimaTalk |date=21 November 2021 |url=https://climatalk.org/2021/11/21/the-renewable-energy-directive-an-ngos-perspective/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{contributor2021renewable, author = {Contributor, ClimaTalk}, title = {{The Renewable Energy Directive: An NGO's Perspective}}, publisher = {ClimaTalk}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://climatalk.org/2021/11/21/the-renewable-energy-directive-an-ngos-perspective/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }