On current trends, the European Union will rely on imports to meet 65 percent of its energy needs by 2030. Yet gas and oil supplies are dogged by uncertainty due to geopolitical risks and growing demand elsewhere.
The need to produce and use energy more safely, efficiently and sustainably across the 27-nation block is underlined in an own-initiative report on "conventional energy sources" adopted by the EP Industry Committee on September 13, a European parliament said in a press release said.
The report, drafted by German MEP Herbert Reul was adopted with 37 votes in favour, seven against and three abstentions. It is scheduled for a plenary vote in October.
Welcoming the Commission’s communications on sustainable power production from fossil fuels, MEPs underlined that these and other conventional sources will remain highly important in ensuring the EU’s security of energy supply.
Given the EU's commitment to tackling climate change, however, MEPs stressed that the Union and its
MEPs called on the Commission quickly to table legislative proposals on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology "so as to respond to the legal issues surrounding the storage and transportation of CO2."
They underlined "that CCS should be fitted to fossil fuel plants at the earliest practical opportunity". The committee nonetheless acknowledged that CCS technology is linked to losses of efficiency in power stations and called for research to address the issue.
Members also stressed the significant potential of energy generation from biomass, the need for the EU to support synthetic fuels technology and, with a view to the diversification of gas imports, the importance of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Regarding nuclear energy, they acknowledged that it is a key component of power supply in most European Union Member States, providing one-third of the European Union’s electricity supply. MEPs said nuclear energy is "indispensable if basic energy needs are to be met in
