An early draft of the EU’s upcoming renewable energy directive confirms the bloc’s objective of sourcing 38-40% of its energy from renewables by 2030, roughly doubling the share of solar, wind and other renewables in Europe’s energy mix by the end of the decade.

The European Commission’s revised renewable energy directive will be presented on 14 July as part of a broader package of laws intended to meet the bloc’s updated climate goals for 2030.

Only two weeks ago, policymakers agreed on a new European Climate Law which, for the first time, makes the bloc’s 2050 climate neutrality objective a legal obligation on the EU.

The new law also sets an objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, although that goal will also take into account carbon removals from forestry and land use, making the gross target look more like a 52 or 53% reduction.

The current directive was last updated in 2018 and aims for a 32% share of renewables in the EU’s energy mix by 2030. Ratcheting up this target to 38-40% means roughly doubling the share of renewables, which currently meet around 20% of the bloc’s energy needs.

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