Post by Dries Acke

Yesterday, SolarPower Europe, together with a broad group of renewable energy organisations, sent a joint letter to EU Energy Ministers ahead of this week’s Energy Council. We emphasise one priority: a binding and ambitious EU renewable energy target for 2040. The Renewable Energy Directive has been one of the EU’s most effective industrial policy tools. It has driven deployment, supported European value chains, and today underpins around 1.8 million direct jobs and €150bn in GDP. In 2025, the EU spent €336bn on fossil fuel imports. Renewable energy already reduced that exposure by €54bn. Closing that gap requires a step-change in electrification and continued renewables deployment across electricity, heating and cooling. As we set out in the letter, a binding 2040 renewable energy target is essential for investor confidence and for European supply chains to plan industrial deployment. When energy ministers meet on 26 June, this should be front of mind.  Read the joint letter here: https://lnkd.in/e_XC_UhP SolarPower Europe WindEurope EGEC Solar Impulse Foundation EUREC - The Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres ESTELA - European Solar Thermal Electricity Association Ocean Energy Europe Solar Heat Europe European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF) Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) Airborne Wind Europe European Heat Pump Association