As the Commission is preparing to deliver its Fit for 55 Package to reach the objective of -55% GHG by 2030, the debate in Brussels is heating up. If the European Union is to lead the global energy transition towards a climate-neutral future, it will require an enormous joint effort to integrate the energy system whilst continuing to meet demand.
Earlier this month, CERRE released a new Energy & Climate report, “Electricity and gas coupling in a decarbonised economy“, developing a pan-European state-of-the-art energy optimisation model with four possible scenarios and providing more than forty regulatory and policy recommendations to achieve deep decarbonisation by 2050.
An article, based on the CERRE report, has just been published online by La Tribune, a French weekly financial newspaper.
The article, by Charles Cuvelliez and Patrick Claessens, highlights the main findings of the report, underlining the key role for the electricity supply sector in delivering net zero, whilst recognising that building a common European market for methane, hydrogen and carbon will also be critical.
Net zero remains an extremely technologically challenging policy goal and coupling between electricity and gas, despite its complexity, could represent the way forward. This will involve multiple new technologies, whose successful scale-up will depend on the development of appropriate policies and regulation as suggested in the CERRE report.