EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 255: Breve til nyudnævnte kommissærer

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 255
Offentligt

The Minister

Date

30 November 2019

Dear Commissioner Kadri Simson,

Please accept my sincerest congratulations upon your appointment as Euro-

pean Commissioner for Energy. As I am sure you are aware, this is a very im-

portant portfolio. Transition of the energy systems will be decisive in order to de-

liver on our climate ambitions and on the European Green Deal.

I would like to express the strongest

support for the European Green Deal,

and to the Commission’s intention to make Europe a front-runner

in the green

transition. The Danish government believes that combating climate change

should be a top priority for the Commission in the next 5 years.

To make that happen, we need to speed up the pace of our transition efforts.

First and foremost, this requires that we

accelerate the deployment of renew-

able energy

in the EU. In recent years we have seen a rapid development in

both wind power and solar panels, as the costs have reduced significantly. But

going forward, we need to ensure an effective price on carbon emissions to spur

investments in renewable energy and a phase-out of fossil fuels.

In particular, offshore wind is showing a great potential, but in order to utilize this

fully, we will need to make sure that there is a facilitative EU-framework in place,

and to significantly strengthen regional cooperation in the North Sea, the Baltic

Sea and other coastal regions.

The

North Seas Energy Cooperation

is a great example of how European

countries can accelerate the expansion of offshore wind, when we work to-

gether. With the support of the Commission, the North Sea has the potential to

be a provider of energy for all of Europe and provide consumers with sustaina-

ble, secure, and affordable energy. To do this, more work is needed to increase

the focus on maritime spatial planning, coordination of infrastructure projects,

and developing standards for safety, design etc.

Danish Ministry of Climate,

Energy and Utilities

Holmens Kanal 20

1060 Copenhagen K

P: +45 3392 2803

E: [email protected]

www.kefm.dk

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EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 255: Breve til nyudnævnte kommissærer

In order to incorporate even larger amounts of renewable energy into our energy

systems, we will need

EU-strategies for the development of our energy sys-

tems.

Such strategies should address electrification, new flexibility and storage

solutions, and integration between different sectors. These are necessary next

steps if we are to develop European energy systems fully based on renewable

energy and deliver on climate neutrality.

The Commission’s modelling framework is

the backbone for assessing conse-

quences of new policy and for making optimal energy policy choices. Therefore,

reliable and regularly updated data and assumptions

are vital. I would en-

courage the Commission to continue the open and transparent approach and

look forward to further cooperation between the Commission services and the

Danish Energy Agency on improving the modelling framework.

There is no doubt that

energy efficiency will also continue to play a role,

but

we have to focus our efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Going for-

ward we therefore need to focus on reducing the consumption of fossil energy

use. Furthermore, we need to further develop the product regulation. I hope you

will put forward a new action plan for eco-design and energy labelling to

strengthen existing requirements, add new products including for example in re-

lation to data centres, and also address the possibilities for adding requirements

for the ability of the products to deliver flexibility to the energy system.

In order to reach climate neutrality by 2050 the use of

fossil energy has to be

phased out.

This needs to be reflected in a

new European framework for gas

by including a roadmap for phasing out natural gas of the European energy sys-

tems. The framework should also include a strategy for sector integration and

address the challenges of how to develop a well-functioning European market

for green gasses.

When it comes to definitions of gasses we need to keep it simple. The revised

renewable energy directive already defines renewable gasses, so all we need is

a definition of what can be labelled as “decarbonised” gasses,

which ensure that

these gasses contribute to substantial, documented CO2 reductions. We also

need uniform requirements for the quality of gas that embrace the varying green

gas qualities.

I very much look forward to cooperate with you and the rest of the new Commis-

sion in making the European Green Deal a reality. If we manage to succeed, the

EU will lead by example in global climate action.

Sincerely yours,

Dan Jørgensen

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