IP/09/417

Brussels, 18 March 2009

Commissioner Piebalgs welcomes the commitment of European Electricity Companies to achieve a carbon-neutral power supply by 2050

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed the commitment announced today by European Electricity companies to achieve a carbon-neutral power supply by 2050. The commitment was part of a Declaration delivered to Commissioner Piebalgs by 61 CEOs of European electricity companies in a Eurelectric meeting that took place in Brussels this afternoon.

"If we want to win the battle against climate change we need to change completely the way we think energy production, consumption and development. In our Strategic Energy Review we presented our vision on how energy has to be by 2050, which includes fundamental technological shifts, including decarbonising the EU electricity supply. This will only happen with a coordinated agenda for research and technological development, regulation, investment and infrastructure development. Today's commitment gets the European Electricity Industry on board this ambitious programme", said Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

In the Second Strategic Energy Review the Commission presented the EU's agenda for 2020 which set out the first essential steps in the transition to a high-efficiency, low-carbon energy system. The SER also presented a vision of how the energy system should look in Europe in the coming years, including decarbonising the EU electricity supply, ending oil dependence in transport, low energy and positive power buildings and smart interconnected electricity.