For the past five years, you’ve been a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). What is your assessment of the 2019- 2024 mandate in terms of energy transition?
Christophe Grudler: The 2019-2024 term was based on the discussion and adoption of the Green Deal, leading to a revision of the entire energy-climate framework of the EU to adapt it to the objective of reducing the Union’s greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, with a view to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Five years on, we can say that the mission has been accomplished: the European Parliament and the Council have succeeded in adopting more than 75 texts, including targets for the deployment of renewable energies, for the development of energy efficiency and for the decarbonisation of our transport systems, with the deployment of charging stations for electric vehicles.
This work has not been easy. With three succeeding crises that no one had foreseen – the COVID crisis, the gas crisis and finally the war in Ukraine – doubts have continuously been raised on whether or not the EU should go through with the Green Deal.
Yet, we found solutions that could both respond to the crises and drive EU climate actions. The European recovery plan adopted in 2020, followed by the REPowerEU plan in 2022, are perfect illustrations of this. We mobilised more than 750 billion euros to boost the European economy, further the EU’s actions against climate change and support vulnerable households.
