Three EU Nations Call for New 2040 Renewable Energy Goal

Energy ministers from Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg have called on the European Union to adopt binding renewable energy targets for 2040, arguing that clearer long-term objectives would accelerate clean energy deployment and decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels. The three countries conveyed their request in a letter to European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg News. The ministers pointed to recent geopolitical disruptions — including incidents affecting oil and gas transit — as a reason for faster action on renewables, saying a 2040 target would also provide stronger signals to investors and markets. The EU currently has a binding renewables goal for 2030 of at least 42.5% of the energy mix, but no analogous binding target for 2040. Instead, the bloc’s 2040 policy framework presently centers on an emissions reduction objective: a 90% cut by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, with 85% required domestically and up to 5% allowed via international carbon credits. The appeal by the three governments follows earlier pressure from renewable trade groups and clean-energy stakeholders. In June, industry associations asked EU energy ministers to set binding 2040 renewable targets and investment-focused policies to improve energy security, bolster industrial competitiveness and provide long-term certainty to investors across Europe’s clean-energy value chain. Industry bodies have also highlighted near-term economic benefits: SolarPower Europe reported that solar generation avoided more than 30 billion euros in gas import costs for power in the six months after the Middle East conflict began, even as it warned of a modest contraction in solar additions this year amid weakening policy support. If the Commission and member states move to adopt a binding 2040 renewables target, it would mark a shift from the current emissions-focused approach for that decade and could influence national planning, permitting, grid upgrades and investment decisions across the bloc. For now, the request from Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg adds momentum to an ongoing debate about how the EU balances climate goals, energy security and industrial policy on the path to climate neutrality by 2050.