Carbon Brief: EU energy pathways and 2030 emissions targets: No surprises

According to a Mail on Sunday article this weekend, the EU is pushing for member states to "restore Europe's competitiveness" by extracting "cheap" shale gas instead of rolling out renewables, following a European Council summit on taxation and energy.

The article suggests this is a "policy shift" prompted by news that EU electricity prices have risen by 40 per cent since 2005. Quoting from a statement issued last week, it says:

"EU leaders issued a statement saying 'the supply of affordable and sustainable energy to our economies is crucial'. They added that the EU would support 'systematic recourse to on-shore and off-shore indigenous resources' - a reference to shale."

But policy analysts disagree the EU has changed tack on shale gas. Jonathan Gaventa from environmental thinktank, E3G, tells Carbon Brief:

"The general view was that the council's statement is a restatement of existing positions. The EU has been concerned about reliance on gas imports for decades, and has already set in motion an assessment of Europe's unconventional energy sources [including shale gas]."  MORE