Today Monday 6th of June 2016, North Seas Energy Ministers and the European Commission have signed a new political declaration on North Seas energy cooperation which opens the door for scaling up offshore wind and interconnection in the North Sea.*
See the Commission Press Release here.
Jonathan Gaventa, E3G Director said:
“The size of the clean energy resource in the North Seas is extraordinary. We can develop more low carbon energy more quickly if countries cooperate. The new declaration lays the foundations for building the low carbon infrastructure Europe needs for a prosperous and safe future”
The political declaration aims to accelerate the cost-effective deployment of offshore renewables and interconnection. To do that the Ministers have agreed on a new work programme and governance structure which will provide the necessary political, coordination and technical support.
This is a critical step to demonstrate that large scale power integration and decarbonisation at the regional level is realistic and affordable. A successful cooperation between the North Seas countries will provide the confidence that integration, access to, and sharing of large scale renewables can be replicated elsewhere.
*As a main driver of North Seas energy cooperation, the United Kingdom is expected to sign the new declaration when ‘purdah’ is lifted from the UK civil service after the EU referendum of the 23rd of June.
ENDS
Contact
Jonathan Gaventa, +44 (0) 7825 409469, jonathan.gaventa@e3g.org
Notes to Editors
- E3G is an independent global think tank, working to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. E3G specializes in climate diplomacy, climate risk, energy policy and climate finance.
- In 2016, E3G was ranked the number one environmental think tank in the UK by the Go To Think Tank Index, second in Europe and sixth in the World.
