EU Commission Plans to Double Electricity Use by 2040 to Combat Climate Change
The European Commission has unveiled plans to dramatically increase electrification across Europe as a key strategy to reduce fossil fuel dependence and combat climate change. Currently, electricity accounts for 23% of final energy consumption, with a target to reach 46% by 2040. Key proposals include equalizing taxes on electricity and fossil fuels, ending the 97 billion euros in annual fossil fuel subsidies, and establishing a maximum electricity-to-gas price ratio of 2.5. The Commission aims to strengthen the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and extend it to international flights under 5,000 km. For aviation, where electrification is not feasible, the focus is on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). To manage fluctuating renewable energy supply, the plan introduces dynamic grid fees and expanded smart meter deployment. Critics, including Germanwatch, argue the ETS expansion is insufficient and that companies investing in climate-neutral production are being neglected.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection