The European Commission is preparing to propose an EU-wide electrification target for 2040 as part of a plan to push transport, buildings and industry away from fossil fuels, according to a draft of the Electrification Action Plan obtained by POLITICO.
The undated draft does not specify the level of ambition, saying the commission will propose an electrification target of “[X]% of final energy consumption by 2040.” It says achieving that target could allow the EU to replace two-thirds of its gas demand and halve oil consumption, cutting hundreds of billions of euros in fossil fuel imports by 2040.
Despite expectations that the plan would be accompanied by a dedicated heating and cooling strategy, the draft contains limited new measures for the sector, focusing mainly on heat pumps, district heating and waste heat recovery, with very little on cooling.
That omission, which comes as Western Europe enters its third heat wave of the summer, is likely to fuel debate among the sector’s stakeholders, who have long argued that electrification target cannot be met without a strong focus on buildings and the broader transformation of heating and cooling systems.
