'Backwards Not Forward': Greens Slam 'Energy Union' Plan for Europe

Environmentalists and climate action groups are slamming the European Commission’s publication of a plan on Wednesday that calls for unifying the 28 energy markets of all EU member nations into a single entity.

Upon its passage, the Energy Commission’s Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, of Slovakia, called the plan “undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project” since the inception of the EU and said it would “make Europe less energy dependent and give the predictability that investors so badly need to create jobs and growth.”

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Jean-Claude Juncker, the Commission President, said the proposal—which has been called the Juncker Plan—”is about Europe acting together, for the long term.” He argues the unified system will fulfill his desire to make “the energy that underpins [European] economy to be resilient, reliable, secure and growingly renewable and sustainable.”

Though the deal will now need to find approval among the member states and a full vote by the European Parliament, experts on climate and sustainable energy appear convinced that the details of the plan—as well as the rhetoric and logic of those supporting it—will not withstand proper scrutiny.

Citing specific aspects of the proposal they argue will further entrench the continent’s reliance on fossil fuels, critics of the proposal were quick to point out that the ‘Energy Union’ plan would be taking the European Union backwards, not forward, on the path to a truly sustainable energy system.

Greenpeace called the energy plan “garbled” and claimed that for all the lofty rhetoric coming out of Brussels about taking the “lead on climate change” in recent years, the plan put forth by the Commission lays out a contradictory set of priorities when it comes to addressing global warming.  “The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing with this plan,” said Greenpeace EU energy policy adviser Tara Connolly. “The Commission says the EU should move away from fossil fuels but it also wants to chase after new gas supplies and doesn’t rule out coal. Europe needs a coherent, joined-up plan if it’s going to play its part against climate change and be the world number one in renewables.”

Brook Riley from Friends of the Earth Europe also expressed concern about the inclusion of new construction for liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals, new pipelines, and expanded infrastructure spending for coal-fired power plants.