Weak EU renewable energy targets 'result of Shell’s successful lobbying' - report

Leading energy company Shell, operating in 140 countries, successfully lobbied the Barroso administration “to undermine” European renewable energy targets ahead of a key agreement on emissions cuts, the Guardian reports.

Following a freedom of information request, the paper obtained documents showing how a key part of the agreement – to not have binding clean energy targets for member states – had been proposed by a Shell lobbyist as early as October 2011.

The proposal was also pushed forward by the UK.

According to the Guardian, at the time of the deal, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had said: “This package is very good news for our fight against climate change … No player in the world is as ambitious as the EU.”

Shell reportedly spends between €4.25 and €4.5 million a year lobbying the EU institutions, making it the sixth biggest lobbyist in Brussels.

The EU leaders had agreed to a 40% overall target for emission’s cuts, but there had been disagreement between member stats on how to best achieve it. The UK, among others, had resisted binding targets and these had not made it into the final agreements. According to renewable energy exponents, the EU had thus missed an opportunity to send a strong signal that it was serious about clean energy.

The Guardian said the documents showed Shell had begun lobbying Barroso to scrap the bloc’s existing formula for linking carbon-cutting goals with binding renewable energy laws.

Shell argued that a market-led strategy of gas expansion would save Europe €500bn in its transition to a low carbon energy system, compared to an approach centred on renewables.

“Gas is good for Europe, and Europe is good at gas,” Shell executive director, Malcolm Brinded wrote in a five-page letter to Barroso. “Shell believes the EU should focus on reduction of greenhouse gases as the unique climate objective after 2020, and allow the market to identify the most cost efficient way to deliver this target, thus preserving competitiveness of industry, protecting employment and consumer buying power, to drive economic growth.”

In a hand-written note at the end, Brinded wrote: “This is a great opportunity for the EU to seize!”