Deputy energy minister Gerassimos Thomas, an advocate of further RES penetration and complete decarbonization in Europe by 2050, will present a revised national package of cleaner energy proposals and more ambitious RES targets at a council of EU energy ministers in Finland on September 24, ministry associates have informed.

The ministers will meet to update National Energy and Climate Plan targets for 2030 at the Finnish meeting next week, in preparation for an EU summit in mid-October to focus on longer-term climate change targets between 2030 and 2050.

Thomas, until recently the Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, is expected to present a Greek package based on three key aspects in Finland next week.

One will concern swifter market decarbonization through the withdrawal of lignite-fired power stations. Another will call for a RES market share increase to 35 percent from a previous target of 31 percent. A brief summary on how this increase can be achieved will be presented at next week’s meeting. The plan’s third aspect entails energy efficiency improvement and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

It is believed the deputy minister will also present – as a wider and supportive fourth tool – a proposal for the establishment of an improved institutional framework in support of further energy storage and, by extension, more effective RES penetration of the energy mix.