In the context of the Coalition for Higher Ambition, Solar Heat Europe met with Frans Timmermans, the Vice-President of the EU Commission responsible for the Green Deal.

On October 27^th, the Coalition for Higher Ambition met with Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the EU Commission responsible for the Green Deal. During the online meeting, several associations sat at the table to discuss the 2030 targets and the higher ambition on climate and energy aspects.

Pedro Dias, Secretary General of Solar Heat Europe, reminded how all solutions will be needed for the energy transition, and that direct renewable heat sources have been often overlooked when developing energy and climate strategies. He also pointed out the relevance of prioritising SMEs within the National Recovery and Resilience Plans.

Solar thermal can cover by itself an overall target increase of over 1%, and a study from IRENA and the EU Commission indicates that renewable heat sources can contribute to an increase of 5% in targets for Central and South-Eastern European countries (CESEC). All this while benefitting from negative investment costs (e.g. saving money to the consumers), showing clearly the benefits of these investments. Although to achieve this, consumers need to be supported on the upfront costs.

The year 2030 will be crucial to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and we are currently dealing with a carbon budget that cannot be ignored. Therefore, we should act swiftly with the solutions that are already available: energy efficiency and renewable heat technology.

90% of the solar thermal systems which operate in the internal market are manufactured in Europe and bring a key added value at the local level. These are strong arguments to make the Member States more interested in solar heat technology, which can help countries achieve higher climate and economical ambitions.

Mr Timmermans stressed the need to combine long and short-term goals to ensure the best results for the Renovation Wave Strategy. Additionally, he reaffirmed that the energy transition must be a fair and just one, and not leave anyone behind. Another crucial point is to get businesses adequate financial support.