The EU Commissioner responsible for competition, Margrethe Vestager, presented new state aid rules for the environment, climate and energy in Brussels yesterday. According to this, states will be able to better financially support projects for electromobility in the future. Sectors that are harmful to the environment – such as those that use fossil fuels – should receive less government money.
Vestager said the new rules would make it easier for EU countries to invest in renewable energies, among other things, in order to achieve EU climate targets more quickly and efficiently. The categories of eligible technologies have been expanded, the possible amounts of funding increased and their approval simplified. In particular, the areas of traffic and buildings are to be supported in order to reduce energy consumption, for example through measures such as the construction of charging stations for electric cars or better building insulation.
On the other hand, subsidies for particularly energy-intensive companies are to be adjusted. Companies would have to commit to reducing or offsetting their CO2 emissions in order to receive certain discounts on their electricity costs, according to the Commission’s communication.
Source: Nachrichten
