The European Parliament voted on a resolution on Thursday (18 January) led by Professor Zdzisław Krasnodębski MEP from the European Conservatives & Reformist (ECR) to support a European geothermal energy strategy.
531 of the 553 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) present (96 per cent) voted in favour of the resolution with 20 abstentions and 2 voting against.
The resolution called for a European strategy for geothermal energy to reduce administrative burdens and aid investments in buildings, industry and agricultural sectors across the EU. It also called for a Geothermal Industrial Alliance to fast-track best practices and the effective implementation of legislation, and a harmonised financial risk mitigation insurance scheme.
“The European Parliament has put geothermal energy firmly on the EU policy radar. The European Commission cannot ignore such a powerful endorsement, said Philippe Dumas, Secretary General of the European Geothermal Energy Council. “We warmly thank the leadership of Professor Krasnodębski, his team, and the shadows on the resolution for their desire to make the energy transition affordable and accessible to everyone.”
Earth as potentially the largest energy source – interview with EGEC’s President, Miklos Antics
Moreover, the resolution urged EU countries to design national strategies for geothermal like those by the French, German, Polish, Austrian, Croatian and Irish governments. Additionally, it called for policymakers to support regions phasing out coal to transition to geothermal energy.
During Thursday’s debate on the resolution, Marina Measure MEP suggested that retraining fossil fuel workers to “learn the skills of geothermal energy” would help a just transition for workers as well as communities. Separately, Professor Krasnodębski MEP confirmed that he was “delighted this debate and this report are part of this promotion campaign for geothermal.”
