Towards a decarbonised and climate-resilient EU energy infrastructure : recommendations on a harmonised EU energy system-wide cost-benefit analysis

Energy networks are a core component of the European energy system. As energy supply and use cause 77 % of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions, the design and development of the EU's energy networks define the EU's transition towards a decarbonised and resilient energy system. The EU's success in reaching its 2050 climate neutrality target depends on energy infrastructure investment decisions of today. Achievement of EU climate goals depends on further renewable energy-based electrification, which, in turn, relies on the availability, resilience and innovativeness of electricity grids. The revised regulation on trans-European networks for energy (TEN-E) sets out provisions aiming to ensure the timely development of interoperable EU energy networks, including electricity grids, smart electricity grids, smart gas grids, energy storage, hydrogen technologies, electrolysers and CO2 networks. It stipulates that this development will contribute to ensuring climate change mitigation, in particular achieving the EU's 2030 targets for energy and climate and 2050 climate neutrality objective. It also aims to enhance the resilience of energy infrastructure to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.