The European Commission aims to tap into the regions’ vast potential for solar and wind energy and significantly expand renewable power generation in North Africa and the Middle East.
The European Union plans to mobilize up to €25 billion ($28.9 billion) in investments until 2035 “to contribute to the development of 15 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity,” a press release published on Tuesday said.
The commission also hopes that the investments will create more than 100,000 jobs in the clean energy sectors.
Strong radiation from the sun, steady winds and vast areas of scarcely populated land make the regions favourable for the generation of renewable energy.
“Yet many Mediterranean countries remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, leaving them exposed to price shocks, geopolitical tensions, and lagging climate goals,” said EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica.
“At a time of geopolitical uncertainty, growing energy demand and increasing climate pressures, unlocking this potential is in the shared interest of both the EU and its southern Mediterranean partners,” she said.
Investments in green energy in the Mediterranean are meant to improve energy security and competitiveness internationally and thereby lower prices and price volatilities also in Europe.
“The current energy crisis underscores how energy security cannot only rely on diversifying fossil fuel imports,” said EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.
The initiative “will serve both Europe’s and the region’s interest in lowering exposure to fossil fuel price shocks,” he said.
