Statement by President von der Leyen at the Leaders' Summit on offshore wind in the North Sea

Thank you very much, Alexander, for inviting me and for hosting us here in Ostend, the ‘city by the sea'.

Indeed, as you said, a lot has changed and improved since last year when we had our first meeting in Esbjerg. We should not forget that it was the year of a severe energy crisis that was triggered by the Russian war. But we have managed together to get rid of our dependency on Russian fossil fuels. We have diversified away from Russia to reliable partners. The European people have saved 20% of their energy consumption. But most importantly, we have massively invested in renewables.

Despite this crisis, we managed to keep the economy growing on the one hand, but on the other hand we were able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two figures are important here: While globally, the greenhouse gas emission rose last year by 1%, in the European Union the greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 2.5%. In other words, there was a formidable boost, in this year of crisis, to renewables production in the European Union. We have doubled the additional deployment of renewable energy last year. And we have, for the very first time, generated more electricity from wind and sun compared to gas. Renewables are crucial for us to reach our goals in 2050. It is all about speeding up. As you know, the European Union has just raised its 2030 targets for renewables from 32% to up to more than 42%. So I very strongly welcome the Ostend Declaration, it is great. It is doubling down on the targets set in Esbjerg for offshore wind production. It will give us all the wind we need in our sails to set the course onto climate neutrality.

The European Commission will help deliver on these targets. This is why we have the Green Deal Industrial Plan. All our proposals to implement this Industrial Plan are now on the table. First, the Net-Zero Industry Act will help to create a conducive environment for the clean-tech industry. It will support innovation and, very importantly, the manufacturing at scale of clean tech. Second, our reform of the electricity market design will incentivise the use of renewables compared to fossil fuels. Third, our Critical Raw Materials Act aims at securing the supply of the materials that are so badly needed to build wind turbines and other clean tech.

One very last point on renewable hydrogen. I am very glad that we have stepped up the ambition on renewable hydrogen. Green hydrogen can be the game changer for Europe, our industries and our economy. And the North Sea region has the potential to produce massive amounts of green hydrogen and to become the main corridor for imports. So of course, I am very happy and I would like to invite the countries represented here today to work on cross-border hydrogen projects. The Commission is ready to support as much as possible. In parallel, we will make sure that the Hydrogen Bank, that we will create, is operational by the end of this year, to create a full-fledged European hydrogen market.

So in sum, Europe has become the house of renewables. And the North Sea is becoming the powerhouse of Europe.