The potential of geothermal energy for the green transition

Key Points

The EESC:

• underlines that geothermal energy production has extremely low greenhouse gas emissions, thus reducing the continent’s dependence on fossil fuels and facilitating its decarbonisation, thereby making a significant contribution to achieving the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goals;
• highlights that the potential of geothermal energy in Europe is significantly untapped. Therefore, the Committee calls on the Commission to draw up a general European strategy for geothermal energy development in order to harness the potential of geothermal energy;
• believes that investments in geothermal power plants will not work without Member State intervention: government funding and incentives are needed to attract and de-risk initial investments. Changes in energy policy or financing may affect the economic attractiveness of geothermal projects.