In Europe, geothermal energy has significant untapped potential and the European Union should take urgent action to adopt a European strategy for geothermal energy aimed at harnessing its benefits.

At its October plenary session, the EESC took an unequivocal position on energy. In an opinion drawn up by Zsolt Kükedi and Thomas Kattnig, the EESC underlines that geothermal energy production has extremely low greenhouse gas emissions and can play a key role in the EU’s green transition by reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and facilitating its decarbonisation.

‘Geothermal energy can make a useful contribution to achieving the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goals,’ said Mr Kükedi. ‘Its potential is unexploited and the European Commission should move immediately to put together a comprehensive strategy to make use of the resources it provides,’ echoed Mr Kattnig.

The EESC points out that investment in geothermal power plants will not work without financial help at national level. More specifically, government funding and incentives will be needed to attract and de-risk the initial investment.

In addition, it is important to note that changes in energy policy or financing may affect the economic attractiveness of geothermal projects.

Building geothermal power plants has risks and those risks need to be accurately identified, especially in terms of environmental impacts. For this reason, it is essential to carry out this process with the involvement of local communities, with a view to increasing public acceptance.

However, the environmental and climate benefits of geothermal energy outweigh the risks, as geothermal energy is one of the best renewable energy sources in terms of land use, resource use and import dependency. (mp)