Europeans must understand that continuing to depend on expensive oil for energy is a losing proposition, Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy told people attending the opening session of EWEA2011 today in Brussels.

“Let there be no doubt, the new energy reality is here,” Lykke Friis said. “We simply must end our oil addiction.”

Friis added political leaders must act without delay to capitalise on wind power and other renewables.

At the same session, Arthouros Zervos, President of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), said “we are facing a policy vacuum after 2020” with regard to renewable energy policies and targets.

Zervos implored politicians to give wind power and other renewables “a stable framework in which to grow” with new binding targets extended to at least 2030.

“We must ensure that the success story of renewable energy in Europe survives beyond 2020,” Zervos said, adding the wind power sector wants new binding renewable energy targets agreed to in the lifetime of the current European Commission.

Herman Van Rompuy, European Council President, acknowledged in a video message “an important step will be to consider what happens after the current successful policies run out in 2020.”

Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, told EWEA 2011 in another video message that Europe must create a single market in electricity “as soon as possible.”

Agreeing with Buzek, EWEA CEO Christian Kjaer said: “we need to create a single market for electricity.”

Claude Turmes, Green Member of Parliament, said a low carbon technology target is nonsense because it doesn’t measure performance.

“We need a long-term vision,” said Turmes. “Very few decision-makers have understood what a 90% GHG reduction by 2050 means.”﻿