The discussion about energy perspectives beyond 2020, up to 2030 and eventually 2050 has started. There seems to be a verbal consensus on the necessity of ambitious climate change mitigation policies, without a convincing perspective of the necessary policy decisions to be reached in due time. Methods to achieve greenhouse gas reduction as well as energy security vary from aiming for 100% renewable energies and setting up appropriate policy frameworks to implementing a mix of renewables comprising so-called clean fossil and nuclear energy. This book provides an analysis of the different approaches and the reasons why there is no sustainable alternative to aiming for 100% renewables - and how this vision could come true. The book provides an overview and in-depth analysis of a vital debate. It describes how the present policy framework with 2020-targets for the share of renewables, for increase of energy efficiency and for greenhouse gas emissions reduction was developed and how it has been implemented so far. Furthermore, it describes and analyses the emerging debate about the future of our energy system and the necessary next steps and targets leading up to 2030.

Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes (*1954, Germany) is currently the President of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), the Brussels based umbrella organisation of the European renewable energy sector. He is the President of EREC's member association, the European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF), the voice of independent producers of energy from renewable sources, and he is a Board Member and the spokesperson for European and International Affairs of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), the national umbrella orginsation of the renewable energy sector.
He is closely engaged in European policy development for renewable energies in the European Union as well as in his home country, keeping close contacts with government representatives, parliamentarians, European Commission and other stakeholders. He is convinced that a complete shift of our energy system to renewable energy is necessary for the sake of energy security and climate protection and that it is technically and economically feasible - much faster and less costly than supporters and beneficiaries of conventional and nuclear energy are trying to make believe. Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes has delivered speeches and presentations and participated in panel discussions all over the world - on behalf of the organisations he is representing or advising, and as an independent consultant providing policy advice and knowledge about sustainable renewable energy development and policies for scaling up renewables on local, national, regional and global level in order to facilitate their becoming the mainstream energy sources already in the near future.
Representing EREC he is a member of the Renewable Energy Industry Advisory Board (RIAB) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and a member of the Steering Committee of the global Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) with headquarters in Paris (France), which was founded as an outcome of the first "International Renewable Energy Conference" (IREC), the renewables2004-conference in Bonn. He is also a member of the WREN-Council, the advisory structure of theWorld Renewable Energy Network/Congress.
Before engaging with the renewable energy sector in Germany and in Europe, from November 1998 to December 2005, Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes was a Director General in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), in charge of renewable energies, climate protection and various other dossiers. As a representative of BMU, he was one of the two chairmen of the International Steering Committee preparing the first IREC, the renewables2004 in Bonn. After the conference, until he left the ministry at the end of 2005, he served as BMU's representative and a founding co-chair and later a member of the Bureau of the Global Policy Network, now known as REN21.

Christine Lins was appointed as Executive Secretary of REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network of the 21st Century, in July 2011. REN21 is a global public-private multi-stakeholder network on renewable energy regrouping international organizations, governments, industry associations, science and academia as well as NGOs working in the field of renewable energy. REN21 has its headquarters at UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris/France. Between 2001 and 2011, she served as Secretary General of the European Renewable Energy Council, the united voice of Europe's renewable energy industry. She has more than 17 years of working experience in the field of renewable energy sources. Previously, she worked in a regional energy agency in Austria promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Christine Lins holds a Masters degree in international economics and applied languages.

Dr. Jan Geiss is Secretary General of EUFORES - The European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources, a network of Members of the European Parliament and the EU28 national parliaments promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency policy and markets in the European Union. He has been running the Brussels based organisation since 2006. Before becoming the Secretary General, he was Policy Advisor and Managing Director of EUFORES. Since 2011, he is also the President of the Renewable Energy House in Brussels. Since 2012, he is a member of the Business Council of the German Foundation for the Environment. 1999-2012, he was Chair of the Board of the Sustainable Development Forum Germany. He holds a PhD in Political Science and Economics from the University of Passau, Germany in the field of "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Service Contracting". He finished his studies of International Cultural and Business Management in 1997.

Thorsten Müller is research director and chairman of the executive board of the Foundation on Environmental Energy Law (Stiftung Umweltenergierecht - SUER) in Würzburg (Germany). After studying lawfrom 1996 to 2001 inWürzburg and Salzburg (Austria) and a legal traineeship at the OLG Celle (higher regional court, Germany) he worked as counsel for the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on 2003 and 2004-amendment of the Renewable Energies Act (EEG). Starting November 2004 he also worked as research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Schulze-Fielitz for Public, Environmental and Administrative Law at the University of Würzburg. From 2006 to 2011 he was the head of the Forschungsstelle Umweltenergierecht (Research Centre for Energy and Environmental Law) in cooperation with the University of Würzburg. He published in legal journals and contributed to law commentaries and handbooks. He co-edits "Zeitschrift für Neues Energierecht - ZNER" (New Energy Law Journal), "Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review (RELP)" and "Schriften zum Umweltenergierecht" (Writings on Renewable Energy Law) published by Nomos-Verlag. His focus in legal research lies on European and national renewable energies law as well as energy efficiency law and the interactions between the different legal instruments. Repeatedly he acted as legal expert in hearings held by the German Bundestag as well as regional parliaments (Landtage) and governments.

Since 2010 Markus Kahles has been research assistant at the Foundation for Environmental Energy Law. His research focus lies on European renewable energies law in general and especially on state aid law and the law of free movement of goods. From 2004 to 2010 he studied law combined with accompanying studies in European law at the University of Würzburg (Germany) and the University of Bergen (Norway). At the moment he is doing his legal traineeship at the OLG Bamberg (higher regional court) and writing his doctoral thesis in the field of European renewable energy law.