Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg are calling on the European Union to set a 2040 renewable-energy target, as the bloc seeks to reduce its dependence on imported fuel. Because of geopolitical uncertainties, and as shown by the consequences of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, we need to act fast to cut reliance on fossil fuels, the three countries’ energy ministers said in a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen seen by Bloomberg News. We should accelerate the rollout and integration of renewable energy across Europe.

The EU is currently working on its longer-term targets as it seeks to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, after having previously set renewable energy production goals for 2020 and 2030. The bloc aims for clean-energy to account for 42.5% of its overall generation by 2030, but some countries have set higher targets for themselves — including Spain, with a 48% goal. The push to cut reliance on energy imports since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, more recently, since the beginning of the war of Iran, has led countries to pursue different domestic strategies within the bloc, with some looking to expand nuclear generation while others, such as Spain, are choosing to cut it.

Portugal and Luxembourg have no nuclear reactors. Each energy crisis reminds us of the cost of relying on imported fossil fuel, said Sara Aagesen, Spain’s environmental transition minister. Europe has the option to produce more clean and competitive energy and the evidence of recent years should that renewables are the technology that can be rolled out fastest.

Failure to set such targets could put the bloc’s medium-term goals at risk while creating uncertainty in a sector that is expected to accelerate deployment and improve integration, according to one person familiar with the matter. The 2040 EU renewables target should send a clear signal to investors and markets, the ministers wrote in their letter.