27 November 2011

On 24 November, EU Energy Ministers met to discuss a progress report prepared by the Polish Presidency on the draft Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). The report, which was reviewed and noted by Energy Ministers, shows that Member States are seeking to undo and weaken everything of substance in the Directive - despite having committed to ‘strong and decisive’ action on energy efficiency at the February Council.  

This is especially problematic since if Europe is to close the gap to the target of saving 20% of its energy consumption by 2020, as agreed to by Heads of State in 2007, the measures proposed in the Directive need urgently to be strengthened – not weakened. Member States put up such strong resistance to the idea of binding national energy saving targets that the Commission instead proposed only a series of specific measures. However according to new analysis by CAN-Europe and Friends of the Earth, the measures as suggested by the European Commission may deliver as few as half of the required savings.

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31 October 2011

A leaked version of the European Commission's draft Energy Roadmap 2050 seen by CAN Europe does not include the EU's 20% energy savings target by 2020 in any of its scenarios. In a letter to Philip Lowe, Director General for Energy, the Coalition for Energy Savings - of which CAN Europe is an active member- requests that this gross judgment error be corrected prior to official release of the document. 

In better news, the Coalition has released a position on the Energy Efficiency Directive, which was sent to members of European Parliament's ITRE and ENVI committees. The Draft Directive is still under debate in parliament and set to be voted upon in plenary in early 2012. 

06 September 2011

On 22 June the European Commission published its proposal for a new Energy Efficiency Directive. This 'mother of all Directives' will replace both the Cogeneration Directive and the Directive on Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services, and basically puts the bones of ideas that were in March's Energy Efficiency Plan into legal language.

Unfortunately this means that, like the Plan, the Draft Directive leaves a lot to be desired. The EU's target to reduce energy use by 20% by 2020 is not made binding, despite the Commission admitting in its official assessment that a mandatory target is needed. The Commission's pledge for binding measures in lieu of an overall target also falls short: the proposed 3% annual renovation rate for public buildings does not oblige makeovers to be done to a high standard. No proposals are put forward to directly address private property - leaving well over 80% of the buiding stock potemtially untouched. And a clever concept to pblige energy companies to assist their companies to save energy - by selling 'energy services' as well as kilowatts - was weakened at the last moment (see the full story with lots of twists here). The main surviving measure concerns energy production: thermal power plants must be re-equipped with combined heat and power technology to make good use of waste heat.

But this is just the first draft. It is currently being commented on by the European Council and the European Parliament, who over the coming months wil each submit amendments to improve (or weaken) the text. CAN-Europe and many other stakeholders will be working hard to try and ensure that:

• the 20% target is made binding
• the obligation on energy companies to achieve energy savings of 1,5% per year is mandatory, well-specified and correctly interpreted
• the target for public buildings is toughened up, and measures are introduced to address private dwellings
• effective financing facilities are introduced which aggregate funding streams, use them to leverage private money, and adapt this to the needs of energy savings projects.

The Parliamentary Rapporteur is Green MEP Claude Turmes, who led the work on the Renewable Energy Directive. With the European Parliament having supported a binding target for energy savings last year, we can be hopeful MEPs will take the Directive in a good direction.

The Council is likely to be a tougher proposition. Member States have been difficult all the way through discussions so far on Europe's energy saving policy - despite agreeing wholeheartedly that energy efficiency is a Jolly Good Thing. It seems Ministers have still not fully grasped the extent to which reducing energy use will lower the need for costly energy imports, save money, create jobs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and assist in meeting renewable energy targets.

However, even power companies are starting to wake up to the opportunities inherent in energy efficiency... so there is a lot to play for. CAN-Europe is ready for the fight!