After reaching yesterday a deal on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), early this morning the European Parliament, Council and Commission agreed also on the new Governance Regulation for the period 2021-2030. Like the 2030 renewable energy target, the agreed 2030 target for energy efficiency of 32,5% and the agreed rules for how to ensure the targets are met fall short of what is needed to comply with the Paris Agreement.
In reaction to the agreements, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:
“Similarly to the renewable energy target, the 32,5% energy efficiency target and the slack rules for implementation do not reflect the urgency of the climate crisis. The EU must hit the ground running and advance the energy transition much faster. The agreed targets must now be used as the starting level for the needed review of the targets to bring them in line with the Paris Agreement”.
Also, the rules on how the annual energy savings obligation will work after 2020 have been agreed. Currently EU countries are required to save 1.5% of energy sold to consumers every year, but due to the use of loopholes the savings achieved are reduced by around a half. The final deal, that still provides for the use of loopholes, sets the actual annual energy savings at 0.8% after 2020.
Commenting on the proposal for the Energy Efficiency Directive, CAN Europe’s Energy Savings Policy Coordinator Dora Petroula said:
“The energy savings obligation will keep delivering the benefits of energy efficiency directly to final consumers such as households and small businesses after 2020. However, it will not run at its full speed, which is a missed opportunity to boost the energy efficiency investments at a scale compatible with the Paris Agreement.”
Next, rules for how to ensure the EU energy targets are delivered have been hammered out in the new Governance Regulation. It also spells out how EU Member States have to design long term strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Commenting on the proposal for the Governance Regulation, CAN Europe’s EU Climate and Energy Policy Coordinator Caroline Westblom said:
“The agreed Governance Regulation is an improvement compared to the original proposal by the Commission. The final deal however does not compensate for the lack of national binding targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, and leaves us hanging with regards to what actually happens if Member States fail to deliver towards the 2030 energy targets.”
“All eyes are now on Member States as they set out to develop the required short term and long term plans and strategies, which will have to be ambitious, credible and consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives.”
ENDS
Contact:
Nicolas Derobert, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, nicolas@caneurope.org, +32 483 62 18 88
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 150 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 40 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
