Will the European Commission slow progress on EU energy savings?
Today the European Commission is expected to publish a proposal for a 2030 energy savings target, completing the initial climate and energy proposal released in January of 2014[1]. The proposal comes after much speculation that a target as low as 27% will be proposed, an effective slowing down of action up to 2030 [2]. CAN Europe will be extremely disconcerted if the Commission presents a target below 40%, let alone below the inadequate 30% level that some are predicting.
Dora Petroula, Energy Savings Policy Officer at CAN Europe said:
“It would be utter madness for the European Commission to set an energy savings target that conflicts with its own analysis, which shows higher ambition, such as a 40% target, will bring greater benefits for EU countries.”
“The European Commission needs to align their actions with their words. They keep celebrating energy efficiency as a key solution to EU climate and energy concerns, but they are also considering a 2030 target that will slow down the current trends in energy savings after 2020.”
The Commission’s own analysis [3] shows that higher ambition brings greater benefits such as significant greenhouse gas emission reductions and lower levels of gas imports.
A decision is expected this October in Brussels, when heads of state and government will meet at the EU Council to decide on all 3 elements of the post-2020 climate and energy framework. CAN Europe is calling for three ambitious and binding targets of at least 55% greenhouse gas emission reductions, 45% renewable energy deployment and 40% energy savings.
ENDS
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The Commission’s Press Conference on the Energy Efficiency Communication will begin at 12.15 (CEST) and can be streamed via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm?sitelang=en&page=1&institution=0&date=07/23/2014
NOTES:
[1] The Commission’s proposal is supposed to complete its 2030 climate and energy policy framework proposal launched in January 2014, which presented targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and the share of renewable energy.
[2] An earlier version of the Commission’s Communication says that Europe is set to achieve energy savings of 170Mtoe during the current decade in order to achieve its 20% target in 2020, and that saving an equivalent amount of energy during the next decade would lead to 30% energy savings in 2030 compared to the 2007 projections. http://www.changepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EC-2014-Energy-Efficiency-Review-v12.pdf
[3] https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/commission_ia_2030_energy_efficiency.pdf
CONTACTS:
Dora Petroula – Energy Savings Policy Officer, dora@caneurope.org, +32 2 894 46 71
Matthew Keys – Communications Manager, matthew@caneurope.org, +32 2 894 46 73, mobile: +32 497 700 372
