Coalition of Energy Savings calls on Member States to get serious on implementing the Energy Efficiency Directive
As EU leaders discuss how to move the Energy Union forward, a new study shows that Member States still have a long way to implement existing energy efficiency legislation. According to the analysis by the Coalition for Energy Savings, national action plans towards reaching the minimum level of energy savings required by the Energy Efficiency Directive continue to lack credibility. Since the Coalition released a similar study last year, Member States had opportunities to update their plans but few improvements were made.
(Climate Action Network Europe is a member of the Coalition for Energy Savings)
The Coalition for Energy Savings latest assessment of the implementation of Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) shows that most Member States fail to present credible plans on how they will deliver the directive’s requirement to save at least 1.5% end-use energy annually. The analysis shows worrying deviations between the savings reported by Member States and the minimum savings that should be reported if Eurostat data was used, diminishing the impact of the directive. Germany has lowered its savings target by 14% since its last submission in April 2014, without providing an adequate explanation. Alarming is also that some Member States continue to include potentially non-eligible measures in their plans. The UK, for example, has again included measures such as savings from buildings standards in their latest submission. This may not go beyond European minimum requirements and thus will not be eligible.
Denmark and Ireland are the only countries to have presented credible plans to date. Most other submissions consist of incomplete and weak plans that fail to show how Member States will deliver on the agreed targets.
“Europe’s new energy visions will not materialise unless Member States radically change their attitude towards implementing energy efficiency legislation and finally take it as an opportunity to create economic, social and environmental benefits”, said Stefan Scheuer, Secretary General of the Coalition for Energy Savings.
The sobering findings are backed by an analysis of Member States plans conducted by consultancy Ricardo AEA for the European Commission’s DG Energy.
As a multi-stakeholder Coalition, uniting 26 European business, civil society, professional, trade union and local government organisations, the Coalition for Energy Savings calls on Member States to correctly implement the EED without further delays, making the ‘energy efficiency’ first motto a reality.
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The Coalition for Energy Savings brings together business, professionals, local authorities, trade unions and civil society associations. The Coalition’s purpose is to make the case for a European energy policy that places a much greater, more meaningful emphasis on energy efficiency and savings. Coalition members represent more than 400 associations, 150 companies, 15 million supporters, more than 2 million employees, 1,000 cities and towns in 30 countries in Europe. energycoalition.eu
Notes for editors
• The full study and a map of countries is available here:
http://energycoalition.eu/20150316
• The study is an update from the Coalition’s study released in April 2014 and available here: http://energycoalition.eu/plans-reach-annual-15-energy-savings-fall-short-credibility-0
• Coalition for Energy Savings Guidebook for A Strong Implementation of the EED: http://energycoalition.eu/guidebook-strong-implementation-0
• European Commission’s website on the Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/eed/eed_en.htm
• Study evaluating the national policy measures and methodologies to implement Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive by Ricardo AEA: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/Final%20Report%20on%20Article%207%20EED_published.pdf
