Public Consultation: Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) revision

EuroACE responded to the European Commission’s consultation on the review and revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

Increasing energy efficiency across the EU is still very relevant today, for three reasons: energy efficiency is the biggest contributor to GHG emissions reduction; energy efficiency, especially in the buildings sector, is a growth engine and job creator, which is key in economic recovery times; and it brings multiple other benefits such as increased comfort and improved health.

Many provisions of the EED need to be updated to match the new climate ambition and deliver on the economic recovery agenda. In our response, we called for:

• The energy efficiency target for 2030 to be made binding and increased to at least 40%
• Article 5 on public buildings to be strengthened to match the ambition of the EPBD to reach a ‘highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock’ by 2050
• Closing the loopholes on eligibility and additionality under Article 7, and raising its 0.8% energy savings obligation to match the higher 2030 climate target
• The wider benefits of energy efficiency (indoor air quality, comfort, health, job creation) to be monetised when calculating the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures
• Keeping the buildings sector under the Effort Sharing Regulation rather than moving it to the EU ETS, as most barriers in the buildings sector are non-economic
• Stronger action on split incentives, including changes to property and rental law so that the costs of energy efficiency measures are not simply passed on to tenants