Energy efficiency: a January missed opportunity – rendez-vous in June!

“Excluding energy efficiency from the 2030 Package is to consciously choose NOT to boost our fragile economic recovery and to lock-in high costs for future generations, renege on our climate commitments and reduce EU competitiveness,” said Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of EuroACE, reacting to the 2030 Climate and Energy Package unveiled on 22 January 2014. “By proposing only a GHG emissions target and a renewables target, the Commission’s White Paper ignores the crucial role energy efficiency should play in meeting our climate and energy ambitions in a cost-effective manner.”

Research from the Fraunhofer Institute had demonstrated that without a binding energy efficiency target, the EU will not achieve energy savings beyond the business-as-usual scenario. By excluding it, the Commission also went against the views of the European Parliament in its recent report on 2030.

“Increased energy efficiency should be seen as the cornerstone of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy package, and a binding 40% energy efficiency target by 2030 is the only way to unlock its benefits,” said Anne Delvaux, co-rapporteur on the Parliament’s 2030 report.