Take Action

The proposal for the new Energy Efficiency Plan sets binding energy efficiency targets for Member States. The draft, entitled “7 Measures for 2 Million New EU Jobs”, aims to simplify the 2006 Efficiency Action Plan, by focusing on a  range of binding and effective measures. It also acknowledges that the member States won’t be able to achieve the 20% goal of cut energy usage set for 2020, but only 11%. In particular it aims at helping the European Union cutting carbon dioxide emissions and reducing the tens of billions of euros channelled overseas each year for oil and gas imports. For that purpose, the draft introduces mandatory energy-saving obligations on member states ”in line” with the EU’s original goal of using 20% less energy in 2020 while suggesting that the targets could be either sector-specific, potentially limited to buildings, or cover all aspects of the economy. The other important measure in the draft is the proposition of refurbishing 15 million buildings by 2020. Insulating  millions of existing buildings and retro-fitting them with double glazing and appliances  would save Europe 66 million tonnes of CO2, while creating 300,000 direct and 1.1 million indirect jobs each year, it says. The draft does not earmark any money for the project, only referring to support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It states that funding would have to be found from the EU’s next Financial Perspectives, and unused money from the economic recovery fund could be used for the start-up phase before 2013. Moreover, the Commission invites Member States to set up a National Energy Efficiency Fund and use revenues from emissions trading to improve the efficiency of their buildings. Other initiatives in the plan include a network of smart cities to pioneer new technologies in a bid to cut emissions by more than 20% by 2020.

However, this ambitious action plan totally neglects the transport sector, which the EU executive plans to deal with separately. A White Paper is expected next year, detailing measures targeted specifically at transport, which accounts for almost a fifth of EU primary energy consumption. The Commission plans to table the Action Plan this month, although sources say this looks unlikely and expect delays.