Strasbourg, 15/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Shortly before the European Commission's publication, in March 2011, of a revised action plan for energy efficiency, the European Parliament has submitted its requests, which focus mainly on two priorities: the performance of buildings in terms of energy savings and the implementation of existing legislation.
The European Council, which is to meet on 4 February for a meeting given over solely to energy, and the Commission, which is deciding on a new action plan for energy efficiency, have been warned: energy savings must be a major focus of the embryonic common energy policy of the EU. In its adoption on Wednesday 15 December, by 511 votes in favour, 64 votes against and 57 abstentions, of the report by Denmark's Bendt Bendtsen (EPP), the European Parliament, meeting for its plenary session in Strasbourg, affirmed its ambitions in a field of action with extremely high potential, both to ensure the energy security of the EU and regarding its transition towards a low-carbon economy. In particular, the MEPs took position in favour of a binding objective for energy efficiency, as the current Community objective of 20% by 2020 is only indicative.
The resolution adopted on Wednesday devotes a large chapter to buildings, which alone account for 40% of the total energy consumption of the EU and 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions. The MEPs favour in-depth renovation programmes for existing buildings, targeting energy saving performance, and call for a raft of obstacles to be removed, particularly in the residential sector. These obstacles include initial costs, the distinction between various incentive measures and potentially problematic negotiations in buildings which comprise several apartments. In order to do this, the Parliament is pleading for innovative solutions, such as renovation plans for entire areas, financial incentives at all levels, local, national and European, and technical assistance. The MEPs also urge the Commission to promote new initiatives via its new strategy for innovation.
The Parliament also lays emphasis on the need for the EU to implement existing legislation on energy efficiency, particularly the directives on labelling and eco-design, and pleads in favour of a revision in 2011 of the directive on energy services. The MEPs are also calling on the Commission to include an assessment of the application of the texts by the member states in its revised action plan and, on the basis of the results, to bring in new measures such as individual energy efficiency objectives corresponding to at least a 20% improvement in energy efficiency at EU level by 2020, taking account of the various starting situations and national circumstances. The Commission and its member states are also called upon to agree on a common methodology to measure the national energy efficiency objectives and to follow the progress made as regards these objectives.
Lastly, in addition to the chapters on the energy efficiency of infrastructures which produce and transmit energy, in the role of ICTs, but also transport, on which the MEPs urge the Commission to publish an ambitious White Paper in the spring, the Parliament overall stresses the exemplary role at all levels of the public sector, particularly in the construction sector, for example schools. The Parliament also highlights the importance for the institutions and agencies of the EU to refurbish those of their own buildings which have been identified as offering an energy efficiency potential which is worthwhile from the point of view of costs, to make them virtually neutral by 2019, meaning that they produce practically all the energy they use. The MEPs also call upon the Commission to put forward standards or requirements for energy regarding the installation of urban lighting and fleets of vehicles, and urge the member states always to employ practices which take account of energy efficiency in public procurement. (E.H./transl.fl)