Brussels, 20/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Just half of the member states - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Sweden - submitted their national energy efficiency plans by 30 April, as they were required to do by the energy efficiency directive of December 2012.
Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia have failed to submit their national action plans, the aim of which is to lay down achievable energy savings targets for 2020 and state what has been done and the steps that will be taken in the future in order to achieve them.
The Commission, which has started its analysis of the plans it has received, declined to comment at this stage, stating that it remains “in close contact with the member states to assure that all of the plans will be submitted soon”, commented the spokesperson to Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. Additionally, the European executive is not planning to impose sanctions on the countries lagging behind.
In the framework of the energy-climate package 2020, the EU has set itself the target of reducing its primary energy consumption by 20% by 2020, by increasing energy efficiency by 20%. In order to reach this solely indicative target, the EU adopted a directive on energy efficiency in December 2012, which establishes a common framework of measures to promote energy efficiency in the EU, and pave the way for further improvements in energy efficiency beyond that date. The EU countries are therefore obliged to make more efficient use of energy at all stages of the energy chain, from processing and distribution to end use.
Under the directive, the energy efficiency target of the EU the 2020 is quantified by limiting the energy consumption of the bloc to 1,474 million tonnes of petroleum equivalent (Mtoe) primary energy and/or 1,078 Mtoe of final energy. With the accession of Croatia, the target was revised to 1,483 Mtoe of primary energy or 1,086 Mtoe of final energy.
All of the member states must lay down indicative national energy efficiency targets using criteria of their own choice (on the basis of savings or consumption of primary or final energy, or energy intensity, for example) and must notify these objectives, in a national action plan to be submitted to the Commission by 30 April, together with the method used to express them in the form of an absolute level of primary and final energy consumption in 2020. The member states must make certain energy savings during the obligation period (2014-2020), setting binding requirements in place in terms of energy efficiency or other targeted measures to feed into the improvement of energy efficiency in the household, industrial and transport sectors. A further national action plan must follow every three years.
Among its major provisions, the text provides for the public sector to set an example by requiring central governments, from 1 January 2014, to renovate 3% of buildings owned and occupied. The governments must also take account of energy efficiency in their public procurement procedures in order to acquire energy-efficient buildings, products and services. Large companies must carry out an energy audit at least every four years, with the first to be carried out by 5 December 2015. Measures are also included to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to commission energy audits. (EH)