Brussels, 23/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to a European Commission progress report published on 18 November as part of its update on energy union, the EU has reduced its energy consumption and remains on track to achieve its target of 20% energy efficiency savings by 2020.
The report shows that member states have stepped up their efforts to implement EU energy efficiency legislation and that they have set more ambitious energy efficiency targets, now adding up to 17.6% primary energy savings by 2020, when the targets set in 2014 added up only to 16.4%.
Thus, the Commission remains optimistic of hitting the 20% target by 2020, on condition that member states fully implement existing EU legislation, redouble their efforts in the construction, transport and energy production sectors and raise the level of their ambition, and that investment conditions for energy efficiency continue to improve across Europe.
According to the report, between 2005 and 2013, final energy consumption (which includes energy supplied to industry, transport, households, services and agriculture but not to the processing sector or the energy industries themselves) fell by 7% and primary energy consumption (final energy consumption plus the energy consumed by the processing and energy transformation sectors along with network losses) decreased by 8%. Initial estimates for 2014 suggest continuation of this downward trend, the Commission adds.
EU final energy consumption fell from 1,186 million tonnes oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2005 to 1,102 Mtoe in 2012 but rose again to 1,105 Mtoe in 2013, largely as a result of energy consumption in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, the report says.
With a 15% fall between 2005 and 2013, due to the impact of the economic crisis, structural changes and energy efficiency measures, industry is the area which has recorded the greatest reduction in energy consumption. Over the same period, energy consumption in the residential sector decreased by 3%, while in the transport sector a 6% reduction was made. Final energy consumption in the services sector increased by 6% but the economic output of this sector increased by 11 % over the same period of time which resulted in an improved energy intensity.
The report notes that Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Spain set more ambitious national targets for final energy consumption in their 2014 national energy efficiency action plans compared to 2013. Only Malta and Poland have set less ambitious final energy consumption targets.
For primary energy consumption, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Spain and Sweden have set more ambitious indicative targets in their 2014 national energy efficiency action plans compared to their initial targets. Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia have reduced their level of ambition.
Since the objective of energy efficiency is to break the link between a rise in energy consumption and a rise in economic growth due to efficiency gains, the Commission notes that the level of the indicative targets set by Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Romania are not ambitious enough as final energy consumption is projected to be higher than the forecast GDP development from 2014 to 2020.
For primary energy consumption, Croatia, Finland, Greece and Romania have set indicative primary energy consumption targets for 2020 which would allow an increase of primary energy consumption, at a rate higher than their expected average GDP growth in 2014-2020.
The report is available at: https://goo.gl/o5CiVi (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)