Under the banner of the European Alliance for Energy Efficiency, 50 companies (including Veolia, Philips, Saint-Gobain, Schneider, Siemens, Danfoss, Knauf and Velux) and professional organisations urged the European Parliament, on Monday 6 November, to strengthen the draft revised directive on energy efficiency in order to boost investment in the renovation and insulation of buildings in Europe.
"The most profitable way for the EU to respect its commitments (on fighting climate change), reach the EU energy targets and be more competitive is to implement the principle of energy efficiency first", this coalition states in a letter to the European Parliament's rapporteur on this, Adam Gierek (S&D, Poland), ahead of a vote at the European Parliament.
The European Alliance for Energy Efficiency urges the European Parliament to support a binding target on energy efficiency at EU level in order to secure the trust of investors. It also calls for the level of ambition to be increased to 40% by 2030, both in terms of primary energy and final energy, so as to ensure a holistic approach for investment and energy efficiency services, and to provide a legal basis for promoting energy efficiency in production, distribution and energy consumption.
The coalition calls on MEPs to extend beyond 2020 the national obligation of 1.5% energy saving based on annual energy sales to private clients, to remove loopholes and to design energy efficiency obligation systems and/or alternative political measures in line with the principle of 'energy efficiency first'.
The positive impact of these measures is substantiated by solid proof, the coalition states, adding that according to a Commission study, the measures would enable a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, a 2.2% rise in EU GDP, the creation of 2 million new jobs, a saving of €77 billion in annual health costs and the exit of millions of households from energy poverty.
In-depth studies show that the building sector, along with the transport sector, represents the biggest potential for saving in final use, the coalition adds, calling on the European Parliament to be very ambitious on the pace and depth of renovations. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)