The European Commission adopted on Wednesday 30 March a working plan on ecodesign and energy labelling for the 2022-2024 period to cover new energy-related products and to raise the level of ambition for already regulated products.
Presented alongside a proposal for a regulation on sustainable products (see EUROPE 12922/1), the plan aims in particular to apply new rules to product groups that are not yet subject to regulation today, such as smartphones, tablets and solar photovoltaic systems, which constitute the fastest growing waste stream.
A range of new product groups including low temperature heaters (radiators, convectors, etc.), professional laundry appliances, professional dishwashers, electric vehicle chargers and universal external power supplies will be subject to assessment.
Review of existing rules
By the end of 2024, the European Commission must also present or adopt 38 revisions of existing EU ecodesign and energy labelling measures, with 8 more to come in 2025.
Currently, ecodesign regulations are in force for 29 product groups, while energy labelling regulations apply to 15 product groups.
These rules have saved Europeans more than €120 billion on their bills in 2021, the European Commission estimates.
Strengthening rules compliance
In addition, the institution will take action to help Member States monitor their national markets for ecodesign and energy labelling.
According to its estimates, at least 10% of the potential energy savings from ecodesign and energy labelling are lost due to non-compliance.
This represents 15.3 megatonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of primary energy per year in 2020 (i.e. 178 terawatt hours), or €6.4 billion in annual consumer expenditure on energy bills (based on 2020 energy price levels), the European Commission communication says. In terms of emissions, this corresponds to an additional 31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.
It should be noted that this new plan is a transitional measure until the Sustainable Products Regulation comes into force.
To access the plan and its annexes: https://aeur.eu/f/124 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)