The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union submitted to the Member States on Wednesday 1 June a new draft compromise (the fifth) on the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2018/2002), proposing a step-by-step approach to energy saving obligations.
Presented on 14 July 2021, the initial text presented by the European Commission foresees the obligation for Member States to reduce their final energy consumption by at least 1.5% per year between 2024 and 2030, based on the average of the 3 years immediately preceding 1 January 2020 (EUROPE 12762/8).
However, several Member States consider this target too ambitious, while others wish to maintain it (see EUROPE 12930/10).
In order to find a compromise, the French document suggests a three-step approach by setting the energy saving obligation to: 1.1% between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025; 1.3% between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027; and 1.5% between 1 January 2028 and 31 December 2030. All calculated on the basis of the average of the 3 years immediately preceding 1 January 2019.
National contributions
While the Presidency is not changing the overall target proposed by the European Commission at this stage, it does suggest changes to the indicative (non-binding) national contributions of Member States to this target.
This is to ensure an EU-wide reduction in energy consumption of at least 9% by 2030 compared to the projections of the 2020 baseline (the projection of where current EU policies, combined with market trends, are likely to lead).
According to the European Commission, this amounts to an energy efficiency target of 39% for primary energy consumption and 36% for final energy consumption.
To achieve this, the European Commission wants each Member State to establish its national contribution to the EU target using a formula set out in Annex I of the proposed revision of the EED.
Paris, for its part, suggests that Member States should not be obliged to follow this formula.
However, if the European Commission finds that the collective contribution of Member States is insufficient to meet the EU target, it would then be required to send a corrected national contribution to each Member State whose national contribution is lower than it would have been under the formula in Annex I.
This corrected contribution should be based on: - the remaining collective reduction to meet the EU target; - the relative greenhouse gas intensity per unit of GDP in 2019 among the Member States concerned; - the GDP of these Member States in 2019.
Member States required to make a correction to their national contribution should then update it within 6 months.
Public sector
The draft compromise also amends the chapter on energy saving in the public sector.
While the European Commission text foresees an obligation for Member States to ensure that the total final energy consumption of all public bodies combined is reduced by at least 1.7% each year compared to the year X-2 (X being the year of entry into force of the new rules), the French document foresees a transitional period of 4 years (after the entry into force of the new rules) during which this would not be a binding target but an indicative target.
If public transport or the armed forces are excluded from the target, it should be raised to 1.9%, the draft compromise also states.
Paris also proposes to reintroduce derogations from the obligation for Member States to renovate at least 3% of the total surface area of buildings belonging to all levels of public administration each year.
This would exclude: - buildings belonging to public bodies that are officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historical value; - vessels belonging to the armed forces or the government and used for national defence purposes; - buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities; - social housing.
For social housing, Member States would nevertheless be required to communicate to the European Commission other policies and measures to improve the minimum energy performance standards of such housing.
In addition, the Presidency suggests reintroducing a provision allowing a Member State that exceeds the 3% target in one year to offset the surplus against the annual renewal rate in one of the following 3 years.
Other amendments
The draft compromise furthermore provides an increase of €150 million (compared to €50 million in the European Commission’s proposal), the amount above which an investment decision should be accompanied by the consideration of energy efficiency solutions. This threshold would be raised to €250 million (from €75 million) for transport infrastructure projects related to energy systems or sectors affecting energy consumption and efficiency.
The document also includes a new article on data centre energy consumption and changes the criteria for what constitutes an efficient district heating and cooling system.
The draft compromise will be discussed by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) next week. The aim of the French Presidency of the EU Council is to reach an agreement between the EU countries (‘general approach’) at the meeting of the Member States’ energy ministers on 27 June.
In the European Parliament, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) plans to adopt its position on the dossier on 13 July.
Although the European Commission has recently proposed increasing the overall target from 9% to 13% in its proposal for revision following the war in Ukraine (see EUROPE 12951/3), the draft compromise does not mention this change.
See the draft compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/1xg (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)