On Wednesday 14 September the European Parliament adopted by a large majority (469 votes in favour, 93 against and 82 abstentions) the draft report by Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Danish) on the revision of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), thus supporting an increase of 14.5% of the target for reducing energy consumption in the EU by 2030 (compared to the 2020 baseline projections).
This is an increase of 5.5 percentage points (pp) compared to the target originally proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12762/8) and 1.5 pp compared to the update following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (see EUROPE 12955/4).
Based on the previously used baseline scenario of 2007, this corresponds to an energy efficiency target of 42.5% for primary energy consumption and 40% for final energy consumption by 2030, compared to 39% and 36% in the Commission’s original proposal. Current legislation sets this target at 32.5% (without distinguishing between primary and final energy consumption).
Welcoming the outcome of the vote, Mr Fuglsang said: “We are in a crisis where Putin is shutting off gas to the EU. One of our most effective answers to this crisis is energy efficiency”.
In his view, a target of 14.5% could reduce gas imports by 190 bcm per year, “equivalent to three and a half times the capacity of Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline”.
The voting session did not lead to any major changes to the text approved by the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) (see EUROPE 12992/4).
Among other things, MEPs want to: - make Member States’ national contributions binding; - set interim national targets in 2025 and 2027; - increase the binding annual reduction in the total final energy consumption of all public bodies combined from 1.7 to 2%; - oblige Member States to renovate at least 3% of the total floor area of public buildings each year.
See the adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/32f (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)