As part of the 11th International Energy Agency (IEA) World Conference on Energy Efficiency, held on 12 and 13 June, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, co-organiser of the event, highlighted ten measures taken by the European Commission to accelerate action in favour of energy efficiency in the coming years.
These focus in particular on supporting and simplifying the implementation of rules (see EUROPE 13657/11) concerning energy efficiency, in particular the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, eco-design and energy labelling.
They also aim to integrate energy efficiency into the EU’s wider energy strategies, such as the networks legislative package and the forthcoming electrification strategy, to mobilise public and private capital, and to encourage the introduction of new investment tools to develop energy efficiency.
The European Commission also wants to actively promote energy efficiency at COP30 in November, in line with the commitment made in 2023 at COP28 by more than 130 countries who stated they would collectively double the global average annual rate of improvement in energy efficiency from around 2% to more than 4% each year until 2030.
“However, if you look at the figures, over the last two years the improvement in energy efficiency has been much slower than that, which is, of course, not good news”, said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA and co-organiser of the event.
Nevertheless, according to Mr Jørgensen, investments in energy efficiency would quickly pay for themselves. “For industry, every euro spent on energy efficiency translates into savings of four euros on average, over just a few years. For households, it’s even more so”, he stressed.
Among the forthcoming initiatives, the European Commission has announced that it intends to launch a “Forum for Energy Efficiency Action 2030” with Member States at the informal meeting of energy ministers scheduled for 4 and 5 September.
Commissioner Jørgensen also said that he was working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to set up tripartite energy efficiency contracts and to launch an energy efficiency guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises.
“I want to double the current level of energy efficiency services by providing easier access to financing, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises”, he said.
The Commissioner went on to stress that he would present an energy efficiency package for data centres in the first quarter of 2026, which will be presented together with the ‘roadmap’ for the digitisation and AI strategy.
In a new study published on 11 June, the IEA reports that around 80% of business leaders worldwide say that efficiency is essential to their competitiveness. However, respondents face barriers to implementing more extensive measures, including high initial costs and insufficient workforce capacity.
The Agency believes that a new policy approach can ensure that energy efficiency becomes a pillar of industrial strategy, with greater emphasis on SMEs and light industry, in addition to heavy industry.
To see the IEA study: https://aeur.eu/f/hay (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)