Strasbourg, 20/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - In adopting the own-initiative report by the German social democrat Mechtild Rothe on the use of sources of renewable energy for heating and cooling, the EP has asked the Commission to present a legislative proposal by 31 July on the growth of the share of renewable energies in the production of heating and cooling, with the aim of increasing this share, which in the EU stands at “around 10% to a realistic and ambitious figure of at least a double that by 2020”. Since the heating sector does not function in the same way as the electricity market, a directive could lay down both a legislative framework for financial instruments and national binding objectives for the share of renewable energy in the production of heating and cooling, Ms Rothe explained. The adopted text simply states that “national binding targets, which take into account current differences in the share of renewable heating and cooling in the Member States and their regions and the potential of each of the relevant technologies (…) should contribute to reaching that EU target” (at least doubling the share of 10% by 2020). The report demands that the Member States be bound to draw up action plans - a maximum of one year after the entry into force of the directive - to be renewed every three years and that a European monitoring system be established to assess the Union's needs in terms of energy for heating and cooling.
In order to increase the share of renewables in the production of heating and cooling, the Rothe report does not propose a particular support system. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, each Member States should decide itself on the incentive mechanisms to be established, but these instruments should respect certain principles, in particular guaranteeing the security of investments and stopping subsidies once the market has matured. The Rothe report also underlines the need to remove administrative obstacles and to guarantee legal clarity regarding the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling - particularly for geothermal energy. It demands accompanying measures to provide information, and teach the appropriate technologies to the professional groups charged with ensuring the application and respect for quality standards. The Member States should also encourage the public sector to give priority to producing heating and cooling from renewable sources and to develop ecolabels. During the debate, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs promised to present a legislative proposal before the end of the year.