|
Today, the European Commission has published its REPowerEU plan, setting out a strategy to phase out EU’s dependence on Russian energy imports. [1]
The Commission has proposed a binding target of 13% energy savings in the bloc by 2030, up from 9% as set in the previous Energy Efficiency Directive proposal, currently under inter-institutional negotiations, the last stage before approval.
The Commission has also set a target of 45% share of renewables in the EU’s energy mix by 2030 – up from the previous 40%.
The Commission’s target comes with a set of recommendations on how to achieve energy savings, laid out in the ‘Save Energy’ communication. It includes advice for citizens on reducing energy consumption in their daily lives. It also features a list of ‘mid- to long-term measures’ to be considered by the European Parliament and member states as improvements to the Fit for 55 package, such as including higher national energy savings obligations and extending minimum energy performance standards [2].
However, ECOS warns against measures primarily focusing on consumer behaviour, rather than governments. We call on EU governments to seize the opportunity and lead the way and commit to ambitious national energy saving obligations.
Targets on energy savings are essential for the EU to achieve a true transition towards a clean and efficient energy system. Energy savings are the cleanest and, in most cases, the cheapest way to meet our energy needs, as recently explained by the IEA. [3]
A phase-out for fossil fuel boilers
The Commission announces it will set stricter ecodesign limits to gas and oil heating, ‘implying 2029 as an end date for “stand-alone” fossil fuel boilers being placed on the market’. Plans announced today also foresee that EU member states stop subsidising fossil fuel-based boilers in buildings as of 2025, instead of 2027.
A ban on sales of new fossil-fuel boilers is a long-standing demand of ECOS [4]. The commitment is coherent with recent announcements made by Netherlands [5], as well as the expected new measures in Germany [6].
Additionally, the Commission will put forward ecodesign and energy labelling requirements for solar photovoltaic panels, and revise existing ecodesign requirements for heat pumps.
Nerea Ruiz Fuente, Policy Director, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), said:
Ecodesign and energy labelling have been the most successful tools in cutting energy bills across the continent since 1994. Today, ecodesign is rightly recognised as a vital tool in achieving the transition towards a clean and efficient energy system. Decarbonising heating will be an essential steppingstone in weaning the EU off fossil fuels, and ecodesign will phase out fossil fuel boilers from the market by 2029 – a great win for people and the planet!
|
