Efficacité énergétique : le nouveau plan d’action de l’UE

Résumé

In October 2006, the European Commission presented an Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, with the aim of consuming 20% less energy by 2020. It estimated that making such energy savings would allow Europe to reduce its CO2 emissions by 780 million tonnes and save €100 billion in fuel costs, dwarfing the cost of the necessary investment in energy-efficiency technologies.

To achieve the objective, the strategy identified specific actions in ten priority areas to be implemented between 2007 and the end of 2012 (see EurActiv LinksDossier). Actions taken since then include:

• Efficiency standards for product groups such as televisions, refrigerators and lighting (see EurActiv LinksDossier on 'Eco-design requirements for energy-using products')
• Recast of the  Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (see EurActiv LinksDossier on the 'EPBD')
• Legislation to limit the CO2 emissions of cars (see EurActiv LinksDossier on 'Cars and CO2')
• Creation of the Covenant of Mayors (EurActiv 11/02/09).

Member states also committed to submitting national energy efficiency action plans to the EU executive under the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive by June 2007. The plans were to outline how each country meant to reach an indicative energy saving target of 16% by 2016.

Nevertheless, rather than putting Europe on track to 20% energy savings, the Commission has conceded that the block is at best heading towards 11% savings.

A mid-term review of the plan was scheduled for 2009, but the Commission has now indicated that its communication on the revised plan will be published at the end of 2010 at the earliest.

Enjeux

The revised action plan will try to reinforce the EU's efforts on energy efficiency to help it to reach its goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% by 2020. 

Preliminary results from a study by Ecofys and Fraunhofer ISI, to be published in September 2010, show that EU policy measures would have to triple to achieve this energy savings target. Meeting the objective would reduce energy bills annually by €78 billion, create one million jobs and save 560Mt of CO2, the study says.

Buildings to focus attention

The plan will focus in particular on the building, utility and transport sectors, according to the European Commission. It may also be accompanied by legislative proposals, such as a recast of the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive (ESD), according to the Commission.

One of the main sticking points of the plan has been uneven implementation of measures identified under the 2006 plan, which the revision will seek to address.

A blueprint drafted by the previous Commission in 2009 proposed stripping down the complex action plan to fewer and more targeted actions, but it then decided to pass the file on to the incoming executive instead.

The blueprint targeted the buildings sector with a European Buildings Initiative to stimulate the renovation of 15 million buildings by 2020. It further suggested obliging all member states to set up a National Energy Efficiency Fund to support preferential loans or risk-sharing facilities, for instance.

Other initiatives in the draft plan included creating a network of smart cities to pioneer new technologies in a bid to cut emissions by more than 20% by 2020. The power sector was addressed via the intention to provide incentives - beyond CO2 trading - to encourage further cuts in energy use. Measures included a new directive obliging each member state to set up a white certificate scheme.

Buildings will certainly be at the centre of the new strategy, given that the sector accounts for 40% of Europe's energy consumption. Potential measures range from aiming to renovate a certain number of buildings by equipping them with high efficiency standards to policies to speed up the uptake of smart electricity meters.

Among other proposals that have been floated is a European training strategy for an energy-efficiency workforce. This would address the need to have more skilled architects, builders and installers who are capable of carrying out energy-efficiency improvements, as well as certified experts to carry out energy audits.

Other sectors: Transport and cities

Transport is another sector where efficiency improvements will be crucial, as the sector's emissions continue to rise. MEPs, for their part, have been calling for improvements in the sector to be included in the new strategy.

Some options include stricter vehicle efficiency standards, speed management, promoting a shift to less energy-intensive forms of transport and public transport, and the promotion of renewable and alternative fuels.

The Commission is planning to table a White Paper on the future of transport at the end of the year, which will outline measures for sustainable transport up to 2020.

A smart cities initiative would bring together initiatives in several sectors, and such a proposal has already been included in the EU's strategy for funding the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, published in October 2009 (EurActiv 07/10/09).

The idea is that the EU would select 25 to 30 European cities to champion energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as pioneer smart networks, a new generation of buildings and alternative means of transport.

Binding target?

Unlike the EU's 2020 targets on greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy, which are mandatory, energy efficiency remains an aspirational goal.

The previous Commission's leaked draft action plan said the EU executive would introduce a directive imposing mandatory energy-saving obligations on member states in line with the previously agreed voluntary target to use 20% less energy by 2020. The paper suggests that the targets could be either sector-specific, potentially limited to buildings or cover all aspects of the economy.

An efficiency target is technically more difficult to administer than a renewables target, for instance, as it is not clear how efficiency would be measured in the first place.

The draft did not specify whether the EU should set an absolute cap on each member state's emissions by 2020 or whether the savings would be related to their projected energy consumption. It said an impact assessment to explore these options, as well as the likely need for burden-sharing measures between member states, would be needed before any proposals could be tabled.

Moreover, few member states have explicitly supported a binding target for fear that it would come at a high cost.

Speaking in Brussels in July, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said he would evaluate progress made by member states towards the voluntary target in 2012 in order to see whether there was a need for binding targets (EurActiv 12/07/10).

If member states have made good on their pledges, there will be no need for stronger regulation at European level, Oettinger suggested. But if there is no marked progress in the next ten years, "then we need more and stronger European regulation," he stressed.

Connie Hedegaard, the EU's climate action commissioner, said she does not think the target needs to be binding (EurActiv 18/01/10).

MEPs, on the other hand, have called for a binding target as part of the revision.

Réactions

Danish centre-right MEP Bendt Bendtsen (European People's Party; EPP), who is drafting the European Parliament's report on the revised action plan, argued that more implementation will be key in unlocking energy savings. He also stressed the importance of more innovation in the transport sector.

"Our real problem is a lack of financing, so we have to look at structural funds and we also have to find ways of accessing private capital," Bendtsen said.

UK Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe; ALDE), the shadow rapporteur on the revision of the action plan, stressed the importance of keeping an open mind on all possibilities, as the need for energy-efficiency improvements stretches across various sectors.

"We need to look at the possibility of EU-wide targets which would capture energy efficiency on the supply side as well as looking at the demand side of energy efficiency," she said.

Hall added that the EU should look at the possibility of introducing targets for member states to renovate a certain percentage of buildings each year, on which there are currently no obligations.

EuroACE, the European Alliance of Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings, argued that a revision of the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive (ESD) should introduce binding national targets for energy savings in buildings as well as a mandatory target to increase the renovation rate.

"The mandatory approach has clearly been more effective for meeting the carbon reduction and renewable energy targets and, without a clear and measurable target for reducing the demand for energy use in buildings, Europe risks falling far short of its efficiency goal," the association said.

EuroACE pointed out that a binding target for energy savings in buildings is easier to calculate and administer than an overall primary energy savings target. It added that the rate of renovation will have to increase by a factor of two or three from the current rate of 1.2% to 1.4% by 2020 for Europe to meet its goals.

The Energy Efficiency Industrial Forum (EEIF), which includes organisations like the European Copper Institute, the European Lamp Companies Federation and the European Federation of Intelligent Energy Efficiency Services, called for an ambitious building strategy concentrating on the refurbishment of existing buildings, coupled with a financing strategy for very low-energy buildings.

"Policymakers need, as a priority, to direct a higher proportion of EU funds directly to energy efficiency, for example via the EU recovery plan, ETS revenue spend, structural funds and other routes," the companies said. They urged the Commission to identify new proposals to "bridge the gap between large grants as provided via the structural funds and EIB [European Investment Bank] loans and the small investments typically required in many energy efficiency projects".

A coalition of energy efficiency industries and NGOs, including EuroACE, Cogen Europe, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and others, regretted in a letter to EU leaders the lack of commitment to energy efficiency in the 'Europe 2020' strategy for growth.

"Even taking into account the economic recession and policies adopted since the 2006 Energy Efficiency Action Plan (EEAP), a three-fold increase in policy impact will be needed to achieve the 20% target," they wrote. The coming months will present "a narrow window of opportunity," they argued.

"The forthcoming Energy Action Plan and review of the 2006 EEAP must set out the framework and new legislation to ensure that the savings gap is closed," the coalition stressed. It called for targeted efficiency policies and binding targets.

The Energy Efficiency Action Plan Taskforce of the European Construction Sector, which includes business associations like the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), NGOs like the European Climate Foundation, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), argues that binding renovation targets are needed to encourage the roll-out of large scale, systematic and quality-controlled renovation programmes.

"Such targets need to be well formulated, related to a common understanding of the level of improved performance needed, connected to financing and incentive systems and be fully co-ordinated. They also need to be supported by effective energy performance certificate schemes that allow investors and fiscal authorities to make a fair appraisal of the energy performance and savings potential of a building," the experts said.

They estimated that the 2020 target should be set at 50 million buildings to undergo major energy renovation, which should be defined so that it can be tied to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Veolia Environnement argued that the revision of the action plan is an opportunity to identify and overcome barriers to efficient implementation of measures in priority areas such as co-generation, district heating and buildings.

Efficiency in the non-emissions trading sectors "will only be pursued if it is economical," the company said. "The energy efficiency framework needs to be transparent over time with clear objectives and targets, economically attractive and visible," it added, pointing out that it would have to be adapted to the high number of small projects that characterise the building sector.

Veolia therefore called on the EU to promote the use of products adapted to financing small projects while also encouraging the financing of "highly visible demonstration projects," particularly in public transport and thermal energy.

European environmental NGOs urged the European Commission to set a binding energy-efficiency target with an absolute cap on the energy consumption of each member state by 2020. In a letter to Commission President José Manuel Barroso, CAN-Europe, the EEB, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Europe and WWF wrote that the binding target should be accompanied by harmonised provisions on measuring, reporting and complying with it.

They stressed the importance of including in the action plan measures on the coherent use of taxation to discourage the use of energy wasteful products. This should be complemented by reduced VAT for energy saving goods and services, they added. "A clear proposal from the Commission on this topic is instrumental in driving the debate at European level and should not be disregarded," the NGOs said.

Dates clés

• Oct. 2006: Commission presents Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. 
• 10 Jan. 2007: Commission's 'energy and climate change package' identifies energy efficiency as a priority (EurActiv 11/01/07). 
• 30 June 2007: EU member states begin to submit national energy efficiency action plans to Commission. 
• Oct. 2009: EU agrees on tyre efficiency labelling (EurActiv 02/10/09). 
• 17 Nov. 2009: EU reaches compromise on Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EurActiv 18/11/09) and Energy Label (EurActiv 19/11/09). 
• 6-7 Sept. 2010: Informal meeting of EU energy ministers to debate energy efficiency. 
• Early 2011: Commission to present new Energy Efficiency Action Plan.

Liens externes

EU official documents

• Eur-Lex:Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Realising the Potential(19 October 2006) [FR] [FR] [DE]
• Eur-Lex:Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings(19 May 2010) [FR] [FR] [DE]
• Eur-Lex:Directive 2006/32/EC on energy end-use efficiency and energy services(5 April 2006) [FR] [FR] [DE]
• Eur-Lex:Directive 2010/30/EU on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products(19 May 2010) [FR] [FR] [DE]

European Union

• European Commission:End-use Efficiency & Energy Services
• European Commission:Evaluation and revision of the action plan for energy efficiency: Report on the public consultation June-August 2009(August 2009)

International Organisations

• International Energy Agency (IEA):Energy efficiency

Business & Industry

• Energy Efficiency Industrial Forum (EEIF):Contribution to the consultation on Energy Efficiency Action Plan 2006(3 August 2009)
• EuroACE:EU energy saving target key to achieving the new Europe 2020 objectives(18 June 2010)
• Veolia:Revision of the 2006 energy efficiency action plan: Veolia's perspective(25 September 2010)
• Energy Efficiency Action Plan Task Force of the Construction Sector:The Fundamental Importance of Buildings in Future EU Energy Saving Policies(12 July 2010)
• International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) (press release):Making energy efficiency in buildings a priority should not create unnecessary burdens for private building owners(9 September 2010)
• Energy Efficiency Industrial Forum:5Cs for Energy Efficiency: The cornerstone of a viable energy policy for Europe(June 2010)
• COGEN Europe:Position Paper on the Energy Efficiency Directive

NGOs and Think-Tanks

• CAN-Europe, WWF, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Friends of the Earth Europe and Greenpeace:Letter to Commission President: Revision of the EU’s Energy Efficiency Action Plan(29 October 2009)
• WWF:Energy efficiency
• Greenpeace:Energy efficiency
• European Climate Foundation:'Energy Savings 2020' report and related papers(September 2010)

Think tanks & Academia

• Pew Center on Global Climate Change:Corporate Energy Efficiency Project