If the EU's 2009 Eco-design Directive were to be implemented fully, the end-use energy savings by 2020 could alleviate the need for another 98 Fukushima-sized nuclear reactors, according to calculations by the European Environmental Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS).
Background
To reduce the harmful environmental impact of products from the design phase onwards, the EU adopted a Framework Directive on setting Eco-design Requirements for Energy-using Products in 2005 (see EurActiv LinksDossier).
The European Commission was mandated to define minimum energy efficiency performance requirements on a product-specific basis. But no timetable for the directive's implementation was ever laid down.
The first 19 energy-using product groups for which energy-efficiency standards were established - including heating equipment, lighting, domestic appliances and electric motors - were selected during a transitional phase after the adoption of the directive in July 2005. The Commission now says it expects implementation measures for eight priority products among these 19 to be adopted in 2011.
In July 2008, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive extending the scope of the eco-design rules to cover other energy-using products. A further 10 'product families' were identified, 17 preparatory studies were launched, and the Commission says these are expected to result in "possible regulations in 2012".
But, according to ECOS, delays in implementation that have seen just 11 of the 41 named products groups covered by the directive approved so far – with two more pending – are jeapordising the energy efficiency harvest.
The ECOS numbers were crunched by isolating the existing and potential energy end-use savings associated with each product group in the directive, measured against a baseline to 2020, as detailed in the European Commission's preparatory studies and impact assessments.
These were then compared with the aggregated total of the 5.5 TWh (TeraWatts per hour) of electricity produced each year by an average-sized 780 MW nuclear reactor, such as those used in Fukushima.
ECOS found that the implementation of the directive so far had saved around 340 TWh of end-use energy a year, the equivalent output of 62 such reactors.
But the product groups that remain to be approved would save another 540 TWh of end-use energy, the same output as 98 ordinary reactors, or 49 of the more powerful European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs)
"This is how many new nuclear plants we would not need to build, thanks to the energy savings these measures could achieve," said Edouard Toulouse, the ECOS officer who compiled the statistics.
Monica Frassoni, president of the EU Alliance to Save Energy (EUASE), described the figures as "staggering" and blamed poor implementation and monitoring of the directive for the failure to make the savings so far.
"There is a political barrier," she said, "and it is exactly the same one that we find when the Commission and member states don't want to fix binding targets for energy efficiency".
A Commission spokesperson told EurActiv that the Eco-design Directive was "a policy success story" but admitted that "there is still a lot of work to do in order to fully use [its] potential".
"The Commission is aware of this and therefore the implementation of this directive remains one of its top priorities in the energy efficiency field."
Delays
The EU's Framework Directive on Energy-Using Products was established to set mandatory environmental requirements for 41 energy-using and related products – such as boilers, fridges and washing machines – which are responsible for around 40% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions.
But in practice, only one product was approved in 2008, seven in 2009, and three in 2010.
"We saw a slowdown of the pace at which measures were implemented," Toulouse said.
"There has clearly not been enough commitment to them coming from a high level within the EU institutions."
As well as a lack of political leadership, Toulouse singled out sustained lobbying from industrial associations and a tortuously cumbersome approvals process as reasons for the delays afflicting the directive.
But a more surprising factor he pointed to was scaremongering by hostile right wing press conglomerates in countries such as the UK.
Before regulations for cheaper energy-saving light bulbs were introduced in 2009, the Daily Mail alarmingly talked about "the end of light as we know it".
"Revolt!" the paper's headline read. "Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs, millions are clearing shelves of last supplies."
Similarly, in 2010, the Daily Telegraph informed its readers that "the cleanliness of Britain's homes is being threatened by European bureaucrats who want to reduce the power of vacuum cleaners in a bid to cut energy use".
"The negative press was a surprise," Toulouse commented, "and it clearly frightened the [European] Commission, so that now they take more and more caution with each product group."
A Commission spokesperson decined to comment on such stories but told EurActiv that manufacturers were "generally supportive" of eco-design and were consulted "on an equal basis to other stakeholders".
Positions
"We still have a number of key product groups in the pipeline that have been delayed," Edouard Toulouse, eco-design officer for ECOS, told EurActiv. "Some of them have been discussed for two or three years. We want to give a sense of urgency that all these measures are really needed and can have a substantial impact on the EU's energy use. The combined measures in the Eco-design Directive can achieve half of the savings needed for the EU to meet its 2020 energy efficiency target."
The main reason for the delays so far was "a lack of political leadership in the EU institutions," he explained. "This directive is not very well known and it should be a priority. Maybe it’s not sexy enough. Currently only about seven or eight Commission staff are working in the relevant unit. That's too small to cover more than 30 product groups. There should be at least twice that number."
But equally, there was a problem with the EU's 'comitology' process. "It means that there has to be consultation with stakeholders," he said. "Then the Commission needs to run impact assessments. Then there is a vote by member states. Then there is a notification to the World Trade Organisation. Then there is a three-month scrutiny period where the [European] Parliament can eventually reject a measure and the process takes years. This is way too long, because for product groups like electronics, the market evolves very quickly."
"At the same time, the industry and manufacturers don't necessarily want to be subjected to environmental regulations because they will ban some inefficient products from the market. So sometimes they don't collaborate. They don't provide data so it's very difficult to make preliminary studies."
A spokesperson for the energy department at the European Commission told EurActiv that "eco-design implementing measures are powerful policy instruments that have a significant and direct impact on the market. Because of this and because of their very technical nature the preparatory and legislative process needs to take the time needed to provide for proper stakeholder consultation, assessment of impacts, vote of member states and control by the European Parliament".
"Additionally the implementation of the Directive needs to be closely coordinated with other legislation, notably the 2010/30/EC Energy Labelling Directive, under which four product-specific delegated acts were [sic] adopted last year," the spokesperson qualified. "The implementation process is not purely technical," it was stressed. "In May 2009 the European Parliament exercised its right to block one of the implementing measures of the Energy Labelling Directive requesting a different label layout than the one voted by Member States. As a result the process of the implementation of the two directives came to a stall for several months."
Nonetheless, "the implementation of the Directive was one of the top 5 priorities of the 2006 Energy Efficiency Action Plan," according to the spokesperson. "It is also prominent in the Energy Efficiency Plan adopted this month. Since 2006 the Commission has considerably increased the resources working on this particular policy and that brought results - implementing measures adopted so far are expected to result by 2020 in annual electricity savings of 340 TWh, i.e. more than the annual electricity consumption of all German and French households."