Tag: energy efficiency

The Swedish EU Presidency struck a deal on 17 November with the European Parliament on a new energy label for household appliances which will add more classes to the closed A-G format.

Europe's electricity companies have published a new report setting out a number of scenarios for shifting Europe's electricity supply towards a carbon-neutral path by 2050.

Businesses are looking to a new climate deal in Copenhagen to ensure a level playing field for industry, but in the meantime they are pledging to continue improving their energy efficiency and boosting investment in low-carbon technologies.

The EU should look into pouring a high proportion of carbon revenues into energy efficiency, but not before an institutional framework to reallocate the money efficiently is in place, Richard Cowart, director of European programmes for the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), told EurActiv in an interview.

The European Commission is calling on member states to support the rollout of technologies to boost energy efficiency, estimating that household energy bills would drop by 10% thanks to smart metering devices. However, no common standards for the devices are currently available.

All new tyres will be stamped with a label indicating fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise performance in three years' time, EU negotiators agreed yesterday (1 October).

The EU's phase-out of traditional light bulbs begins tomorrow (1 September), but the European Commission is already under pressure to change its energy-saving policy.

An extraordinary joint session of EU energy and environment ministers will this week start talks on how to achieve the Swedish Presidency's vision of a sustainable and eco-efficient economy.

The Swedish EU Presidency faces a difficult task steering through the revision of the EU's energy performance of buildings directive as member states are getting increasingly wary of the draft law's implications.

Sweden plans to step up Europe's energy-efficiency legislation as it takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency at the beginning of July.

Jobs in low-carbon sectors are already outstripping those in Europe's traditional polluting industries in Europe, but the EU is missing the boat as regards harnessing the economic crisis to kick-start the transition to a low-carbon, competitive economy, a WWF study published yesterday (16 June) shows.

The European Parliament yesterday (6 May) voted to block a move by the Commission to introduce new energy labels to subdivide the highest 'A' class for TV sets, arguing that they would mislead consumers. But they approved the new format for fridges and freezers.

Governments must include energy-efficiency requirements in building codes and offer incentives for efficiency improvements to bring on the market transformation needed to tap into the huge energy-savings potential of buildings, Constant Van Aerschot of Lafarge, who co-chairs the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Energy Performance in Buildings project, told EurActiv in an interview.

The European Parliament yesterday (23 April) called for all new buildings to produce at least as much renewable energy as they consume by 2019.

Analysing economic recovery measures in over 30 countries, experts at HSBC bank found that the US and China are putting more money into stimulating green growth. EurActiv spoke to Nick Robins, head of climate change at HSBC, in an interview.

Information and communication technologies can help curb global warming, but the sector is also coming under growing pressure from the EU to lead by example by cutting its own emissions, which are now comparable to that of the aviation sector.

"A larger, well-interconnected market receiving supplies from a variety of exporters is expected to be the best insurance" against gas delivery disruptions, writes Arno Behrens, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), in a March paper.

MEPs in the Parliament's industry committee yesterday (31 March) backed legislation that would require all new buildings in Europe to produce their own renewable energy by 2019, asking for a big push in public financing for energy-efficient buildings.

EU national experts yesterday (11 March) voted in favour of new rules for stricter energy standards for industrial motors, in the first of a string of votes on energy-using products scheduled for this month. Despite the technical nature of the topic, tens of thousands of citizens have shown considerable interest by signing a petition calling for stricter standards.

Governments need to communicate more clearly their objectives on improving the energy consumption of buildings, to give construction companies more certainty about future demand, according to a survey to be published later today.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is developing a financing facility to help cities improve their energy efficiency and buy cleaner bus fleets. An initial 15 million euro is foreseen to assist cities in developing the projects, but actual financing could reach "billions", EurActiv has learnt.

EU countries could make the most of their energy-saving potential by implementing best practices in fields like financial incentives and improving public awareness of energy efficiency, according to the results of a parliamentary project published on 26 January.

The French power transmission operator RTE and its Belgian counterpart Elia will inaugurate on 18 February a coordination centre in Brussels, in a bid to strengthen the security of electricity flows in Western Europe, EurActiv France reports.

Increasing "carbon productivity" is key to tackling the double challenge of climate change and economic recession, Jeremy Oppenheim, Eric Beinhocker and Diana Farrell, researchers at consulting firm McKinsey, write in the 15 November edition of Newsweek International.