The EU has agreed a new goal to cut its energy waste by a third by 2030.
Following late night talks between the European Parliament and Council of Ministers negotiators, which concluded on early Wednesday morning, the EU announced yesterday (21 June) the new target to increase its energy efficiency target to 32.5% below existing levels by the end of the next decade.
The talks followed a failure to agree an energy efficiency directive last week at the same time as other elements of the EU’s “Clean Energy for All” package.
This included the commitment that renewable energy should make up 32% of all power generation by 2030.
The European Parliament had been pushing for the energy efficiency reduction to be set at 35%.
The provisional directive also obliges EU member states to increase their energy efficiency by 0.8% every year for the period 2021-2030.
The directive is due to be endorsed by the European Parliament later this year after which member states will have 18 months to transpose it into their national legal systems, meaning that it will fall within the mooted transition period for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The agreement will be reviewed by 2023 to assess whether it should be raised due to significant cost reductions resulting from economic and technological changes.
Prime minister Theresa May pledged in a speech last month to boost UK energy efficiency by 50% by 2030.
The negotiations also included an agreement on the governance for the EU’s proposed Energy Union, which is designed to create a more robust framework for cutting emissions across the bloc in line with the Paris climate change agreement.
Reacting to the deal, Quentin Genard, senior policy advisor at E3G, said: “EU member states just got themselves a brand new rulebook. Negotiators have agreed on measures that should hold member states accountable for delivering their energy targets. But the regulation is only providing tools The real test will be in the ambition of the national 2030 plans, the long-term 2050 plans and their respective update in five years time.
“On climate, the negotiators put the emphasis on net zero by 2050 at the latest – the only benchmark compatible with the Paris Agreement. This is the next frontier, and everyone should get ready for it.”