Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) After sixteen hours of negotiations, an agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Council to increase the levels of energy savings, under the new Energy Efficiency Directive.
By 2030, EU countries should collectively ensure a reduction of energy consumption of at least 11.7% at the EU level, compared to the projections of the 2020 Reference Scenario.
Moreover, policymakers agreed on a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism which will accompany this target-setting method to make sure EU countries deliver on their national contributions to the binding EU target.
MEPs and the Council also agreed on annual energy savings by EU countries of 1.5%, on average, until 2030. The annual energy savings will begin at 1.3% in the period until the end of 2025, and will progressively reach 1.9% in the last period up to the end of 2030.
“We have agreed on a law that sets out targets for the EU to reduce energy consumption by 11.7 percent of the expected energy use from 2020 to 2030. It is a massive amount of energy, which equals about the whole of Spain’s energy consumption,” stated MEP Niels Fuglsang on Linkedin.
Public sector
As part of the provisional agreement, which will need to be endorsed by both the Parliament and the Council, the targets should be achieved through measures at local, regional, and national levels, in different sectors such as public administration, buildings, businesses, and data centers, among others.
MEPs insisted that the scheme should in particular cover the public sector, which will have to reduce its final energy consumption by 1.9% each year.
EU countries should also ensure that at least 3% of public buildings are reconverted each year into nearly-zero energy buildings or zero-emission buildings.
District heating
The agreement also establishes new requirements for efficient district heating systems. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable district heating is one of the most untapped clean heating and cooling resources. This system is said to help decarbonize households and businesses while integrating renewable energy sources and technologies.
