Ecological switch-on for fridges

Date: 26/06/03

By Karen Carstens

THE European Commission is drawing up new plans to make refrigerators and other devices as ecologically friendly as possible.

Loyola de Palacio, the transport and energy commissioner, said the EU executive "is preparing a proposal for a directive establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products".

In a written response to a query from British Liberal MEP Chris Davies, de Palacio said that such specific eco-design requirements "will cover in particular mandatory standards for the energy performance of products" and will cover all energy sources.

Davies earlier this month asked the Commission if it was aware of a study conducted bythe International Energy Agency (IEA).

It found that, if developed countries introduced more energy-efficient appliances, they could slash their average energy consumption by up to 30% by 2010, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

De Palacio said that the Commission was "well aware" of the study's findings, adding the draft directive would work out a methodology to determine how to set the energy efficiency requirements and would be based on a life-cycle analysis that aims to incur a minimum in additional costs to consumers. "It is the same approach that was used by the IEA for their study," the Spaniard said.

The proposal was originally due to be put forward by July, but will now probably not be presented until September at the earliest.

According to Commission sources, internal wrangling over details between de Palacio's DG Transport and Energy, tasked with drawing up the draft directive, and the enterprise directorate headed up by Commissioner Erkki Liikanen have stalled the process.

DG Enterprise officials have apparently taken issue with part of the draft document, arguing that industry should not be straitjacketed by too many strict requirements all at once.

The European Commission is working on proposals to make refrigerators and other devices as ecologically friendly as possible.