Presidency tells EU to cut energy use by 40%

The EU must double its ambitions for improving energy efficiency, according to a paper that is to be discussed by energy ministers on Monday (3 December).

It argues that if the EU is to meet its goals for cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by the middle of the century, then the current target of reducing energy consumption by 20% by 2020 must be increased to 40%.

The recommendation is a significantly tougher target than that proposed in the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan published by the Commission on 22 November.

The draft paper, drawn up by the Portuguese presidency of the EU and seen by European Voice, says that the share of energy supply provided by renewable sources should be increased to more than 33%, whereas the current target is 20% by 2020.

The presidency paper says that efforts should be made to achieve zero emissions in the electrical and housing sectors, and to cut emissions in the transport sector by 40%.

The Portuguese government says that these measures are needed if the EU is to reach its stated goal of cutting carbon emissions by 60-80% by 2050.

Claude Turmes, a Luxembourg Green MEP, said that the vision paper was "much more progressive" than the Commission’s SET Plan, because its priority was energy efficiency. "There are now two papers which are competing to be the documents on which the EU will work," said Turmes.

Business representatives expressed doubts about the wisdom of new targets on renewables and energy efficiency. Folker Franz, a senior adviser at BusinessEurope, the employers’ organisation, said that the EU needed to find other ways of becoming more energy efficient than targets, which he said were reminiscent of a "Soviet five-year plan". "We are very supportive of energy efficiency and think it is the key to our climate goals…but we should have other ways than setting targets," he said. He recommended better labelling and incentives for homeowners to become more energy efficient.

The paper highlights the cost of spiralling demand for energy, noting that on current trends energy demand in Europe will grow by 1% a year, which it describes as "unsustainable for Europe long before 2050". Portuguese presidency sources said that the paper went further than the Stern review in elaborating on the consequences of failing to tackle climate change.

Energy ministers will discuss the paper on the same day that UN-sponsored talks on climate change open in the Indonesian resort of Bali, with negotiations expected to concentrate on how to put in place a regime to take over from the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.

The Portuguese paper refers to the EU’s difficulties in cutting CO2 emissions: "Despite strong political commitments and the increasing pressure of public opinion, Europe has so far been unable to reduce CO2 emissions in line with its obligations." This week the Commission published its annual report measuring the progress of EU countries in meeting their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The Commission said that the ‘old’ 15 EU member states were on course to cut their emissions by 7.4% below 1990 levels by 2010, just short of the 8% target for 2012. Three countries - Denmark, Italy and Spain - are lagging behind in meeting their targets. Under Kyoto the EU15 member states are committed to reducing their collective greenhouse gas emissions in 2008-12 to 8% below base year levels.

The new member states are not included in the collective EU target under the Kyoto Protocol, but have individual commitments to reduce emissions.

The EU must double its ambitions for improving energy efficiency, according to a paper that is to be discussed by energy ministers on Monday (3 December).