MEPs go on warpath over energy efficiency days before COP21

(EurActiv, 25 Nov 2015) MEPs have stepped up pressure on the European Commission over its decision to effectively cap any increase to the EU’s 2030 energy efficiency targets, just days before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) begins.

The COP21 opens in Paris in less than a week (30 November) and aims to secure a worldwide agreement to limit global warming to two degrees above pre-industrial levels. The EU's 2030 climate and energy targets, which include efficiency, are the basis of its negotiating position and are a central plank of the bloc’s fight against climate change.

But Commission research and analysis on the impact of different energy efficiency targets risked being weak and unambitious, warned a cross-party group of 13 MEPs yesterday (24 November).

Research to underpin revisions to the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which will put the 2030 goal into EU law, will only analyse up to a maximum increase of 33% to the target, EurActiv revealed last week.

External link

EurActiv, 25 Nov 2015: MEPs go on warpath over energy efficiency days before COP21