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EU Parliament groups unite behind 14.5% energy savings goal for 2030

(EurActiv, 12 Jul 2022) The four largest political groups in the European Parliament have united behind proposals to raise the EU’s energy efficiency target for 2030, saying this will help ease energy prices for consumers and eliminate imports of Russian fossil fuels.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is having profound consequences on the EU’s energy and climate policies.

In May, the European Commission already proposed raising the EU’s energy efficiency target to 13% by 2030, up from the 9% figure it originally put on the table in July last year.

The plan, dubbed REPowerEU, is designed to cut imports of Russian fossil fuels by two-thirds before the end of this year and eliminate them completely “well before 2030” by diversifying gas supplies and accelerating the green transition.

Crucially, this will be the first time that energy savings become a legal obligation on EU member states, which increases the odds that the target will be met.

But as the war drags on and Russia threatens to cut supplies to Europe entirely ahead of next winter, lawmakers in the European Parliament have decided to up the ante and raise the EU’s efficiency target even further.

On Monday (11 July), the Parliament’s four largest political groups – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the centrist Renew Europe (RE) and the Greens – tabled joint amendments for the revised energy efficiency directive.

“This deal has broad political support in the European Parliament, which shows a commitment to deliver,” said Niels Fuglsang, a Danish lawmaker from the S&D group who is the Parliament’s leader on the revised directive.

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EurActiv, 12 Jul 2022: EU Parliament groups unite behind 14.5% energy savings goal for 2030