Pacchetto legislativo “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, Direttiva Efficienza Energetica: osservazioni sulla posizione espressa dal governo italiano al Consiglio informale dei Ministri dell’energia, Malta 18/19 maggio 2017.

Egregio Ministro,

Oggetto: Pacchetto legislativo “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, Direttiva Efficienza Energetica: osservazioni sulla posizione espressa dal governo italiano al Consiglio informale dei Ministri dell’energia , Malta 18/19 maggio 2017. 

Con la presente, vorremmo esprimere la nostra preoccupazione sulla posizione assunta dall’Italia rispetto all’Art.7 della Direttiva Europea sull’Efficienza Energetica (DEE).

La European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) e’ un’associazione europea multisettoriale. Tra i membri di EU-ASE vi sono alcune rilevanti imprese multinazionali che impiegano collettivamente 340.000 persone nei 28 Stati membri dell’Unione Europea e generano un fatturato congiunto di circa €115 miliardi di Euro; ne fanno parte anche alcune importanti organizzazioni della società civile e un gruppo di deputati europei di diversa estrazione politica.

Come lei sa, questi sono mesi importanti per la definizione della politica energetica europea ed italiana. La Presidenza maltese del Consiglio dei Ministri della UE ha intenzione di decidere entro giugno la posizione comune sulla DEE e sulla direttiva sulla prestazione energetica nell’edilizia. Si tratta di due direttive veramente importanti per assicurare che la UE sia nelle condizioni di rispettare gli impegni presi a Parigi e allo stesso tempo rilanciare occupazione e attività economica. In questo contesto, ci siamo permessi di scriverLe nelle scorse settimane e il 29 maggio prossimo una delegazione composta dai dirigenti della imprese membri di EU-ASE incontrerà a Roma il Dott. Napoletano e la Dott.ssa Romano, nell’attesa di poterLa incontrare direttamente in una prossima occasione.

Al Consiglio Informale dei Ministri dell’Energia del 18 e 19 Maggio scorso, abbiamo appreso di una proposta Italiana sull’art. 7 della direttiva sull’EE, che ha lo scopo di ridurne radicalmente il livello di ambizione attuale, già modesto, portando gli obiettivi di risparmio da conseguire annualmente da parte degli utenti finali dall’1,5% all’1% dopo il 2025.

L’intenzione dichiarata è quella di evitare che un target troppo ambizioso possa mettere in pericolo la crescita economica. Ci permettiamo di osservare che, lungi da determinare un ostacolo per la crescita, una politica ambiziosa in materia di efficienza energetica può avere importanti ricadute positive in materia di occupazione e attività economica, come peraltro riconosciuto nella recente presentazione della SEN al Senato. Le disposizioni contenute nell’art.7, soprattutto se rese più complete e più facilmente applicabili, rappresentano un tassello fondamentale di un quadro normativo coerente in grado di facilitare la riduzione della dipendenza energetica italiana e stimolare investimenti privati e pubblici, in particolare nei settori dei trasporti, dell’industria e nell’ambito delle tecnologie, dei materiali e dei servizi per l’edilizia. Nel settore dell’edilizia, considerato che due terzi degli edifici esistenti sono stati costruiti prima del 1976, ovvero prima della prima legge sull’efficientamento energetico, il potenziale in termini di miglioramento della loro qualità energetica é enorme.

Insomma, rivedere gli obblighi al ribasso significa mandare un segnale negativo a investitori e consumatori e rallentare ulteriormente la necessaria azione per ridurre il consumo energetico che resta urgente anche in Italia. Infatti, benché l’intensità energetica italiana sia minore rispetto alla media comunitaria, questo dato va preso con cautela perché è riconducibile alle particolari condizioni climatiche di cui beneficia il paese e ai consumi di un parco automobilistico di cilindrata complessivamente inferiore rispetto alle altre grandi economie europee. Inoltre, i dati sull’intensità energetica negli edifici ci dicono che la situazione, tra il 2000 e il 2013, é di fatto peggiorata rispetto agli altri paesi europei.

Quindi resta ancora molto da fare; esistono ingenti risorse europee e una grande disponibilità di investimenti privati in questo settore. Per questo, abbiamo considerato importante la lettera sottoscritta dal governo italiano con la Spagna e altri paesi, volta ad ottenere una modifica nelle regole contabili del Patto di stabilità e a fare sì che spese incorse a favore dell’efficienza energetica possano stare fuori dal calcolo della spesa pubblica. Questa iniziativa è vista con favore dalla Commissione europea e dal Parlamento Europeo. Ma se si dovessero diluire gli impegni per l’attuazione di norme vincolanti, nell’ambito di una strategia di lungo periodo, sarebbe più difficile ottenere un ridefinizione virtuosa delle regole attuali.

In una situazione nella quale il Consiglio è attraversato da molte divisioni, ci preoccupa il fatto che questa proposta possa ulteriormente indebolire il quadro legislativo comune: infatti, già oggi la normativa prevede una serie di eccezioni, come ad esempio l’esclusione dei trasporti, che hanno di fatto ridotto della metà il potenziale di riduzione dei consumi energetici che avrebbe dovuto essere generato dall’Art. 7.

Egregio Ministro, alla luce di tutto ciò, la invitiamo a rivedere posizioni che indeboliscono l’impianto generale della DEE e che possano avere ricadute negative sull’economia italiana.

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European Alliance to Save Energy views on the current revisions of the Energy Efficiency and Energy Performance of Building Directives (EED and EPBD)

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE). EU-ASE is a multi-sectoral business organisation whose members have operations across the 28 Member States of the European Union, employ 340.000 people in Europe and have an aggregated annual turnover of €115 bn.

Considering the strategic relevance of the ongoing discussions on energy efficiency in the Council and the forthcoming Informal Energy Council (May 18-19), we would like to provide you with our views on the current revisions of the Energy Efficiency and Energy Performance of Building Directives (EED and EPBD).

Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to support the EU’s energy transition: 

• Energy Efficiency produces not only financial savings but also potential economic gains and represents a clear business opportunity with a high return on investment.

• In addition, it provides consumers with tangible benefits through reduced energy bills, generation of local jobs, improved air quality and comfort, strengthened energy security and higher economic productivity.

With these aspects in mind, we call for an ambitious revision of EED and EPBD in order to provide the business and financial community with a long-term regulatory framework and clear market signals for investments.

We would like to respectfully express our concern in relation to the current discussions taking place in the Council, and we hope you will take the necessary time to assess the implications of some of the changes proposed.

With regards to the EED:

• We urge you to keep the binding nature of the EU energy efficiency target and increase the level of ambition towards 40%. Far from imposing a burden on our economies, keeping the binding nature of the target is essential to create the needed certainty for investors and a common sense of direction enabling consistent investments and progress toward milestones. A 40% binding target for energy efficiency also represents the minimum effort required for the EU to remain on track with its commitment to the Paris Agreement.

• Furthermore, we would welcome greater ambition concerning art.7 of the EED. We support the need to keep an adequate level of flexibility for Members States, but we would like you to carefully consider the risks of not addressing existing loopholes and exemptions that, so far, have practically halved the annual cumulative energy savings that should have been delivered by the 1.5% national saving obligation target set by art. 7. According to recent calculations based on the Impact assessment of the Commission, keeping the 1,5% national saving obligation rate and removing loopholes and exemptions would save households 706€ per year and would reduce gas imports by 18,3%.

• We also believe that it is essential to remove the sunset clause in art. 7, to give long term certainty to investments in the energy efficiency market.

With regard to the EPBD:

• We would like to express our concerns on the consistent weakening of the Commission proposal presented in the latest compromise text of the Maltese Presidency. We would like to reiterate that increasing the rate, depth and quality of building renovations is one of the biggest challenges for the coming decades. The revision of the EPBD provides us with a unique opportunity to put existing buildings at the centre of the EU’s energy transition and to address EU and national key priorities such as job creation, economic growth, improved health and energy security.

• In light of this perspective, we urge you to consider the strategic importance of setting a clear and coherent EU 2050 pathway towards a highly efficient and decarbonized building stock. Only such a reliable long term common vision will set the right framework for designing impactful national long-term renovation strategies that will boost private investments and will incentivize financing models, such as energy performance contracting, which can reduce the need of public financial support in building renovations.

• Long-term renovation strategies should include milestones for 2030 and 2040, in order to open up markets for energy efficient technologies and solutions ranging from services enabling enhanced management of buildings to insulation—and from heating and ventilation systems to lighting and control systems. With regards to the latter, it is essential to secure meaningful improvements of the technical building systems, leveraging the potential of building automation and controls for optimised energy performance.

Dear Minister, we are putting our trust in your political vision, and we hope that this important legislative process can lead to a clearer and more impactful regulatory framework tailored to preserve the EU-industry competitive advantage in the fast-growing and innovative field of energy efficiency.

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Energy efficiency in the “Clean Energy for All” package: an economic opportunity, a societal imperative, a political commitment

To the kind attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission

Cc: College of Commissioners

Brussels, 24 November 2016

Dear President,

The business community has high expectations on the ambition of the forthcoming “Clean Energy for All” package. We attribute a strategic importance to this proposal as it will give a political signal to the business, financial and investor community, not only in Europe but at global level as well.

As the representatives of the business sector, we welcome the commitment of the Commission on the ‘Efficiency First principle. We call for this principle to be reflected in the forthcoming proposals for a “Clean Energy for All” package by the European Commission through a 40% EU binding target for energy efficiency and an ambitious revision of key legislations, notably the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Regulatory certainty is fundamental to providing the private sector with the signals they need to make investment decisions and to incentivize the market to take up of new business models and services for clean energy and energy efficiency. Models such as those presented in our recent publication “Strategic investments for Europe: Evidence from cost-effective energy efficiency stories”.

The current non-binding 27% target barely corresponds to business as usual. Europe must increase the scale and rate required to meet its Paris climate commitments and if we want to secure a cost-effective energy transition, both a binding ambition for energy efficiency and clear long-term vision are needed.

Energy efficiency is not only a business opportunity, it is a societal imperative. Increased competitiveness for European companies will go hand in hand with economic recovery and the creation of local, longterm jobs. By using energy more wisely Europe can significantly reduce the EU’s gas import dependency and reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way.

The ratification of the Paris agreement was a proud moment for the EU. The European Commission has an opportunity to embody this commitment and show leadership from the highest political level by making efficiency the pillar of the Energy Union strategy in next week’s package.

Thanks for your attention,

Harry Verhaar

Head of Global Public & Government Affairs

Philips Lighting

Alix Chambris

Director of EU public affairs

Danfoss

Didier Teirlinck

Executive Vice President

Ingersoll Rand

Gene Murtagh

CEO

Kingspan

Sian Hughes

Director of External Affairs

Knauf Insulation

Bertrand Deprez

Vice President EU Government Affairs

Schneider Electric

Roland Ullmann

Director Industry Affairs – Building Automation

Siemens

Monica Frassoni

President

European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE)

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The Energy Market Design Initiative is crucial to making or breaking the success of an Energy Union with a forward looking climate policy

Dear Vice-President Šefčovič, Commissioners Arias Cañete and Vestager

The Energy Market Design Initiative is crucial to making or breaking the success of an Energy Union with a forward looking climate policy. It can deliver on multiple EU objectives; a greater focus on consumers and innovation; putting energy efficiency first; becoming a world leader in renewables; and implementing the Paris Agreement.

If we get market design right, Europe as a whole stands to benefit:

  • Energy poverty can be cut if markets are leveraged to enable and incentivise citizensnto save energy, meaning a better deal for families;
  • Energy security and resilience can be boosted if a single energy market effectively aligns national activity with EU policy across the continent;
  • The lock-in of fossil fuel power generation can be avoided if the role of capacity mechanisms and other direct and indirect support for fossil fuels is minimised;
  • Jobs, growth and essential emissions reductions can come to Europe if the deployment of clean renewable technologies such as wind and solar is facilitated;
  • Europe’s innovative digital industries can get the information and business case they need to deliver the energy systems of the future if energy markets transparentlyreflect the full cost of delivering both energy and reliability in real-time.
  • Europe needs faster, more competitive and better connected energy markets to fully integrate the new energy technologies that are needed to drive decarbonisation. A well signalled and transparent evolution of EU energy markets is required.

Starting with the 2030 package, the EU needs markets that deliver affordable, sustainable, and secure energy by:

  • Realizing the potential of cost-effective energy efficiency and demand response as alternatives to generation through unhindered market access for consumers, enhanced access to information, and appropriate remuneration so that people andbusiness reap the benefits of consuming less energy and/or consuming energy more flexibly;
  • Introducing a sustained programme of smart retirement of surplus resources that starts with the dirtiest and least flexible power sources and leads to no coal in the EU by 2030. This is required both to decarbonise the power system and to tackle the problem of excess generation capacity;
  • Regulating and incentivising distribution system operators to act as neutral market facilitators of a more decentralised energy system that, in conjunction with the transparent setting of taxes, fees and network tariffs, strengthens the role of citizensin the production of renewable energy;
  • Balancing of supply and demand across Member States through effective interconnections, regional markets (including completing the coupling of balancingmarkets) and independent, regional system adequacy assessments.

We urge you and your fellow Commissioners to seize the opportunity to deliver an ambitious reform of EU energy markets and put the EU on a course to a brighter, cleaner future.

Yours sincerely,

CECED European committee of domestic equipment manufacturers

Paolo Falcioni, Director-General

Client Earth

Karla Hill, Director of Programmes

Co-operative Energy

Ramsay Dunning, Managing Director

E3G Third Generation Environmentalism

Nick Mabey, Chief Executive

Energy4All

Annette Heslop, Company Secretary/Director

Energy Cities

Claire Roumet, Executive Director

European Alliance to Save Energy

Monica Frassoni, President

ECOS – European Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standardisation

Laura Degallaix, Director

European Heat Pump Association

Thomas Nowak, Director

ODE Decentraal

Siward Zomer, Director

REScoop.eu – European federation of groups and cooperatives of citizens for renewable

energy

Dirk Vansintjan, President

Som Energia Renewable Energy Cooperative

Gijsbert Huijink, Manager

Tipperary Energy Agency

Paul Kenny, Chief Executive Officer

World Future Council

Stefan Schurig, Member of the Executive Board, Director Climate Energy

WWF European Policy Office

Genevieve Pons, Director

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Letter to President Juncker and VP Timmermans: Only a strengthening of both EED and EPBD at the same time will set the right EU regulatory framework

On behalf of the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU‐ASE), we are writing to express our full support for the ongoing work of the European Commission on the revision of both the EED and EPBD.

An improved revision of both EED and EPBD would: i) enable citizens and businesses to control energy expenses; ii) reduce gas import dependency; iii) facilitate innovation and competitiveness of EU enterprises; iv) support economic recovery, jobs and growth; v) reduce EU greenhouse emissions in a cost- effective way.

There is no time to waste, now is the right time to present a proposal for a revised EPBD and EED in support of the Energy Union. Only a strengthening of both Directives at the same time will set the right regulatory framework. There is a huge untapped savings potential to be ripped, we cannot afford not to act.

The political prioritization of energy efficiency through a binding EU energy efficiency target at 40% is of utmost importance. We understand that no preferred option was identified by the Impact Assessment regarding the level of the energy savings target and its nature: this means that the final decision on its ambition will be only political, but the message that will derive from this choice will have a direct impact on EU society, business community at large and the financial sector.

An ambitious target must be also accompanied by supporting policies and measures set at EU level, notably to address the untapped potential in the buildings sector. This is why we urge the Commission to revise together both the EED and EPBD.

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