22 September 2017, Madrid: Yesterday a delegation of top executives representing some of the largest European companies operating in the energy efficiency sector met Daniel Navia Simón, the Spanish Secretary of State for Energy, to discuss the position of Spain on the current review of major EU energy efficiency directives.

The meeting coincides with the publication on 19 September of an updated guidance note on Accounting Rules of Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) for public authorities. As requested also by the Spanish Ministry of Energy, the note makes it easier to classify off balance sheet the investment using the operating lease or the buy and leaseback models. Eurostat is here with answering the call by stakeholders and Member States for facilitated investment in efficiency projects that deliver multiple benefits.

In May 2017, when the Energy Council was still shaping its position on the revisions of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the Energy Ministers from Spain, France, Italy and Portugal sent a joint letter to the European Commission to request more flexibility to facilitate investment in energy efficiency.

Ahead of the meeting, Monica Frassoni, EU-ASE President, said: “ With the revision of Accounting Rules the Commission sent a strong signal to the business and investor community. It proved that is serious about lifting structural barriers to energy efficiency investments. We believe this positive outcome will have an impact on the Energy Council and will help to improve its position during trilogue negotiations on energy efficiency files. Energy efficiency is a job and sustainable growth opportunity, notably for Spain and other Mediterranean countries. We are convinced that with this recent positive news Spain will now have a real interest in supporting an ambitious EU legislation on energy efficiency”.

While meeting EU-ASE representatives, Daniel Navia Simón, the Spanish Secretary of State for Energy, said: “ Energy efficiency is a key drive of the Spanish Government energy policy due to its benefits from the energy and economic point of view. The update of the Accounting Rules is a recognition of the commitment of Spain in this regard and will make it possible to speed up public investment in energy efficiency even further, to create new jobs and to promote R&D”.

On behalf of EU-ASE delegation in Madrid, Patrick J. Gaonach, Zone President Iberia, Schneider Electric, affirmed: “ The existing Spanish building stock has an untapped energy efficiency potential of + 80%, that can easily be reached thanks to existing cost-effective digital technologies, while creating jobs in a sector that has greatly suffered from the crisis. Spanish engineers, EPCs, Installers, Integrators are among the most qualified in the world and can lead the decarbonization of Spain and export their knowledge. The revision of the EPBD directive and the new accounting rules are now giving Spain a golden opportunity that should not be missed”.

After the General Approach reached by the Maltese EU Presidency on EU energy efficiency directives under revision, the file will be back on the table of the Energy Council during trilogue negotiations with the Commission and European Parliament later this year.

A final agreement is expected by early 2018.

 12 September 2017, Strasbourg, European Parliament: Today senior business representatives from Italian multinational energy supplier ENEL and the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) – a cross-sectorial organization of companies providing energy efficient technologies and services – presented to Member of the European Parliament (MEPs) their “Common Views” on energy efficiency. They outlined that buildings and transport have the highest cost-effective energy savings potential in the EU, respectively 61% and 41%.

The exploitation of synergies between buildings, transport and the electricity system as well as the integration of efficient technologies and services through the smart grids and the development of smart cities represent business opportunities that Europe should not miss.

Simona Bonafé (S&D, Italy) welcomed this constructive holistic approach by key business players and said: “Energy efficiency is one of the greatest tools for boosting economic growth, creating qualified jobs and safeguarding a sustainable environment. In the building and transport sector, there is a huge potential for innovation and investments. We must move forward with ambitious legislation to give a clear message to all stakeholders”.

In his introductory speech, Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs, Philips Lighting and Chairman of EUASE Board of Directors, said: “Additional measures must be taken in the framework of the EED/EPBD revisions to speed up building renovation and increase the current EU annual renovation rate to at least 3%. Renovation strategies should be developed within each specific national energy context by planning in terms of districts and entire energy systems, rather than focusing only on individual buildings to reap the full potential of high-efficiency energy supply solutions and maximize the energy saving potential of the entire energy chain”.

On behalf of ENEL, Nicola Melchiotti, Head of European Public Affairs and Regulation, added: “To make the entire system more efficient we need smart homes, smart buildings and smart cities. Buildings and transport show a great potential for energy efficiency and electrification is the answer: the more we electrify, the less energy we use. In the transport sector electric engines are 5 times more efficient than traditional ones and they can help solve other pressing problems, like the air pollution in our cities. We need to capture this opportunity”.

 Strasburgo, Parlamento Europeo, 12 settembre 2017: Oggi rappresentanti di ENEL e della European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) – un’organizzazione inter-settoriale che raggruppa importanti imprese europee operanti nel campo energetico e dei servizi e associazioni come il Kyoto Club – in occasione di un evento congiunto ospitato dall‘on.Simona Bonafe, hanno, sottolineato il fatto che i settori edilizio e dei trasporti hanno il più alto potenziale di risparmio energetico nell’UE, rispettivamente del 61% e del 41%, rispetto alla situazione attuale.

Sfruttamento di sinergie tra edifici, trasporti e sistema elettrico, unitamente all’integrazione di tecnologie e servizi efficienti attraverso le “smart grids” e lo sviluppo di “smart cities”, rappresentano un’opportunità economica che l’Europa non puo’ e non deve farsi sfuggire, dato anche il contesto sempre più drammatico di instabilità climatica che ci impone di agire con urgenza, come dimostrato dagli eventi drammatici degli ulltimi giorni.

ENEL e EU-ASE hanno invitato i Membri del Parlamento Europeo (MEP), impegnati nella revisione delle direttive sull’Efficienza Energetica (EED) e sulla Performance Energetica degli Edifici (EPBD), a tenere fede al loro impegno di sostenere norme e obiettivi più ambiziosi rispetto a quelli contenuti nella posizione comune del Consiglio e facilitare sicurezza e flessibilità degli investimenti e una particolare attenzione verso le aree urbane, dove i benefici ottenibili direttamente sarebbero risparmio energetico, creazione di nuovi posti di lavoro non delocalizzabili, maggiore competitività del sistema economico e tanti altri ulteriori significativi vantaggi tra i quali il miglioramento della qualità dell’aria e la conseguente diminuzione dei rischi per la salute.

Simona Bonafé, Membro del Parlamento Europeo (S&D, Italia) ha accolto favorevolmente un tale approccio costruttivo ed olistico ed ha affermato: “L’efficienza energetica è uno dei più grandi strumenti disponibili per stimolare la crescita economica, la creazione di posti di lavoro qualificati e la salvaguardia dell’ambiente. Nei settori dell’edilizia e dei trasporti c’è un alto potenziale per l’innovazione e gli investimenti. Dobbiamo perseguire una legislazione ambiziosa per lanciare un chiaro messaggio a tutti gli stakeholders”.

Nel suo discorso introduttivo, Monica Frassoni, Presidente di EU-ASE, ha detto: “Devono essere prese delle misure aggiuntive nell’ambito del processo di revisione delle direttive EED e EPBD per accelerare la riqualificazione degli edifici ed incrementare l’attuale tasso di efficientamento energetico annuo nell’UE ad almeno il 3%. Le strategie di rinnovamento devono essere sviluppate tenendo conto dei singoli contesti energetici nazionali, e prevedere una pianificazione in termini di distretti e sistemi energetici nel loro complesso, piuttosto che concentrarsi unicamente sui singoli edifici, così da poter sfruttare appieno il potenziale di risparmio energetico esistente”.

Per conto di ENEL, Nicola Melchiotti, Head of European Public Affairs and Regulation, intervenendo al dibattito ha aggiunto: “Per rendere l’intero sistema più efficiente abbiamo bisogno di edifici e città intelligenti. Edifici e trasporti hanno un grande potenziale per l’efficienza energetica e la chiave è l’elettrificazione: più elettrifichiamo, meno energia usiamo. Nel settore dei trasporti, i motori elettrici sono cinque volte più efficienti di quelli tradizionali e possono aiutare a risolvere altri pressanti problemi, come quello dell’inquinamento dell’aria delle nostre città. Dobbiamo cogliere questa opportunità”.

Brussels, 27 June 2017 — Under the lead of the Maltese EU Presidency, yesterday Energy Ministers found an agreement (General Approach) on both the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

Leading multinational companies represented by the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) regret the weak outcome of negotiations and will continue to engage constructively with policy-makers during the next steps of the legislative procedure, aiming at improving the final agreement.

In fact, the General Approach on the EPBD does not set a clear and coherent EU 2050 pathway towards a highly efficient and decarbonized building stock and does not ensure any meaningful improvement on technical building systems.

In addition, the Council sets an unsatisfactory level of ambition for the EU 2030 target, introduces complex new provisions and splits the energy saving obligation scheme post-2020 by introducing a mid-term review in 2025. These modifications could halve the annual savings requirement of 1.5% and do not guarantee the necessary long-term security for investments.

However, we welcome the straightforward and clear declarations made by some Member States on energy efficiency as the most cost-effective way to support the transition to a low carbon economy and a key policy to implement the Paris Agreement. Besides, it is also an effective way to create investment opportunities, growth and employment in the European Union.

Commenting on the agreement reached yesterday by the Energy Council, EU-ASE President Monica Frassoni said: “The ambition invoked by the Alliance is not only about the EU 2030 target, it is also about core provisions in both the EED and EPBD. The flexibility requested by Member States leads to the creation of loopholes in the legislation mining the overall level of ambition”.

Even Commissioner Arias Canete, commenting the evolution of Council discussions at his EUSEW opening speech on 19 June, affirmed that he “would rather be in favour of giving ourself more time, to work out a better compromise”.

Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs for Philips Lighting and Chairman of EU-ASE Board, said: “The EU is in the first phase of its clean energy revolution and the European regulatory and enabling framework should steer and accelerate this process in an effective way. A key point is the need to improve the energy performance of buildings, given that they account for 40% of Europe’s energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. Specifically, it should stimulate a doubling of the rate, an increase of the depth of building renovation and an improvement of the efficiency of the entire energy system. This will boost competitiveness, energy productivity, create local jobs, help more families move out of energy poverty and improve the quality of life for all citizens. There are strong discrepancies between public declarations made by policy-makers and the General Approach reached yesterday as this lacks the required ambition and is inconsistent with the need to implement cost-effective policies that would enable the EU to achieve its commitments to the Paris Agreement”. 

In parallel, the European Parliament is shaping its positions on the Commission’s proposals on both EED and EPBD and MEPs should achieve a final agreement by the end of the year. The new Directives post-2020, resulting from the agreement of the 3 EU institutions, are expected in 2018.

“We call the European Parliament to build on the good proposals by the Commission and further strengthen them. This is a political opportunity for MEPs to shape Directives that can have a direct impact on everyday lives, society at large and the market. They can present themselves to the 2019 electoral campaign with a concrete result for EU citizens. In the current situation, the role of the European Parliament is even more strategic”, concluded Monica Frassoni.