NoC19/134 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 25.1.93
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectivetoLimitCarbonDioxideEmissionsby
ImprovingEnergyEfficiency(proposalpresentedundertheSAVEprogramme )(l)
(93/C19/33)
On16July1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle130softheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforEnergy,NuclearQuestionsandResearch,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon30October1992.The
RapporteurwasMrFlum.
Atits301stPlenarySession(meetingof25November1992)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Preliminaryremark
1.1.On26June1992theCommissionsubmitteda
ProposalforaCouncilDirectivetolimitcarbondioxide
emissionsbyimprovingenergyefficiency (presented
undertheSAVEprogramme )(x).Aprogrammeto
improveenergyefficiencyisneededtocounterthe
wastefuluseofnaturalenergyresources,particularlyin
theindustrializedcountries(inputsideoftheeconomy),
andtomitigatethedirectandindirectdamagetothe
environmentwhichflowstherefrom (outputsideof
theeconomy).TheCommission'sDraftDirectiveis
thereforeinprinciplemostwelcomeandisastepinthe
rightdirection.3.EssentialmeasurestobetakenundertheDirective
3.1.ToachievetheCommunity'sC02stabilization
target,apackageofsevenmeasureshasbeenproposed,
inkeepingwithArticle130roftheEECTreaty,aspart
ofthepolicytoimproveenergyefficiency:
—theenergycertificationofbuildings;
—thebillingofheating,air-conditioning andhotwat­
ercostsonthebasisofactualconsumption ;
—thepromotionofthird-partyfinancingofenergy­
efficiencyinvestmentinthepublicsector;
—thethermalinsulationofnewbuildings;
—theregularinspectionofboilers;
—theregularinspectionofcars;
—energyauditsofbusinesses.
3.2.Theprogrammeexcludespowerstationswhich
arecoveredunderseparateECresearchanddemon­
strationprojects.2.RemarksonthecontentoftheDirective
2.1.Sincepricesonworldenergymarketsareinflu­
encedbyalargenumberoffactorsandsodonotreflect
anypotentialscarcityofenergyresources,themarket
mechanismfailstoperformitsfunctionsinceitis
unable,viathepriceregulator,toprovideshortor
medium-term incentivestouseenergyinalessprofli­
gatemanner.Hencetheneed.forapackageofmeasures
toimproveenergyefficiencyandreduceC02emissions
andtherebymakeasubstantialcontributiontoeasing
thepressureontheenvironment .
2.2.ThisiswherethepresentCommissionproposal
comesintoplayaspartoftheSAVEprogramme .Laun­
chedin1991,thisprogrammeisintendedtorunfor5
yearsandtoassistMemberStatesinfurtherdeveloping
andcoordinatingtheirnationalprogrammestopro­
motethemoreefficientuseofenergy.TheSAVEpro­
gramme(2)itselfisanintegralpartofotherCommunity
energy-saving measures.4.CommentsontheExplanatoryMemorandum of
thedraftDirective
4.1.InconnectionwiththeIntroduction tothe
ExplanatoryMemorandum ,wewouldaddthat
between1987(thereferenceyearfornationalenergy­
policythinking)and1991energy-relatedC02emissions
inGermanyfellbyabout9%eventhoughC02emis­
sionsstemmingfromtheuseofoilandgasroseslightly
duringthesameperiod.TheDraftDirectiveraisesthe
questionofswitchingfromonefossilfueltoanother
butfailstoaddresstheproblemsofsecurityofsupply,
theexpectedlifespanofthevariousfossilfuelsandtheHOJNoC179,16.7.1992,p.8.
(2)OJNoL307,8.11.1992.

25.1.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC19/135
possibilityoftheCO,problembeingreplacedbya
methaneproblem.Itshouldalsobepointedoutthat
overthenextfewyearsatleast,rationalization
measureswillresultinasignificantreductioninC02
emissionsfromcoal-burning .(FirstreportoftheCom­
mitteeofEnquiryonProtectionoftheEarth'sAtmos­
phere,Bundestag,Doc.12-2400of31March1992)
4.2.TheCommission'sstatementthat,accordingto
estimates,thefullimplementation oftheSAVEpro­
grammewithinthedeadlinessetmightwellreducethe
growthinC02emissionsbyabout3percentagepoints,
i.e.from12%to9%,requiressomeclarification .
4.3.ItisalsointerestingtopinpointwhatCom­
munitysavingsof3%representonaworldscale.
Accordingtothefiguresgiveninthefinalreportofthe
CommitteeofEnquiryonPrecautionary Measuresto
ProtecttheEarth'sAtmosphere,C02emissionsinthe
Community ,includingtheformerGDR,totalled3,187
milliontonnesin1986.Thisfigurerepresents15.9%of
theworld'senergy-relatedC02emissionsof20,055
milliontonnes.ECsavingsof3%thusamountto95.61
milliontonneswhichseemssubstantialbutisinfact
equivalenttonomorethan0.48%ofworldwideemis­
sions.measuresdesignedtobringaboutenergysavings,pro­
tecttheenvironmentandsafeguardthenaturalworld.
5.2.Thepresentationofproblemsandofsome
aspectsoftheDirectiveisstillincompleteandrequires
somefleshingout.Inthevariousproposalsandsugges­
tionswhichitmakesinthisOpiniontheCommittee
willbeendeavouring toensurethattheDirectiveis
transposedmoreeffectivelyintonationallaw.
5.3.TheDraftDirectiveisbasedonapackageof
sevenkeymeasureswhichMemberStateswillbe
expectedtoaccommodate intheirenergy-savingpoli­
ciesandimplementatnationallevel.Awelcomefeature
oftheDraftDirectiveisthatwhilstthecontentofthe
measureshasbeenfixedinadvance,MemberStatesare
atlibertytodecidehowthemeasureswillbe
implemented .
5.4.Muchimportantactionhasalreadybeentaken
atbothEC-levelandbytheindividualMemberStates
inrespectofthemeasuresproposedintheDraftDirec­
tive.AnumberofMemberStateshavealreadyintro­
ducedstrictlegislationonthermalinsulation,the
inspectionofboilersandtheregularinspectionofmotor
vehiclesintheinterestsofachievingoptimumenergy
consumptionandthereductionofpollutantemissions.
5.5.State-of-the-art technologyisanimportantfac­
torwhenitcomestoimplementing theproposed
measures.Thereisaneedtoensureongoingtechnologi­
calprogress.Itisalsoessentialthattheinspection
equipmentandtestingmethodsusedintheMember
Statesbecomparable .
5.6.TheCommitteewouldhavebeenpleasedifthe
experiencesof,andconclusionsdrawnfrom,the
researchanddemonstration projectsforpowerstations
hadbeenreportedintheDirective,togetherwithany
beneficialeffectsontheenvironment .4.4.TheIntergovernmental PanelonClimate
Change(IPCC)hasreachedtheconclusionthatastabil­
izationof'Greenhouse'gasconcentrations at1990lev­
elsrequiresworldwidereductionsofatleast60%in
thecaseofcarbondioxide,75-100%inthecaseoffully
halogenatedCFCs,15-20%inthecaseofmethaneand
70-80%inthecaseofdinitrogenmonoxide.Against
thisbackground ,0.48%isinsignificant .Thefigure
wouldthereforeseemtobegrosslyoutofproportionto
theassociatedmacro-economic andemploymentpolicy
costswhicharecompletelyignoredinthedraftDirec­
tive.ThedraftDirectiveishoweverpartandparcelof
anoverallplantoreduceC02emissionssoindividual
figuresshouldalsobeseenagainstthisgeneralback­
ground.
4.5.Inthecontextofimplementation ofthe
measuresitisquiterighttomentiontheprincipleof
subsidiaritywhichgovernsrelationsbetweentheEC
andtheMemberStates.Caremustthereforebetaken
toensurethatthisprincipleisenforcedtotheletter
whenaCommunityinitiativeislaunched.5.7.Intheinterestsofefficiency,theexchangeof
informationbetweenMemberStatesisveryimportant;
suchanexchangeisalreadyprovidedforintheSAVE
programme .
5.8.Internalresourcesareanessentialpartofthe
energy-supplymarket.ThefactthattheECisworking
toestablishaninternalenergymarketwillnotlessen
itsdependenceonimportsfromthirdcountries.The
introductionofnewtechnologymakesitpossible,for
example,tousefuelssuchascoalwithoutdamaging
theenvironment .Forexample,90%oftheligniteand
coal-firedpowerstationsintheFederalRepublicof
Germanyuseapprovedtechnology .Theremaining
10%aretobedecommissioned bytheendof1993.
5.9.Effortsmustbemadetoensurethatthepro­
posedpackageofmeasuresdoesnothaveanadverse5.Generalcomments
5.1.Theproposaltolimitcarbondioxideemissions
byimprovingenergyefficiencyisbyandlargewelcome
anddeservestobeapproved.Itisveryusefulinterms
ofitsspecificcontributiontoenergyandenvironmental
policies.Firstandforemost,however,itconstitutesa
furtherplankoftheCommunity'senergy-savingstrat­
egy.Itfallswithinacomprehensive rangeofECenergy

NoC19/136 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 25.1.93
effectonthecompetitiveness ofenterprises,which
meansthatthedifferentsectionsoftheproposedpro­
grammehavetobeimplementedatthesamelevelin
allMemberStates.
5.10.MemberStateshavetoprovidetheCom­
missionwithtwotypesofinformation :
—theyarerequiredtosendtheCommissionthever­
batimversionofnationallegislationadoptedin
furtheranceoftheDirective;
—theyarerequiredtosendtheCommissionatwo­
yearlyprogressreportonthemeasurestakento
implementthisparticularDirective.Properproofmustbeprovidedthatthird-partyfinan­
cinghasactuallytakenplace.Caremustalsobetaken
toensurethatcontractsareonlyawardedtogeneral
contractors(astandardpracticeinthecaseofthird­
partyfinancing)ifthecostsarelowerthantheywould
otherwisehavebeenhadthecontractbeensplitinto
separatelots,andifsmallandmedium-sizedcompanies
arenotputatadisadvantage .Inthisconnectionthe
CommitteewouldalsodrawattentiontotheDirective
ontheawardofpubliccontracts.(*)
6.4.Article5
6.4.1.Exchanginginformationonexperiencesis
essentialifMemberStatemeasurestothermallyinsulate
newbuildingsaretobeaseffectiveaspossible.Con­
siderationshouldbegiventohowtheCommission
canassisttheMemberStateswithtechnicaldataand
relevantresearch.Experiencesalreadyavailableinthe
MemberStatesshouldalsobetakenintoaccount.
6.4.2.Theresultsshouldalsobeharnessedtoachieve
greaterheatsavingsfortheentirebuildingstock.Inthe
Committee'sview,stepsshouldbetakentoensurethat
onlymaterialsfreeofhealthrisksareusedforheat
insulationpurposes.
6.5.Articles6and7
6.5.1.MemberStatesaretoensurethatregular
inspectionsofheatinginstallationsandmotorvehicles
arecarriedoutinordertooptimizeconditionsofenergy
consumptionandensureminimumemissionsofpol­
lutants.Ahighstandardofinspectionistobeachieved
inlinewiththatalreadyprevailinginanumberof
MemberStates,beitasaresultofspecificlegislation
orECstandards .
6.5.2.Ahighleveloftechnologymustbedeployed
insuchinspections;inspectionequipmentandtesting
methodsmustbecomparableandtherelevantpro­
visionsonthelimitationofemissionsmustbeobserved.
6.5.3.TheCommissionshouldlookatwhatsteps
canbetakenifMemberStatesfailtoimplementthese
guidelinesproperly.Thisalsoappliesgenerallytoall
theprovisionsoftheDirective.
6.6.Article8
6.6.1.TheCommitteewarmlyapplaudsand
endorsestheCommission'seffortstoensure,through
energyaudits,thatenergy-savingschemesarealsointro­
ducedintoindustrialundertakings .Ifsuchauditsare
tobecomparableandstandardized ,asingleaudit
frameworkshouldbeusedbyalltheMemberStates.
Energyauditsarealsoprovidedforunderthetermsof
thedraftRegulationontheCommunity'seco-audit
scheme.(2)6.SpecificcommentsonindividualArticles
6.1.Article2(Energycertificationofbuildings)
6.1.1.TheCommission'senergycertificationpro­
posalisbyandlargewelcomed.
6.1.2.Theproposedderogations (renderedas
'amendments 'inthefirstindentofArticle2ofthe
Englishversion)mustbedefinedindetailtoobviate
deliberatemisinterpretation .
6.1.3.Thegradualintroductionofenergycertifi­
cationforbuildingsownedbythepublicauthorities (at
arateofatleast5%oftheexistingstockperyear)is
unacceptable .Thepublicauthoritiesshouldbethefirst
toshowagoodexample.Theproposedspecialtreat­
mentforpublic-sectorbuildings(asopposedtoprivate
dwellingsandbusinesspremises)isalsounwarranted .
6.2.Article3
6.2.1.Ownersandtenantswillhaveadifferent
approachtoenergy-savinginvestment .Thiswillgener­
allycauseproblems.
6.2.2.Aframeworkforremovingsuchobstacles
mustthereforebecreated.Thiswouldincludefavour­
ableloanrepaymentconditionsforownersaswellas
hardshipallowancesforsociallyunderprivileged ten­
antsunabletoshouldertheburdenofinvestmentcosts
beingincorporatedintotheirrent.
6.2.3.Indeterminingenergycosts,accountshould
alsobetakenoftheconditionofeachparticular
dwelling.
6.2.4.TheCommitteepresumesthattheMember
Statesmakeallowancesforthespecificcircumstances
obtaininginindividualbuildings,aswellaspossible
exceptions .
6.3.Article4
6.3.1.Theproposed'third-partyfinancing'isan
importantstepintheimplementation ofthisDirective.(1)OJNoL297,29.10.1992.
(2)OJNoC76,27.3.1992.

25.1.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC19/137
6.7.Articles9and10
6.7.1.Wewelcomethestatementthatconclusions
fromthetwo-yearlyprogressreportswillonlybedrawn
afterconsultingtheEuropeanParliamentandtheEcon­
omicandSocialCommittee .
6.7.2.Suchaprocedurewillensurethatanyadjust­
mentstotheDirectivedictatedbyenvironmental
requirementscanbetakeningoodtime.6.7.3.TheCommitteewarmlywelcomestheCom­
mission'sproposalthatthequalifiedmajorityvoting
systembeusedwhenamendingtheDirective.
6.8.Articles11and12
6.8.1.TheDirectiveshouldbeadoptedassoonas
possibleasafurthermajorsteptowardsimprovingthe
environment .
DoneatBrussels,25November1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN