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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)312
Vol.1979/0119

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)312 final
Brussels,21stJune1979
.vi,Ji
NEWLINESOFACTIONBYTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITYj
INTHEFIELDOFENERGYSAVING }
(Communication bytheCommissiontotheCouncil)
CO*'7°)312final

NEW LINES OFACTION BYTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
INTHE FIELD OFENERGY SAVING
(Communication bythe Commission tothe Council )
1)Thepresent difficulties inoil supply require efforts tolimit oil con­
sumption which ,although partly based oncutting waste ,must also appeal
toaspirit ofsacrifice andgood citizenship .Assuch ,many ofthemea­
sures adopted todeal with thepresent situation arebytheir nature ofa
temporary character .High priority should therefore also begiven to
strengthening themedium and long term energy saving policy .
?) Inits "Third Report ontheCommunity 'sprogramme for Energy Saving "(*),
the Commission examines theprogress made sofar,both atMember States and
atCommunity level ,analyzes theprincipal issues for theenergy saving poli­
cyinthenext fewyears ,and indicates new lines ofaction (**). ACouncil
Resolution concerning theprogramme ofaction bythe European Community in
the field ofenergy saving isproposed for those lines ofaction where anen­
dorsement oftheCommission 'sintentions bytheCouncil isrequired forfurther
progress tobemade .
3)TheCommunity asawhole hasalready made good progress •since 1974 ,compared
with other industrialized countries .Asaresult ofhigher prices andofthe
Member States' programmes already inforce itisestimated that ,in1977 ,
savings ofsome 80Miotoe (about 8%ofenergy requirements )hadbeen achie­
ved .However ,toreach theobjectives established for1985 ,further annual
savings ofatleast 1%ofenergy .requirements should beachieved each year
inthenext 6years onapermanent basis .
4)Theenergy saving potential oftheEuropean economy isconsiderable .Analysis
based oncautious assumptions about technology andresponsiveness tohigher
prices indicates that energy conservation could well become thesingle most
important contributor ,other than oil,totheenergy balance oftheCommunity
bytheturn ofthecentury .However ,thefull implementation ofthis poten­
tial implies : ...
(*) COM (79)313
(**) Energy saving policies areplaced inthecontext ofthegeneral energy
policy objectives intheseparate paper onCommunity energy policy objectives
for 1990 .-COM (79)316

a)changes inconsumers behaviour andpreferences ;
b)anaccelerated market penetration ofenergy saving technologies in
tneindustrial ,domestic andtransport sectors .Inthis sense energy
conservation will belargely the result ofasustained effort ofin­
vestment tomodernize andreplace ourequipment andbuildings .
Energy conservation ,asamedium term goal ,should therefore not beseen
asafactor that will make usless prosperous .Quite thecontrary ,if
applied successfully ,itshould provide animportant stimulus tothe de­
velopment ofnew industries ,products andservices ,and hence jobs .
Itmay indeed make thedifference between abalance ofsupply and demand
forenergy achieved attheprice oflowgrowth andsocial tensions ,and
abalance compatible with sustained growth .
Governments have akey role toplay increating the right economic ,social
andpolitical environment .
a)Pricing policies should beadjusted togive proper weight toenergy
conservation andplay anappropriate steering role forthenecessary
adaptation oftheeconomy .Measures that could make theevolution of
energy prices fordomestic consumers diverge from ti.e long term trend
ofthe cost ofsupply should therefore beavoided .
b)Asustained level ofpublic financial support forenergy saving invest­
ments ,particularly forbuildings andindustry ,will remain necessary
topromote investments that arecost-effective from thepoint ofview
oftheeconomy asawhole andtoovercome psychological orfinancial
difficulties onthepart ofindividual investors .
c;Legislative actions arenecessary insome cases ,particularly inbuildings
butwith dueregard totheir social andindustrial implications .
d) Information andeducation efforts should include education inschools ,
professional training related toenergy saving techniques ,aswell as
general information forthe consumers .
Theimplementation ofenerqy saving policies isprimarily theresponsibility
oftheMember States .Howeve .theirpolicies should beseen tobe
converging towardsa common obje;ive .Theprogress made towards theachieve­
ment oftheobjectives previously setfor1985 justifies determining nowa

new ,longer-term objective for1990 .Thus theresolution proposes an
objective for1990 which isgradually toreduce theratio "between economic
growth andthegrowth inenergy requirements progressively "below 0.7by1990 *
This target will beachieved only ontwoconditions :
a)That comparable efforts aremade byallMember States .Acollective
commitment should therefore bemade bytheCouncil ofMinisters to
implement ,by1980 ,inallMember States ,energy saving programmes
including appropriate pricing practices ,adapted tothevarious national
situations ,butcomparable intheir effects .
b)That policies areimplemented inaflexible wayinorder totake quick
advantage ofthedeveloping knowledge ofbest practice andthe lessons
ofexperience .All programmes ,including those ofMember States that
have made thegreatest efforts arereally ofanexperimental nature .
Adetailed comparison andmonitoring ofresults atthe level ofthe
Community canbeofsignificant help inthedevelopment and implementa­
tion ofnational programmes .
Twonew lines ofaction attheCommunity level are proposed intheresolu­
tion ,toavoid potential conflicts between Member States' measures ,and
with Community objectives such asthefree circulation ofgoods and services .
a)Taking into account theimportance oftheautomobile industry inthe
context ofEuropean economy ,and theneed todevelop aneffective
approach toenergy conservation inthis important sector ,public
authorities should negotiate atthelevel oftheCommunity with European
carmanufacturers ,onthebasis ofdiscussions already under wayinsome
Member States ,thefixing ofvoluntary indicative targets forthe
reduction offuel consumption bymotor cars and light vans .TheCom­
mission will make anyproposals eventually thougtt necessary concerning
ways tofavour theachievement ofthese objectives ,and tofollow their
implementation .
b)Standards related toenergy consumption areauseful tool forenergy
saving policies andanimportant reference forpurchasers andconsumers .
The work ofinternational bodies concerned with thetechnical specifica­
tion ofstandards related toenergy consumption should therefore be
accelerated through ajoint effort oftheCommission andtheMember States .
TheCouncil isinvited totake note ofthereport bytheCommission
(COM (79)313)andtoapprove theattached resolution .

PROPOSAL FOR ACOUNCIL RESOLUTION
concerning new lines ofaction bythe
European Community inthefield ofenergy saving
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having taken note oftheCommunication totheCouncil entitled "Third
Report ontheCommunity 'sprogramme forenergy saving ".
Considering theCouncil 'sresolution of17December 1974 concerning the
fixing ofobjectives for1985 forCommunity energy policy andconcerning
aCommunity action programme fortherational useofenergy ;considering
theconclusions ofthemeetings oftheHeads ofState and ofGovernment
oftheEuropean Community on6and 7July 1978 andon12and 13March 1979 ,
which have reaffirmed theobjectives fortherational use ofenergy for
1985 »andhave enlarged upon them ;
Considering theneed todetermine objectives for 1990 for theCommunity
tosave energy ;
Considering that theMember States and theCommunity asawhole have in
general made good progress towards achieving theobjectives setfor 198j >;
Considering ,however ,that every Member State should contribute tothe
achievement oftheCommunity 'sobjectives bytheadoption ofcomparable
programmes forsaving energy ,with dueregard toMember States *individual
circumstances ;
Considering that co-ordination ofMember States' programmes ,andwhere
necessary ,specific actions ataCommunity level ,cancontribute tobetter
results ,inconformity with theTreaties ;
1.Ao-proves theobjective ofreducing theratio between therate
ofgrowth ingross primary energy consumption andtherate of
growth ingross national product progressively below 0.7by1990

Agrees that Member States shall adopt by1980 energy saving
programmes with comparable effects ,including appropriate energy .
pricing practices ,based ontheguidelines attached tothe
present resolution ,butadapted tospecific internal priorities
and conditions ofthe Member States .
Agrees that ,
3.1 .Voluntary indicative targets forthefuel consumption of
motor cars and light vans should beestablished atCom­
munity level inco-operation with theautomobile industry .
TheCouncil invites theCommission tomake thenecessary
contacts with the industry ,taking into account discussions
already undertaken insome Member States ,with aview to
obtaining thecommitments enabling theachievement ofthese
objectives ,and topresent toitareport assoon aspossible .
The Council invites the Commission toaccelerate the
completion oftheremaining technical work todevelop a
standard method ofmeasuring fuel consumption byvehicles ,
which takes proper account ofthe structure oftheEuropean
market ,with aview totherapid approval ofsuch astandard
method bytheCouncil .
3.2 .Efforts .should befl^.de toaccelerate the work ofthe inter­
national bodies concerned with thetechnical specification
ofinternational standards formeasuring energy consumption ,
especially those related totheperformance ofheat genera­
tors and domestic appliances .
Invites theCommission tocontinue toreport ontheprogress made
towards achieving theCommunity 'sobjectives forsaving energy ,
having regard tothis present resolution andtothe "Third Report
ontheCommunity 'sprogrammes forenergy saving ".

/'
//Anne .
' /
Outline ofabasic p^gramme forsaving energy ,
recommended toevery Member State oftheEuropean Community
/
Energy pricing practices
/
Energy pricing prac ticqs,shouJJ .reflect thefollowing principles :
/
/ -•
/ y
(i)Taxes onenergy shov/dbemaintained oreven increased toreflect
thesoav^ity ofenergy asafactor ofproduction .
/
/
(ii)Energy prices should belinked tothelong runcosts ofreplacing
anddeveloping energy resources .
(iii)Energy prices inthemarket should besubject tothegreatest possible
degree oftransparency .Publicity about energy prices ,and the <;ont&
and consumption ofequipment using energy should bedeveloped aswidely
aspossible .
B.Specific measures toencourage the rational use ofenergy
1•Energy saving inthehome '
-Asubstantial upward revision -inmandatory thermal performance
requirements fornewbuildings andheating systems ;
-Regulations toensure individual metering andbilling andcontrol
ofheating systems inmulti-occupied buildings ;
-Performance standards andcontrol ofservicing ofheating systems ;
-Publicity campaigns andadvice centres forenergy saving inthehome ;
-Financial aids forretrofitting asnecessary existing houses ,an
exemplary programme fordwellings inpublic ownership ;
-Labelling toindicate theenergy consumption ofdomestic appliances .
^•Ifaer-TV saving inindustry
-Requirements forenergy audits ,especially inindustries cons\uni ng
large volumes ofenergy ;
i»/•»

-2-
-Financial aids foradvice and expertise for small and r.edium-sized
businesses ,publicity campaigns ;
-Financial aids ,taxcredits tosupport investment tosave energy ;
~Financial aidD topromote thecommercialization ofnewtechnologies ,
equipment ,designs forenergy saving (demonstration projects ).
3.Energy saving inoffices ,commerce
-Anexemplary public sector programme ;
-Mandatory building codes fornew offices ; \i
-Performance standards andcontrol ofservicing ofheating ,cooling
and ventilation systems .
4.Energy saving intransport
-Information and publicity campaigns ;
–Implementing standard tests oftheefficiency offuel use ,and
publicity ;
-Discussions with industry onvoluntary targets for theefficiency of
fuel use ofnew cars .
5.Energy nroduction
-Measures toencourage therational production anduse ofheat anapower .
6.Information and education
-Sustained programmes ofpublicity about energy saving ;
-Educational programmes inschools ,technical colleges anduniversities
and forprofessional retraining .
7.Sustained efforts inresearch ,development and demonstration