C 152/136
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.4.2022
3.2.
The EESC appreciates the achievements of the Energy Efficiency Directive.
At the same time, the Committee is well aware of the shortcomings in the EU’s collective efforts to reduce energy consumption.
3.3.
The COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the EU’s collective efforts and will certainly have further consequences in terms of meeting higher targets.
Achieving the indicative national contributions will require greater efforts by all Member States.
The EESC recommends combining instruments compatible with a well-regulated market such as taxes, excise duties and limited but tradable rights, e.g. ETS, and regulatory measures when needed.
3.4.
The EESC reiterates the observation made in its opinion on the European Climate Law (3) that the aim should be to achieve the greatest possible reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible socioeconomic cost.
The right balance needs to be struck so as to meet the EU targets at minimum total cost.
The cost-efficiency of energy-saving measures typically decreases as the volume of energy saved increases: initial measures are easy to apply, but further measures are more costly and yield a smaller result.
The proposal should strike a balance and ensure that the excessive cost is not passed on to energy consumers.
3.5.
The EESC supports incentives and tools for implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive in order to mitigate the social impacts of the proposal and help vulnerable customers and households who have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19.
The Committee therefore particularly welcomes the proposal to create a Social Climate Fund, which should provide additional financial resources for the purpose of avoiding an increase in energy poverty, and calls for compliance with the ‘just transition’ principle so as to take account of the different situations of Member States.
3.6.
The EESC calls on the European institutions to ensure synergies between initiatives under the Fit for 55 package.
In the event of substantive amendments to the package, the EESC asks the EU institutions to draft an impact assessment.
3.7.
The EESC welcomes the leading role set out in the Directive for the public sector, which should work on reducing energy consumption in services and buildings.
The EESC understands the challenge of making progress in all relevant sectors, above all transport, public buildings, ICT, spatial planning, and water and waste management.
The EESC is pleased to note that Article 6 of the Directive broadens the scope of the renovation obligation to include all public bodies at all administration levels and all aspects of their activities.
The EESC highlights that this will require sufficient financial and technical assistance as well as trained staff.
Therefore, in line with its opinion on reshaping the EU fiscal framework (4), the EESC recommends applying the ‘golden rule’ for public investment to safeguard productivity and the social and ecological base for the well-being of future generations.
The EESC encourages local and regional authorities to work together with central government and all parts of the construction sector in order to achieve synergies and eliminate unnecessary obstacles to implementation of the renovation targets.
3.8.
The EESC endorses the measures to be adopted by the public sector with a view to supporting the construction sector, in particular SMEs, and developing and implementing new technologies under the Renovation Wave Strategy.
Criteria such as cost-effectiveness and economic feasibility as well as quality and social criteria should be applied in public procurement and continue to play a role in other fields to ensure a level playing field.
3.9.
The EESC welcomes the binding nature of the new EU target and therefore recommends that indicative national targets take into account the different starting-points and specific national circumstances and emission reduction potential, including those of island Member States and islands, as well as efforts made in line with the Council conclusions of December 2020 (5).
3.10.
The EESC emphasises the close link between the drive to achieve energy efficiency and the mission and targets of NextGenerationEU, particularly the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The EESC calls for a substantial share of the 37 % of the Recovery and Resilience Facility that is ring-fenced for green projects to be allocated to energy-efficiency projects in line with the real demand and need in each Member State.
(3) (4) (5)
OJ C 364, 28.10.2020, p. 143.
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Reshaping the EU fiscal framework for a sustainable recovery and a just transition, adopted on 20.10.2021 (OJ C 105, 4.3.2022, p. 11).
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-22-2020-INIT/en/pdf.