Decision No 647/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2000 adopting a multiannual programme for the promotion of energy efficiency (SAVE) (1998 to 2002)

Decision No 647/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 28 February 2000
adopting a multiannual programme for the promotion of energy efficiency (SAVE) (1998 to 2002)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3), and in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 9 December 1999,
Whereas:
(1) Article 174 of the Treaty provides that one of the objectives of Community action is to ensure a prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources.
(2) At its meeting on 29 October 1990 the Council set an objective of stabilising total CO2 emissions by the year 2000 at the 1990 level in the Community as a whole.
(3) The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change contains further commitments for the Community and its Member States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(4) To achieve significant reductions in Community CO2 emissions further efforts will have to be made, particularly since CO2 emissions due to energy consumption are expected to increase by about 3 % between 1995 and 2000, assuming normal economic growth; therefore, additional measures are indispensable.
(5) Council Decision 93/389/EEC(4) established a monitoring mechanism of Community CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.
(6) The Commission, in its communication of 8 February 1990 on energy and the environment, highlighted energy efficiency as the cornerstone of future efforts to reduce the negative impact of energy on the environment. The communication of the Commission of 29 April 1998 on "Energy efficiency in the European Community - Towards a strategy for the rational use of energy" underlined the economic potential for energy efficiency with the aim of refocusing attention on promoting energy efficiency,
(7) Improvement in the management of energy, above all enabling the extensive potential for reduction of energy intensity to be exploited, is urgently needed in order to contribute to the protection of the environment, to a better security of energy supply and to sustainable development.
(8) The Commission has communicated to the European Parliament and the Council, by means of the Green Paper of 11 January 1995 and the White Paper of 13 December 1995, its views on the future of energy policy in the Community, and the role of energy-saving and energy efficiency measures.
(9) Article 158 of the Treaty provides that the Community is to develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion, and that it should, in particular, reduce disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least-favoured regions; those actions cover, inter alia, the energy sector.
(10) By Decision 91/565/EEC(5) and Decision 96/737/EC(6), the Council adopted a Community energy efficiency programme (SAVE) aimed at strengthening energy efficiency infrastructures within the Community.
(11) The SAVE programme is an important and necessary instrument for promoting increased energy efficiency.
(12) Provision should therefore be made within the multiannual framework programme for actions in the energy sector (1998 to 2002) adopted by Council Decision 1999/21/EC, Euratom(7) for a specific programme for the encouragement of rational and efficient use of energy resources; this specific programme would replace the corresponding instrument currently in force.
(13) The Community recognised the SAVE programme as an important element of the Community's CO2 reduction strategy. The communication of the Commission of 8 May 1991 on the European Community's energy programming activities at regional level, the conclusion of the Council on this communication, and the Resolution of the European Parliament of 16 July 1993(8) stated that those activities should be pursued, amplified and utilised as a support for the energy strategy of the Community; this initiative for regional actions should now be totally incorporated.
(14) In implementing Decision No 182/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 December 1998 concerning the fifth framework programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (1998 to 2002)(9), Council Decision 1999/170/EC of 25 January 1999 adopting a specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration on energy, environment and sustainable development (1998 to 2002)(10) devotes particular attention to efficient and renewable energy technologies; the SAVE programme represents a policy instrument which complements that programme.
(15) The SAVE programme aims at improving energy intensity of final consumption by a further one percentage point per annum over that which would have been otherwise attained.
(16) At its meeting on 15 and 16 December 1994 the Council stated that the target of stabilising CO2 emissions can only be achieved by a coordinated package of measures to improve energy efficiency and the rational use of energy which are based on supply and demand at all levels of energy production, conversion, transport and consumption and to exploit renewable energies, and that local energy management programmes are amongst these measures;
(17) In its Resolution of 10 October 1999 on the Commission's Green Paper on energy policy(11), the European Parliament called for the formulation of objectives and a common programme for energy efficiency and savings compatible with the objectives concerning the emissions of greenhouse gases as agreed in Rio de Janeiro (1992), Berlin (1995) and subsequently in Kyoto (1997), called for a SAVE II programme endowed with considerably more resources than the SAVE I programme and requested that the Commission clarify the role which it intends to play in energy savings and efficiency by creating practical projects.
(18) Improved energy efficiency will have a positive impact on both the environment and the security of energy supplies which are global in nature; a high level of international cooperation is needed to produce the most positive results.
(19) Between 180 and 200 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided by the year 2000 by an improvement of 5 % in the energy intensity of final demand additional to the conventional expectations; such figures could be increased by a more efficient and rational use of energy sources.
(20) It is politically and economically desirable to open the programme to the associated central and eastern European countries, in accordance with the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council of 21 and 22 June 1993 and confirmed by subsequent European Councils, and as outlined in the Commission communication on that subject in May 1994, and also to Cyprus.
(21) In order to ensure that Community aid is used efficiently and duplication of work avoided, the Commission will ensure that projects are subject to thorough prior appraisal; it will systematically monitor and evaluate the progress and results of supported projects and of complementary activities in the field of renewable energy sources.
(22) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(12);
(23) This Decision lays down for the entire duration of the programme, a financial framework constituting the principal point of reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 May 1999(13), on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure, for the budgetary authority during the budgetary procedure.
(24) This Decision replaces Council Decision 96/737/EC which should accordingly be repealed,