Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Energy saving is key to combating climate change and reducing the EU's energy dependence. Under the heading Find out what members of the European Parliament are doing to reduce consumption. The European Parliament website published in a tweet on Twitter on Sunday to mention this file and said in the details, "Energy efficiency means using less energy to produce the same result. It allows energy savings and reducing emissions from power plants. Energy efficiency laws are being reviewed as of 2018 to help the union It will also contribute to reducing Europe's dependence on fossil fuel imports, much of which comes from Russia, as laid out in the RepowerEU plan. The rules to increase renewable energy New energy efficiency targets Energy efficiency improvements could reduce not only carbon dioxide emissions, but also the EU's annual €330 billion bill for energy imports That's why EU lawmakers are working to update the energy efficiency target by 32.5% for 2030, agreed in the Energy Efficiency Directive 2018. The new targets, endorsed by Parliament in September 2022, are to reduce at least 40% in final energy consumption and 42.5% in primary energy consumption. Final energy consumption refers to the energy used by final consumers (eg electricity consumption by households), while primary energy consumption represents the total energy demand within a country (eg fuel burned to produce electricity). Reducing the energy consumption of buildings Buildings in the European Union are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. One important area for improvement is building heating and cooling and hot water which accounts for 80% of household energy consumption. The European Commission proposed an update to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in 2021. In March 2023, Parliament backed plans for a climate-neutral building sector by 2050. The rules for increasing European building performance include measures to help reduce energy bills and energy poverty, especially among women and increase healthy indoor environments . All new buildings must be emission-free from 2028. The deadline for new buildings occupied, occupied or owned by public authorities is 2026. Making EU buildings more energy efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels, by investing in renovation will allow Reducing the final energy consumption of buildings and reducing emissions in the sector by 2030. The renewal wave strategy proposed by the commission in 2020 aims to at least double the annual energy renewal of buildings by 2030, promote renovations in more than 35 million buildings and create up to 160,000 jobs in the sector Building. Buildings must have energy performance of less than D on a scale of best to worst energy performance (A to G), residential buildings must be upgraded to D by 2033 with a deadline of 2030 for non-residential and public buildings. This can be done by insulation or enhanced heating systems. Buildings to produce their own solar energy The retrofit will also make it obligatory for EU countries to ensure that new buildings have solar energy technologies by 2028, when this is technically and economically feasible. For residential buildings, the deadline should be 2032. In December 2022, Parliament endorsed proposals to make it mandatory for EU countries to ensure that permits to install solar equipment on buildings are delivered within one month. Measures to help lower energy bills Inefficient buildings are often linked to energy poverty and social problems. Vulnerable households tend to spend proportionately more on energy, so they are more vulnerable to higher prices. Renovations can help reduce energy bills and contribute to lifting people out of energy poverty, but because construction is so expensive, Parliament wants to ensure that the impact of these costs is limited to vulnerable families. The new rules for energy performance in buildings, include proposals for national renovation plans that would provide access to financing for vulnerable households. Monuments are excluded from the rules on energy performance in buildings and states can extend the exemption to other buildings (architectural, historic and places of worship). Publicly owned social housing may also be excluded as renovations may result in rent increases greater than energy bill savings. Funding national efforts to tackle energy dependence In December 2022, parliament negotiators reached an interim agreement with EU countries that requires countries to receive additional money through updated recovery and resilience plans, to include measures to save energy, produce clean energy and diversify supplies. The goal of these national recovery plans is to support independence from Russian fossil fuels and the green transition. Other measures would encourage: investment to address energy poverty for vulnerable households, small and medium enterprises, and microenterprises more member state funds for cross-border and multi-country energy projects This interim agreement still needs formal approval by Parliament and the Council to enter into force.