The Climate Leadership Coalition has sent on June 21, 2022 a letter to the EU leaders on the challenges of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive. The proposal is on the agenda of the upcoming European Council meeting.
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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin
Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson
Member of the European Parliament Niels Fuglsang
Member of the European Parliament Pernille Weiss
Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC), the Northern European climate business network, would like to draw Your attention to challenges the proposal for the Energy Efficiency Directive would create.
Energy efficiency improvements, especially those that directly reduce the use of fossil energy, are much needed and CLC fully supports them.
However, the proposal for the directive involves setting an absolute target for the maximum end use of energy as a whole within a country. In Finland, for example, the target would be to decrease the end-use of energy from the current level 301 TWh to 239 TWh by 2030. The same applies also for other European countries.
When societies transition away from fossils, direct electrification and the hydrogen economy will play an important role. P2X hydrogen solutions will drive the decarbonisation of steel, cement and fertiliser production as well as heavy-duty transport. All of these need significantly more primary energy than fossil solutions due to the low overall efficiency of P2X processes – more energy, but carbon-free energy.
The economic growth within the EU and delivering climate solutions for global markets would increase the demand for clean energy further. If the absolute target were to be imposed as proposed, many investors would be puzzled. There are many mechanisms to support electrification investments, but an absolute cap on energy end use would create significant uncertainty for investors.
We think that this would jeopardise achievement of the Green Deal and Fit for 55 objectives. It might also hinder EU’s ability to develop climate solutions for global markets. In addition, a cap on energy end use may also conflicts with the main objectives of the EU energy union. We should rather maximise the use of clean energy resources across the EU.
CLC proposes a reconsideration of the “absolute target” concept before any final approvals.
Karl-Henrik Sundström, Chairman of the Board, Climate Leadership Coalition
Tuuli Kaskinen, CEO, Climate Leadership Coalition
More information: Tuuli Kaskinen, CEO, Climate Leadership Coalition, tuuli.kaskinen@clc.fi, +358 50 5149752 and Juha Turkki, Development Director, Climate Leadership Coalition, juha.turkki@clc.fi, +358 45 3461925.
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