{"id":46786,"date":"2022-07-12T10:45:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T09:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=46786"},"modified":"2022-07-12T10:45:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T09:45:30","slug":"eu-lawmakers-back-stronger-energy-efficiency-target-in-response-to-russian-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2022\/07\/12\/eu-lawmakers-back-stronger-energy-efficiency-target-in-response-to-russian-war\/","title":{"rendered":"EU lawmakers back stronger energy efficiency target in response to Russian war"},"content":{"rendered":"

The four largest political groups in the European Parliament have united behind proposals to raise the EU\u2019s energy efficiency target for 2030, saying this will help ease energy prices for consumers and eliminate imports of Russian fossil fuels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine is having profound consequences on the EU\u2019s energy and climate policies.<\/p>\n

In May, the European Commission already proposed raising the EU\u2019s energy efficiency target to 13% by 2030, up from the 9% figure it originally put on the table in July last year.<\/p>\n

The plan,\u00a0dubbed REPowerEU<\/a>, is designed to cut imports of Russian fossil fuels by two-thirds before the end of this year and eliminate them completely \u201cwell before 2030\u201d by diversifying gas supplies and accelerating the green transition.<\/p>\n

Crucially, this will be the first time that energy savings become a legal obligation on EU member states,\u00a0which increases the odds that the target will be met<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as the war drags on and Russia threatens to cut supplies to Europe entirely ahead of next winter, lawmakers in the European Parliament have decided to up the ante and raise the EU\u2019s efficiency target even further.<\/p>\n

On Monday (11 July), the Parliament\u2019s four largest political groups \u2013 the centre-right European People\u2019s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the centrist Renew Europe (RE) and the Greens \u2013 put forward joint amendments for the revised energy efficiency directive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis deal has broad political support in the European Parliament, which shows a commitment to deliver,\u201d said Niels Fuglsang, a Danish lawmaker from the S&D group who is the Parliament\u2019s leader on the revised directive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this time of energy crisis where Putin shuts off gas deliveries to the EU, we need to save more energy, and we need to do this by setting high and binding energy efficiency targets for the EU as a whole and for the individual member states,\u201d he told Euractiv in emailed comments.<\/p>\n

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