EU members to cut energy use by 1% a year
article in Financial Times, 7 December 2005

European Union countries will pledge to cut their energy use by 1 per cent a year after striking a compromise yesterday with the European parliament.

Under the deal, member states and industry will take steps to shave power consumption by the target every year for nine years, starting from 2007.

Finding an agreement on the energy services directive, first proposed two years ago, has taken on heightened importance as the Union grapples with oil price rises and concern over long-term power supplies.

However, the EU countries won agreement that they would not face court action for failing to meet the targets and they resisted efforts by members of the parliament to impose more ambitious energy-saving goals.

The measures to lower power consumption could include car-free days, better energy use in homes and more efficient power supply and delivery, officials said. Governments might also have to buy more energy-efficient cars.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca, a Spanish member of the parliament's industry, research and energy committee, said the law would push laggard countries to take reducing power consumption more seriously. "This is the idea of this directive: to push forward everybody so that the last in the class must speed up to catch up the better students."

The Union wants to reduce reliance on energy imports, projected to account for 70 per cent of consumption by 2030, as well as adopt "greener" power policies.

Countries will have to submit energy-saving action plans to the European Commission over the nine-year period, with the EU executive monitoring progress.

After the agreement with the energy committee yesterday, the full parliament is expected to approve the directive in a vote on Tuesday, paving the way for it to become law.

© Financial Times, 2005