Energy commissioner criticised for failure to implement action plan
22/10/07

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs - who frequently claims energy efficiency to be his "number one priority" - comes in for heavy criticism, in a report due for endorsement by the European Parliament. Prepared by British Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall, it "censures the failure" of the Commission to implement effectively its own six-year action plan for energy efficiency.

The report, due for committee approval on November 29, hammers Piebalgs for having completed only three out of the 21 energy-saving initiatives promised for 2007. It also slams him for failing to appoint sufficient staff to ensure purposeful implementation of existing directives by national governments.

The action plan had been prepared by the Commission secretary general Catherine Day herself, and - unusually - launched by the Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso. It was fully endorsed by the 27 Heads of Government at their spring Council meeting.

Parliamentarians are equally rude about the lackadaisical approach of national governments. They "censure the failure" to both implement and prioritise agreed energy efficiency legislation, "despite rhetoric about tackling climate change and reducing EU fuel imports."

The report calls for an "urgent and frank assessment", both in Brussels and national capitals, of "capacity shortfalls and other barriers", which are leading to inadequate delivery of the agreed 20 per cent savings target. This target is "entirely feasible technically and economically."

Among more detailed recommendations are a call to strengthen Article 6 of the existing Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, to require that whenever a building of any size is renovated it is brought up to contemporary energy efficiency standards. At present, this only applies to buildings over 1000m2. All new buildings should be built to German "Passiv Haus" standards from 2011 onwards. And VAT should be removed from "materials and components which improve energy efficiency in buildings."

As part of her role as the parliament's rapporteur on energy efficiency, Fiona Hall has been visiting national capitals around Europe, to discuss her proposals with national members of EuroACE.