Public consultations launched on reviewing the EU directives on energy efficiency and renewable energy

The Commission has launched 2 public consultations today on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive. The objective of these 12 week consultations is to seek a wide range of views on to what extent and how these 2 directives should be revised. This will feed into the preparation of Commission proposals next year.

In September, the Commission’s tabled the 2030 Climate Target Plan which seeks to raise the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target from 40% to at least 55%. This plan was accompanied by a comprehensive impact assessment which indicates that renewables and energy efficiency will be crucial for achieving this increased ambition. The assessment estimates that the share of energy from renewable sources for 2030 should reach 38% to 40%; and that the energy efficiency gains needed are 36%-39% for final energy consumption and 39-41% for primary energy consumption.

In addition to this potential increase in ambition, the 2 directives will need to be updated to take account of the range of other European Green Deal initiatives which have been tabled by the Commission. These include

• the Energy System Integration strategy
• the Hydrogen strategy
• the Renovation Wave
•  he Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy (due for publication on 19.11.2020).

It will also take account of other EU initiatives in other policy areas, such as the Recovery Plan for Europe, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Comprising a series of nearly 60 questions, each consultation will run until 9 February – the standard 12 week period. Most questions are in the form of a tick-box reply [strongly agree / agree / disagree / strongly disagree] with an option for additional remarks. Initially the consultation is only published in English, and translations in all EU languages will be available from mid-December.

The Commission is hoping for as wide an audience as possible – from public authorities, companies, including small and medium sized enterprises,  industry associations, consumer organisations, worker associations, NGOs, environmental organisations, consultancies, academia, think tanks, other relevant stakeholders and citizens.

Today’s launch follows on from 4 consultations that were opened on 13 November on forthcoming revisions to other EU laws designed to limit the EU’s emissions of greenhouse gases. These cover the EU Emissions Trading System Directive, the Effort Sharing Regulation, the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation, and the CO2 standards for cars and vans Regulation (light-duty vehicles).