Page 15 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2018 publication

Summer 2018 European Energy Innovation 15
for 18 million jobs. Investment in
the energy efficiency of buildings
robustly supports this sector, which
is why in April the EU Parliament
approved the Energy Performance
of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The
first of 8 legislative proposals, it
forms part of the Clean Energy for All
Europeans package brought forward
by the European Commission on 30
November 2016. The new legislation
requires member states to develop
national long-term strategies to
support cost-saving renovation of
public and private buildings, with a
view to reducing emissions in the EU
by 80-85% compared to 1990 levels.
Investing in energy efficiency will
boost industrial competitiveness.
High dependency on international
energy markets exposes companies
to price shocks, which reduce
the predictability of returns on
investment. Sudden price increases
cannot always be passed on to the
market and can therefore undermine
profitability. Rising worldwide
demand and the introduction of
energy taxes are likely to drive energy on energy efficiency will boost our
price rises over the next decade, and
energy efficiency measures can help
decouple energy prices from energy
costs for companies. Furthermore,
the European Commission’s scenario
modelling also sees a direct link
between energy consumption in
Europe and international energy
prices.
According to the models, achieving
energy efficiency gains of 40% by
2030 could lower gas prices by 8%
and oil prices by 3% , compared
to business-as-usual scenarios.
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
ENERGY EFICIENCY & INNOVATION
Meanwhile, energy-efficient operation
of industrial plants in the EU already
makes them more competitive:
Energy Efficiency Services Companies
(ESCOs) deliver overall management
of energy demand to energy end-
users, providing operational, design
maintenance and management of
equipment services and leading to
optimisation of energy consumption.
Energy efficiency is a driving factor for
innovation in the manufacturing and
services sectors. However, innovation
centres will only stay within the EU
if legislation is able to provide an
ambitious long-term framework that
demonstrates the political will to
realise energy saving potential. The
creation of local skilled jobs is an
absolute imperative for the EU and it
is widely recognised that ambitious
energy efficiency measures lead
to significant net job creation: the
European Commission states that the
number of jobs could be increased
by up to 3% by 2030 if a 40% energy
savings target were implemented. In
other words, more ambitious targets
economy and the competitiveness
of our industries, but will also have
direct beneficial consequences for
European citizens. About 10% of them
are considered fuel poor, while many
governments spend more money
on fuel subsidies than on reducing
energy bills sustainably through
energy efficiency measures.
Energy efficiency is one of the
smartest investments we can make,
and is a win-win move for industries
and citizens. All we need is a daring
and forward looking approach. l