Will April be “the cruellest month”?

The British poet, T.S. Eliot, in his poem “The Wasteland” called April the “cruellest month.” Thirteen months after the publication of the Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan and ten months after its publication of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, April is turning into crunch time. The Council (represented by Denmark as President), the European Parliament and … Continue reading Will April be “the cruellest month”? →

Question of the week

Reuter’s news agency reports that of Romania’s 19 million population, less than five million are workers paying taxes, with most of the rest pensioners, children, subsistence farmers or people working illegally. Costs for the more than five million pensioners amounted to 9% of GDP in 2010. Also, Romania, the EU’s second-poorest member with an average … Continue reading Question of the week →

Hannover Fair to host roundtable on financing energy efficiency in industry

Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP), a Brussels-based independent not-for-profit platform for business and policy in Europe, is organising a roundtable to discuss financing issues related to investing in energy efficiency in the industrial sector on April 24th at the world famous Hannover Messe, which is billed as the world’s most important technology event. The … Continue reading Hannover Fair to host roundtable on financing energy efficiency in industry →

Small businesses ‘must do more to be energy efficient’

Fiona Harvey of the Guardian writes an important article on March 30th about the vice president of the European Commission warning companies after analysis of how their impact affects targets. EiD readers should also follow the link below to the important Eurobarometer survey that was just published. Small businesses 'must do more to be energy … Continue reading Small businesses ‘must do more to be energy efficient’ →

Cost optimality

On Wednesday, March 21st, the European Parliament and the Council published a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings and building elements. The publication sets a deadline of one year from March 21st for member states to submit their first report on cost optimality concerning all input data … Continue reading Cost optimality →

Renewable energy: Finnish, Greek and Polish legislation still not in line with EU rules

The Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) had to be implemented by member states by 5 December 2010. The transposition of EU legislation is a priority for the Commission, especially since unnecessary delays in implementing may jeopardise the achievement of the EU renewable energy objective for 2020. Finland, Greece, and Poland have not yet informed the Commission … Continue reading Renewable energy: Finnish, Greek and Polish legislation still not in line with EU rules →

Good news . . . No news . . .

On March 10th, the Commission published a new regulation on ecodesign requirements for air conditioners and comfort fans (Commission Regulation (EU) No. 206/2012) that significantly raises the minimum energy performance standards of air conditioners. But one would never know it. The news has gone virtually unreported. There is one good report, though, on the Coolproducts … Continue reading Good news . . . No news . . . →

Member State progress reports on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources

According to Article 22 of the Renewable Energy Directive, by 31 December 2011, and every two years thereafter, each member state is required to submit a report to the Commission on progress in promoting and using energy from renewable sources. These reports are expected to describe the overall renewable energy policy developments in each member … Continue reading Member State progress reports on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources →

Public consultation on financial support for energy efficiency in buildings

A two-month public consultation on "Financial Support for Energy Efficiency in Buildings" has been launched by the Directorate General for Energy. The consultation period expires on May 18th. The objective is to obtain the views of the wide range of stakeholders throughout Europe on ways to improve the financial support for energy efficiency measures that … Continue reading Public consultation on financial support for energy efficiency in buildings →

Russian steps . . .

Rod Janssen of EiD has worked in many regions of Russia and can testify to the problems with improving energy use in the country. This is an excellent article from Reuter’s on many of the issues facing Russia. Reluctant Russia wakes up to energy waste by Jennifer Rankin MOSCOW, March 20 (Reuters) - The … Continue reading Russian steps . . . →