Bringing efficiency in the EU’s National Energy and Climate Plans

(EurActiv, 19 May 2023) As EU member states prepare to submit their revised National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) to the European Commission on 30 June, they must pay greater attention to energy efficiency, writes Monica Frassoni.

Monica Frassoni is the president of the European Alliance to Save Energy, a multi-stakeholder business-led alliance promoting the role of energy efficiency across the energy system. She served as a member of the European Parliament from 1999-2009 and as co-chair of the European Green Party from 2009 to 2019.

A future energy system must be highly energy and resource efficient, based on renewables, secure, competitive, affordable and of course, safe.  One that can respond to the climate, energy and water crises that increasingly perturb our economy and create social tensions.

Reducing energy needs and doing this through ready-to-use technologies and a system approach is key to success of Europe’s future energy union and the Green Deal. The Energy Efficiency community needs therefore to have a regular seat at the table.

This is not always the case.

When it comes to the big political debates about the future of our energy system and the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our economies, energy saving and energy efficiency generally still do not attract the same political attention as energy generation and supply, despite the significant progress on recent legislation and financing programmes aimed at driving energy savings at EU level – the positive outcomes of the recent Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) recast is a good example.

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EurActiv, 19 May 2023: Bringing efficiency in the EU’s National Energy and Climate Plans