Today, members of the European Parliament voted on rules reviewing one of Europe’s most pressing topics – how to improve the energy efficiency of the EU’s building stock. EuroACE welcomes the increased ambition level in this first reading legislative resolution on the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) proposal.
The Parliament’s first reading was concluded in a very short period of time and, with a majority of 549 votes in favour, the Parliament is sending a strong signal on the importance of energy efficiency. The Council is now urged to follow their lead so that a final and robust agreement can be rubber-stamped by the end of this year. The 2020 targets are just over a decade away and implementation needs to start as soon as possible!

Andrew Warren, EuroACE’s senior advisor, commented, “This is a good day for energy efficiency. A 10-1 majority (549 in favour, 51 against) is a striking endorsement from the European Parliament. All the major parties voted overwhelmingly in favour. The European Parliament is to be congratulated for enabling the Swedish Presidency to the EU to now achieve its stated goal of getting full agreement on the proposal before the end of 2009”.

ENDS

Note to Editors :
The proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD recast) (COM(2008) 780) was presented as part of the Energy Efficiency Package by the European Commission in November 2008. The recast provides an opportunity to tackle existing market barriers and to set ambitious targets for upgrading the energy efficiency of Europe’s building stock.

The economic impact assessment accompanying the proposal concludes that, when this proposal is implemented fully and effectively, the European economy will see costs savings of 25 billion euro annually; up to 450,000 direct jobs in the construction sector will be; the EU’s final energy use will be reduced by 5-6% by 2020; and, finally, 4-5% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions will be cut by 2020.

EuroACE was formed by Europe’s leading companies involved with the manufacture, distribution and installation of energy saving goods and services. EuroACE members have a total turnover of 140 billion Euros and employ 328,000 people in Europe. The mission of EuroACE is to work together with the European institutions to help Europe move towards a more sustainable pattern of energy use in buildings, thereby contributing to Europe’s commitments on climate change, energy security and economic growth.

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