E.V.V.E. press release

“Energy efficiency is a key driver of the energy transition in buildings. But if legislation from Brussels doesn’t filter down to the various capitals, that of course brings little benefit to the climate or consumers,” explains Christian Sperber, executive director of E.V.V.E. This impression was confirmed at a one-day congress in Brussels on November 6 held to celebrate the E.V.V.E.’s 25^th anniversary. Niels Ladefoged, team leader at the European Commission, pointed to the early days of the SAVE programme in the 1990s, and set out the European Commission’s ambitions, formulated in the Clean Energy Package. The afternoon saw Dr. Robert Gorzycki, President of RSM URSUS, giving a presentation on how providing usage information affects heating energy consumption and how better use could be made of this. E.V.V.E. President Thomas Zinnöcker praised the measures being taken by EU legislators. In his view, the last 20 years have seen the creation of a sensible framework for promoting energy efficiency measures and a clear recognition of the critical importance of consumers. Zinnöcker nonetheless sees room for improvement in terms of implementation by member states, “The fact that, even years after the European legislation entered into force, some countries have still not transposed it into national law sends a bad signal to consumers and business. It erodes the perception of reliability and predictability. The biggest loser, however, is the climate.” Zinnöcker would therefore like to see the European Commission doing more to ensure that the EED is implemented rapidly and in full.