Newsletter 6.2021
Dear reader,
Welcome to the sixth EUROFUEL newsletter of the year. The ongoing energy crisis affecting European countries is once again showing how secure and affordable energy supplies cannot be taken for granted. This holds true especially now as the EU and the rest of the world are making unprecedented efforts to achieve the climate objectives introduced by the Paris agreement and as the COP26 is about to start.
As an industry with decades of experience in providing reliable energy solutions, we want to play our role in contributing to the decarbonisation of heating. To reach this goal, we think technology openness is the best way forward as it would allow to reap the full benefits of every carbon-abating solution currently available. Low carbon and renewable liquid fuels are one of them and we will provide more details on their role in our Roadmap to be published soon.
In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy this newsletter, focusing on the latest EU policy developments as well as our recent activities to communicate on the benefits of low carbon and renewable liquid fuels.
Yours,
Dr Ernst-Moritz Bellingen
European Commission provides more details on the “Energy Efficiency First Principle”
On 28 September the Commission published a set of Guidelines on the Energy Efficiency First Principle with a view to converting the concept from theory into practice. Energy efficiency is a pillar of the EU energy union and the energy efficiency first principle is embedded in EU legislation. With the on-going revision of the directive, proposed in the European Green Deal package in July 2021, the Commission intends to provide a legal basis for the application of the principle.
While energy efficiency has been a key element of EU policy on emissions reduction for some time now, the energy efficiency first principle was officially written into EU law with the adoption of the 2019 Governance Regulation. This highlighted the essential role energy efficiency plays and the importance of including it in planning processes and investment decisions, for example, through incorporating it in Member States’ National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). The publication therefore aims at encouraging proper implementation of the energy efficiency first principle and making it more operational.
The two document published build on the new article of the Commission proposal for revising the Energy Efficiency Directive, published on 14 July 2021. A new article – Article 3 – sets an obligation for EU countries to ensure that energy efficiency solutions are considered in energy system and non-energy sectors planning, policy and investment decisions.
Eurofuel’s position on Fit for 55 Package
The revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) is one of the priority files Eurofuel is working on as part of the Fit for 55 Package. As reflected in our latest statement published on 26 October, we welcome the Commission’s proposal and we consider energy efficiency as the most cost-effective tool to address climate change and reduce emissions from the building sector for all types of households. We also think the “Energy Efficiency First” principle should be acknowledged throughout the text to enable the contribution of the wide range of existing heating solutions. As such, we are encouraging the modernisation of heating systems with more performing, condensing boilers, and informing our customers about the various options at their disposal to increase the energy performance of their heating systems and buildings, therefore reducing their energy bills.
Beyond the EED, the statement also includes our position on other proposals of the Fit for 55 Package, namely:
- Energy Taxation Directive (ETD): Eurofuel welcomes the Commission’s proposal and agrees to use carbon content as a reference for energy taxation. We would like to remind the importance of ensuring a level playing field and a technology openness approach for all clean solutions contributing to meeting the EU decarbonisation objectives. The revision should also aim at delivering an affordable energy transition, based on tax reductions to protect vulnerable consumers and flexibility for households located in off-grid areas where customers choice is limited to certain heating options.
- Renewable Energy Directive (RED): we believe that the Commission’s proposal is too restrictive and fails to acknowledge the potential of low carbon and renewable liquid fuels for heating in off-grid areas. In this regard, we encourage the Parliament and the Council to amend the proposal to leave the door open for additional low carbon and renewable heating solutions based on a technology neutral approach. The latter would deliver a more user-centred transition, providing every household with the most appropriate and affordable solutions tailored to their needs.
- Emission Trading System (ETS): Eurofuel suggests to carefully assess impact of extending ETS to buildings, especially in terms of social implications. If pursued, the extension to buildings should be coherent with the existing framework and related reforms.
After the Commission’s proposals, the ball is now in the hands of the co-legislators, the European Parliament and Council of the EU, representing the interest of Member States. The two institutions will work on the proposals throughout the coming months which are expected to be plenty of debates and exchanges. Eurofuel will continue engaging – together with its partners – with key political stakeholders to ensure the upcoming regulatory framework will acknowledge the importance of renewable and low carbon liquid fuels in heating, putting them at the centre of the energy transition.
Future Fuels campaign
Beyond engaging on specific policy files, Eurofuel is also communicating about the benefits of low carbon and renewable liquid fuels through other channels.
In occasion of the EU Energy Days – part of this year’s European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) –, every Friday in September and October we promoted the Future Fuels campaign. Every week, we addressed the theme from a different angle, posting engaging content across different channels, including in social media under the hashtag #FutureFuelsFriday:
- Liquid fuels for heating: why we need them even more for the energy transition (10 September 2021)
- What are they (FAME, HVO, PtX)? (17 September 2021)
- How sustainable are they? (24 September 2021)
- The liquid heating fuel industry and boilers manufacturers have tested the solution - how does it work? (1 October 2021)
- What will the sector look like in 2050? (8 October 2021)
Beyond this campaign, on 22 September we have also participated to a conference organised by our French associate member FF3C on the future of heating oil. In this occasion we had the opportunity to communicate to a French audience our vision, focusing on the sector’s ongoing transformation to use increasing quantities of low carbon and renewable liquid fuels.
More details on our vision on how to scale up the use of these innovative fuels will be provided as part of our new Roadmap soon to be released. Stay tuned!