EU wants energy efficiency targets to be mandatory

STOCKHOLM - The European Commission has said that it wanted the targets for energy efficiency improvements to be made mandatory as the block’s enegry ministers began their discussions in northern Sweden Thursday.

“There is a fresh political will among the member states to make the targets binding,” said European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs at a press conference after the meeting in Are, 630 km northwest of Stockholm.

“Energy efficiency is a major tool in addressing climate change. I really consider seriously proposing binding target instruments, but what I would like to avoid is burden sharing target instruments,” he added.

The definition of low-energy buildings, financing of energy efficiency measures and the use of a calculation method to draw up energy performance requirements for buildings were three major issues the energy ministers discussed in the meeting, Swedish Energy Minister Maud Olofsson said.

The European Parliament has approved a binding commitment last year to cut EU greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.