EU agreement on energy efficiency now mandatory: savings of 11.7% by 2030. What’s changing

During the night, the EU institutions reached an agreement on the new efficiency directive, with the States which will have to collectively guarantee a reduction in final energy consumption of at least 11.7% in 2030, compared to the forecasts formulated in 2020.
Other measures adopted include a specific obligation for the public sector to achieve an annual reduction in energy consumption of 1.9% and Member States are required to renovate at least 3% of the total surface area of ​​buildings each year. owned by public bodies.
The agreed target is at EU level and is halfway between the two hypothesized by the European Commission, the 9% proposed by the 2021 climate package and the 13% of the RePower Eu of 2022. The European Parliament asked for 14.5%. Member States will contribute to the general EU target through indicative national contributions, with a flexibility of 2.5%, established in their respective national energy and climate plans. It will be up to the European Commission to intervene if the sum of the contributions does not reach 11.7%, to redistribute national efforts.
The formula used to calculate the national contribution is based on energy intensity, per capita GDP, development of renewables and potential for energy savings. States will be able to count the energy savings achieved with the new directive on the energy performance of buildings, and measures deriving from the new ETS for buildings and transport, to which a 70 billion climate fund is linked, in the calculation of the national contribution.
Here comes the obligation: now there is legal force
For the first time, the principle of energy efficiency is given legal force with a clear obligation for EU countries to take energy efficiency into account in important policy, planning and investment decisions in the energy sector and beyond. The revised rules also place more responsibility on the public sector to increase energy efficiency. Businesses will also be encouraged to be more energy efficient. By introducing a first EU definition of energy poverty, the revised rules focus more on alleviating energy poverty and empowering consumers, including the creation of one-stop shops for technical and financial assistance and out-of-court dispute resolution mechanisms.