CEE countries must demand binding targets for energy efficiency, say NGOs

Brussels, Belgium -- Ahead of Friday's European Council on Energy, CEE Bankwatch Network is urging political will from both the Hungarian EU Presidency and other central and eastern European heads of state to ensure binding targets for improving energy efficiency by 20 percent by the year 2020 if the bloc is to play its part in meeting climate targets under the Europe 2020 strategy.

To realise this shift, according to Bankwatch at least one third of the Cohesion and Structural funds need to be earmarked for spending on energy efficiency and new renewable sources in order for the EU energy efficiency and consumption reduction goals to be met. While CEE states have both great potential and demand for energy efficiency spending, by the end of 2009 less than 20 percent of EU funds allocated for energy efficiency measures were spent. [1]

Ondrej Pasek, Bankwatch climate and energy campaigner, said "In the cases where EU financial instruments were designed in a sensible way to address the needs and specificities of the final beneficiaries, EU energy efficiency measures met with enormous interest in the region. Binding targets would help create the right environment to streamline energy efficiency measures in the region."

"In CEE, energy efficiency measures could reduce between 40 to 60 percent of emissions coming from buildings, which in their turn account for 40 percent of all GhG emissions," adds Pasek. „At this Council, member states should push for strong measures to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, which represent the majority of buildings, with financial support from the Cohesion and Structural Funds in the future financial period."

For more information, contact:

Ondrej Pasek
Climate and Energy Campaigner, Centrum pro dopravu a energetiku
Mobile +420 608 381 602

Anelia Stefanova
EU Affairs Coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
Mobile + 393338092492

Notes:

1. See the Bankwatch report 'Potential unfulfilled: EU funding and Cohesion policy can do more for sustainable climate and energy development in central and eastern Europe' - http://bankwatch.org/documents/Potential_unfulfilled.pdf