The new report highlights opportunities to combine environmental and social benefits, urging low-income households to be put at the heart of Europe’s energy future without sacrificing environmental imperatives and calling upon the EU to uphold the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Green MEP Jean Lambert (central) photographed at the launch of the report.
A new report commissioned by Jean Lambert and the Green Group in the European Parliament has highlighted opportunities for European policy makers to combine environmental and social benefits when they agree Europe’s energy policy priorities up until 2030. The report notes how European policy makers must respond to concerns about affordability by putting low-income households at the heart of Europe’s energy future without sacrificing environmental imperatives. The report also notes the risk that without deliberate interventions poorer households will continue to benefit least from Europe’s energy policies and the EU must aim to uphold the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Jean Lambert MEP, a Green Party Member of the European Parliament comments:
“Our leaky homes make us ill and make every energy bill frightening for so many people. This means we use far more energy than we need to. Yet, the EU Commission has not proposed setting an ambitious binding target on energy saving. The report calls for Europe’s leader to take charge and set a binding 40% target for energy saving for 2030 as well as introducing targeted steps to protect low-income energy consumers in the future. The report also highlights that opportunities to secure these outcomes are immediate and pursuing a more deliberate and coordinated approach offers long-lasting benefits. However, there are significant and growing costs to inaction and beyond positive rhetoric, the EU Commission, EU Parliament and Council Leaders must take action now to address a growing ‘Energy Divide’”.
The report’s author, Peter Smith, from charity National Energy Action (NEA) comments:
“The report investigates the EU’s current energy legislative framework and explores how it can be improved for low-income consumers. We also explore why energy policies in general can exacerbate hardship. It is argued that the current approach to energy policy across Europe contributes to an ‘energy divide,’ where poorer households may benefit least from energy policies whilst paying a higher share of the costs, despite emitting the least carbon emissions. For example, Member States provide significant tax and levy exemptions for some of the most energy intensive industries which substantially reduce the costs heavy polluters have to pay. This leaves the poorest paying proportionately more for these polices. This practice is growing and the EU must aim to uphold the ‘polluter pays’ principle and check a recent trend for policies to be paid disproportionately by domestic consumers, including the most vulnerable”.
Andrew Cooper, the Green Party’s national Spokesperson on the Environment, commented:
“We believe we can reduce the ‘energy divide’ that exists within many Member States and help address the social consequences of higher energy bills as Europe continues its sustainable long-term energy transition. Through an enhanced legislative framework, we can inspire a step change in local delivery and capture all the benefits of this enhanced approach. The report provides a legislative blueprint that could, if acted upon, put low-income households at the heart of Europe’s energy future”.
The new report follows recent findings from organisations like the International Energy Agency (IEA) which have highlighted that improving energy efficiency measures could, in a high energy efficiency scenario, save the European Union’s economy as much as EUR 190 billion, annually as well as dramatically enhancing health and well-being, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and those with pre-existing illnesses. This position has also been reinforced by research by the Fraunhofer Institute showing that that the EU has a 41% cost-effective end-use energy savings potential for 2030 and if achieved this could lower net energy costs for households and industry by over €239 billion annually by 2030.