Energy efficiency

Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU provides for an EU-wide energy efficiency target with non-binding minimum energy efficiency contributions for Member States. Next to the Energy Efficiency Directive, the EU has set specific energy efficiency standards for certain products and goods, such as buildings, electrical appliances and tyres. These EU acts envisage market-based mechanisms to ensure cost-effective implementation and contain a methodology for determining cost-effective investments in energy efficiency. They shape solidarity by taking into account the higher costs of increasing energy efficiency for those Member States where the level of energy efficiency is already relatively high. Concrete measures mostly focus on the energy efficiency of buildings, since these account for a large percentage of energy use. The effectiveness of the energy efficiency measures can be doubted, for instance due to the non-binding nature of the national energy efficiency contributions and the EU's poor track record for increasing energy efficiency.