Climate change and energy
A history not to be repeated
The record of EU funds on climate change has up to now been an unequivocal failure. The four countries which have so far received the most EU structural funding (Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain) have also witnessed by far the greatest increases in greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. While the blame cannot be wholly pinned on EU funding, EU money has undoubtedly contributed to the trend. Ensuring that this scenario is not repeated is in the interests of the CEE countries and is essential for meeting the European objectives for limiting climate change.
Source: European Environment Agency, 2007
EU money must support the shift to an energy- and resource-efficient economy
World fuel and energy prices have soared recently and are set to remain high. The CEE countries cannot afford to repeat the development mistakes of Western Europe. EU money in the new member states has to be directed towards energy efficiency, resource use reduction and recycling, eco-friendly technologies and sustainable mobility. Such development will reduce dependence on imports of raw materials and will accelerate technological innovation and job creation.
Energy: boosting efficiency
It takes on average 50% more energy to produce one unit of gross domestic product in the CEE countries than it does in the EU-15. Thus the potential for energy efficiency improvements in the region is huge. EU funds and EIB loans should be used as an incentive to help secure massive energy savings, especially for public buildings, households and the high-rise blocks of flats familiar to most CEE towns, which are notoriously wasteful of heat and in urgent need of refurbishment. At the same time, any EU investments in buildings and industry should be conditional on very high energy efficiency standards.
Source: European Environment Agency, 2007
Energy: investing in a renewable future
EU money can also be used to help unlock the large but unused renewable energy potential of the CEE countries. Not only are biomass, wind and solar energy clean, but they also create more jobs than coal and nuclear power, and spread them across many more communities and regions.
The costs of renewable energy are predicted to continue falling in the future, while the costs of fossil fuels and uranium are set to increase. Those countries that first embraced renewable energy are now the main exporters of the technology and are profiting from the global renewable energy boom (e.g. Denmark in the wind power sector).Investment in renewable energy based on long-term strategies and appropriate environmental and economic criteria is clearly an investment in the future.
Climate-friendly development
Disappointingly, only 2.5% of all EU funding for the 2007-2013 period has been allocated for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the CEE countries. This must be changed so that the opportunity for EU funds to promote a climate-friendly type of development is not missed.