Climate scientists call for further pressure on the economy

Pipeline in a chemical plant

The economy should be stopped with additional measures to save energy, says the EU climate council.

(Photo: Moment/Getty Images)

Brussels, Berlin During the energy crisis, Europeans significantly reduced their energy consumption. In Germany, the country with the highest gas consumption in the EU, consumption fell by 17.6 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the Federal Network Agency.

But the European Union’s Climate Council wants more. “Additional efforts are needed to meet the increased targets,” write the scientists in their report on the EU’s response to the energy crisis.

The austerity measures in Europe have already paid off in recent years: “The EU has a proven track record in improving energy efficiency and reducing energy demand,” says the report. The goal for 2020 was to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent, but it actually achieved more than a quarter.

But now the targets are being raised even further. The Repower EU plan adopted in December raises the efficiency target to 40 percent.

There are two sectors in particular in which the scientists see savings potential. The most important is by far the building area. Two-fifths of European energy consumption has to do with buildings, i.e. primarily with heating and air conditioning.

Chemical industry is in focus

Since energy prices rose sharply in October 2021, many EU countries have already accelerated the renovation of buildings. In order for the EU to achieve its climate goals for 2030 and 2050, however, the renovations would have to be further accelerated.

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The potential in the industry is lower. Additional incentives to save energy are provided by the emissions trading reform, which has already been politically agreed upon and was officially accepted by the EU member states this Wednesday. Significantly fewer companies will receive free CO2 emission allowances in the future.

The Climate Council now recommends putting additional pressure on these companies as well: The incentive to increase efficiency “can be further strengthened by linking the free allocation of EU emission certificates to the obligation to reduce emissions,” says the report. This involves increasing the efficiency of chemical plants, for example, and also switching energy sources, such as switching from oil and gas to electricity and hydrogen.

The chemical industry, the largest gas consumer in industry, is skeptical. The managing director of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Wolfgang Große Entrup, said that the specific energy requirements of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry had been declining for decades. “It fell by half between 1990 and 2020 alone,” he said.

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In the current energy crisis, the industry has further intensified its efforts to save. Potential reductions that can be realized in the short term have largely been exhausted.

Biofuels with major disadvantages

The climate council is critical of the switch to biologically produced fuels. The scientists see the cultivation of energy crops as competing with food production. They also see the import of biofuels as a factor that can lead to uncertainty in the food supply.

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The climate council is critical of the switch to biologically produced fuels.

(Photo: IMAGO/onw-images)

Politicians should not create incentives for the production and consumption of biofuels if there is a risk that this production will compete with food production.

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The Climate Council was introduced with the 2021 Climate Law to advise the EU on its statutory path to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The chairman is the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Ottmar Edenhofer.

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