The Coalition for Energy Savings’ Secretary General Arianna Vitali Roscini told Euractiv she hopes that the next European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, will be remembered as someone who did not shy from setting ambitious targets for energy efficiency beyond 2030.

Denmark’s Jørgensen has been required by President von der Leyen in her mission letter to ensure that energy is a core pillar of Europe’s industrial strategy. Among his many tasks, von der Leyen said he is to propose an initiative to boost the rollout of renewable energy and energy storage.

Jørgensen is also to work on demand flexibility and further implement the Energy Efficiency First (EE1st) principle, which is enshrined in Europe’s revised Energy Efficiency Directive.

“Compliance with this legal framework is still, in many cases, sub-optimal and additional efforts, particularly at the national level, are needed to ensure full implementation,” Vitali Roscini told Euractiv, referring to the EU’s energy efficiency legislative framework – which also includes the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling regulations.

Improving monitoring and awareness is critical

Vitali Roscini emphasised that strengthening monitoring mechanisms, increasing awareness, and providing support for businesses and consumers are critical to maximising the benefits of these policies.

“A more effective implementation would not only drive greater energy savings and emissions reductions but also further boost innovation and competitiveness in Europe’s energy efficiency sector,” she said.

The Energy Efficiency First principle must be implemented at the system level, Michael Villa, the Executive Director at smartEn, a business association for digital energy solutions, told Euractiv.

“While policies have improved the efficiency of individual products, the focus should now be to reduce the total system costs of the clean energy transition, relying on both energy efficient and flexible solutions deployed among consumers,” said Villa

The Coalition for Energy Savings and smartEN recently released a joint statement in which they called on the new EU leaders to empower all energy consumers to reduce their energy needs efficiently, to adjust their energy use, renewable energy generation, and energy storage in a way that is both affordable for them and beneficial for the energy system.