EU leaders should back energy efficiency target
ECIU board member Neil Morisetti calls for ambitious EU target
By George Smeeton
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The EU should reduce its over-dependence on imported fossil fuels, boost energy efficiency and invest in domestic sources of energy, says the UK Government’s former Climate and Energy Security Envoy.
Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti was commenting on a new report from the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research), Europe’s Power: Re-energising a progressive climate and energy agenda, which says that EU leaders should push for a target to improve Europe’s energy efficiency by 35 per cent by 2030.
Rear Admiral Morisetti said: “Recent events in Ukraine and the Middle East have served to highlight the vulnerability of our energy supplies and the political straitjacket that results from our over-dependence on fossil fuel imports from these volatile regions.
“The quickest and most effective form of energy security is to use less. EU leaders are currently discussing whether to mandate energy efficiency improvements of 30% by 2030; studies show that we can go to 40% without incurring economic penalties, and Ukraine shows that we must.
“Investing in energy efficiency and domestic sources of energy like wind, solar, wave and nuclear power will also improve the EU’s competitiveness with the US and China, and bring health benefits by reducing air pollution.”
In a recent article in the New Statesman, Rear Admiral Morisetti argued that NATO must also address the energy security challenge.