Involvement of civil society organisations essential for success of EU energy and climate change policy

CES/08/7

Brussels, 1 February 2008

Involvement of civil society organisations essential for success of EU energy and climate change policy

The European Commission's proposed energy and climate change package was generally welcomed by civil society representatives at a major conference held at the European Economic and Social Committee's headquarters on 31st January and 1st February 2008. However, the much needed technological, financial and behavioural measures to improve energy efficiency and demand management must be socially and environmentally acceptable, said the participants, who insisted on the key role of European civil society organisations in this process.

"The involvement of civil society organizations is essential to ensure that the measures for a transformation of the EU's energy system, tabled on 23rd January by the European Commission, are understood, agreed upon and transformed into concrete action at workplaces and in citizens' private lives," said the President of the European Economic and Social Committee's Transport and Energy Section, Janos Toth (EESC member, Various Interests Group, Hungary), in opening the Conference, entitled "Energy technology deployment towards better demand side management and higher efficiency".

The event, jointly organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the Belgian Central Economic Council (CEC) and the Belgian Federal Public Service Economy and Energy (FPS), in the context of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week[1], showcased successful examples from European civil society organisations on how to accelerate the deployment of up-to-date technology in the transport and construction sectors. The conference specifically addressed the need for new financial mechanisms to foster the uptake of such technologies, considering the ever increasing competition between well founded public and private spending to combat climate change. Last but not least, it reviewed the most innovative measures to change the way we consume in an attempt to promote more sustainable pathways to energy use

Andris Piebalgs, European Commission member responsible for energy, underlined the benefits for the citizens and the model character of the Commission's package: "The European Union is demonstrating to our partners in the world that it is possible to implement a forward-looking energy and environment policy that accepts short-term costs on society in order to find a permanent solution to climate change and energy security. And it is possible to do so in a manner that is likely to bring real economic benefits." Taking the success stories of early investments in wind energy in Denmark and Germany as examples, Commissioner Piebalgs underlined that the EU's renewable energy industry employs more than 300,000 people and generates exports worth € 20 billion.

Derek Osborn (EESC member, Various Interests Group, United Kingdom), President of the EESC's Sustainable Development Observatory, saw still some way to go to get all layers of society on board; "People need to be convinced in their heads, hearts and pockets," he said, stressing that organised civil society has a crucial part to play in assisting the transition to greater use of renewable sources of energy. "We need to be convinced that it is worth making the effort to accelerate the change to renewables in order to protect the lives of our children and future generations."

Robert Tollet, President of the Central Council for the Economy, considers that new energy technologies will increasingly be entering the field of social dialogue: "The social partners have to play a fundamental role to facilitate the balanced implementation of energy policies in general and new energy technologies in particular."

Laure Batut (EESC member, Employees Group, France) has nevertheless warned against the constraints brought about by the global economic context and the increasingly high prices for goods consuming less energy: "The survival of the European way of life and the promotion of services of general interest are both connected to energy policies and require the urgent organisation of a broad as possible citizens' debate on this topic. But the gradual erosion of consumers' purchasing power could render the outcome of such a debate uncertain."

Paul Magnette, Belgian federal Minister for Climate and Energy, expressed his country's full support of the targets set out in the energy and climate package: "Secure, reliable and affordable energy resources are fundamental to economic stability and development."

Stressing the difficulty to get energy efficiency measures implemented in the building sector, Antonello Pezzini (EESC member, Employers' Group, Italy), stated: "When defining measures to increase energy efficiency, account should be taken of the benefits of the widespread use of cost-effective technological innovations, enabling end users to take more informed decisions regarding their individual energy consumption".

[1] link to the European Sustainable Energy Week website is http://www.eusew.eu/