EurActiv: ‘Acute’ gas crunch fears push efficiency into spotlight

Energy security’s ascent to the top of the political agenda was cemented at the EU’s sustainable energy week yesterday (23 June), as a US ambassador to the EU, a Green MEP and the bloc’s energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger all used the Ukraine crisis to highlight the importance of energy saving measures.

Security of supply was now “an acute issue,” Oettinger told the conference. “The developments in Ukraine demand a policy response in the field of energy.”

An ambitious energy savings target for 2030 would not only curb gas CO2 emissions but gas use too, he said, adding that “the Commission estimates that every additional 1% in energy savings cuts gas imports by 2.3%.”

Traditionally, the EU has juggled three energy priorities – competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply – with the ascendance of a competitiveness agenda after the 2008 financial meltdown and the economic crisis that followed.
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