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The Secretary-General of the European Commission Staff issued on 30 May 2006 a Staff Working Document entitled "Report on the Analysis of the Debate of the Green Paper on Energy Efficiency", SEC (2006) 693. The European Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Andris Piebalgs presented its content orally at the recent Energy Council in Luxembourg (8th of June).
This report is an objective analysis of the outcomes of a public consultation opened on the 22 June 2005 with the publication of the "Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, Doing More with Less", COM (2005) 265 final, that posed 25 questions to all interested parties regarding energy efficiency.
The public consultation was concluded on the 31st of March, receiving a total of 241 contributions from a variety of sectors of activity. The public consultation was complemented by the participation of Commissioner Piebalgs and the Commission services in a number of events in several Member States and receiving delegations from several sectors and Member States in the premises of the Commission.
An exhaustive and objective analysis of the contributions received was carried out following a methodology designed to deliver a precise quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the opinions of the stakeholders, taking into account their significance.
The participants' interest in the public consultation on the Green Paper on Energy Efficiency showed strong support for energy efficiency, calling for a determined and resolute strategy to improve energy efficiency.
The main finding of the report is the lack of information. As it was also identified in the recent Eurobarometer 64.2 - Attitudes towards Energy (January 2006), citizens, industry and stakeholders in general are often not familiar with the instruments (technology and other policies) they can use to improve energy efficiency. The participants to the debate state that energy efficiency should be more effectively tackled through public awareness, particularly using innovative approaches.
The importance of legislative and normative instruments is widely recognised by the participants in the debate; however there is a strong call for less policy and more action, meaning that Member States need to go further in implementing and realising the full potential of current legislation. According to the replies, Member States need to be encouraged to further pursue energy efficiency through local and regional Energy Agencies, while also taking a closer look at SMEs.
A stronger use of fiscal policies to open the market to efficient products and technologies is also clearly supported by the public consultation. Contributors state that using fiscal instruments in different forms would provide a major advantage for improving energy efficiency and boosting economic competitiveness.
On the basis of this very valuable consultation, taking into account an Impact Assessment that is currently underway, and as announced in the Energy Efficiency Green Paper, the Commission will submit later this year to the Council and to the European Parliament an Action Plan on Energy Efficiency.
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