European Commission (EC)

The association APPLiA raised a concern about the consequences of the legal inconsistencies in the verification procedure found in the Energy Labelling Product Regulations published in December 2019. The European Commission has picked up the issue and hosted a stakeholder meeting on 12 February to look at it. The Commission will first look at the Regulations published in 2019 before addressing Regulations published previously.

The latest Eurostat figures show that the share of renewables in the total energy used for heating and cooling in the EU slightly increased from 20,98% in 2017 to 21,14% in 2018. This continues the long-standing trend since the beginning of the data collection in 2004 when the share was 12%. Renewable energy includes derived heat and heat energy captured by heat pumps, which contributed 27% of all renewables used for heating and cooling in 2018, up from 26% in 2017.

New Eurostat figures show that final energy consumption in the EU reached 990 Mtoe in 2018, an increase of 0,02% compared to 2017. The greatest increases were observed in the energy consumption of buildings. The EU risks missing its binding energy efficiency objective to reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020. Current energy savings plans from Member States risk falling short of the 2030 target as well by 6,2 percentage points.

The European Court of Auditors’ recent Special Report ‘EU action on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling’ shows that the EU’s Ecodesign and Energy Labelling measures have contributed to greater energy efficiency. Delays in the legislative process, overestimations of the effects of the policies, and non-compliance by manufacturers and retailers remain problematic.

Eurovent will host a seminar at EuroShop 2020 titled ‘European Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment’ on 17 February 2020 from 14:00 to 16:30h in a meeting room at the CCD/Ost entrance, with the participation of the European Commission. The seminar will offer an introduction to the new Ecodesign and Energy Labelling requirements which enter into force next year.

On behalf of the European Commission (DG CLIMA), Öko-Recherche is working on a series of analysis evaluating the implementation of the F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 since 2015. This includes, among others, monitoring of the refrigerant prices. The Q3/2019 report has been recently shared with Eurovent.

In cooperation with Orgalim, the Eurovent Team regularly provides you with an in-depth overview on all European legislative developments of relevance for the HVACR sector. The Bulletin provides for a hands-on compendium allowing the industry to assess the status quo and expected future developments. In addition to recent sector specific issues, our Team has summarised some of the key takeaways within this article.

Last Wednesday, 11 December, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, an ambitious package of policy measures geared towards making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. With bold investments in green technologies, boosts to innovation, and support for climate friendly industries, the policy package offers new growth perspectives for businesses in the European HVACR sector, and the potential to bolster the position of our industry as global leaders in clean and sustainable products.

The Commission has just issued the update of Policy Officers for the different Ecodesign and Energy Labelling files. Below, you may find the outline their competences and the present status of the individual Lots.

The European Commission for the period 2019-2024 has been elected. Within that context a brief overview of the various institutes involved in the HVACR industry is provided as well as a general update on ongoing files.