EU Policies and Regulation on CO2, Renewables and Energy Efficiency: A Critical Assessment of Recent Experiences - Green Energy and Efficiency: An Economic Perspective - page 53

6 Conclusions

For over 20 years, the EU has taken on a clear role of international leadership in
energy and environmental policy, with a strong commitment to bringing down CO 2
emissions, promoting renewables and enhancing energy ef

ciency. Regulatory
experience has been very varied, and several kinds of regulatory, taxation and
command-and-control instruments, etc. have been implemented. The analysis per-
formed here shows that there have been hits and misses but that, in general, priority
has been given to meeting targets rather than to economic ef ciency considerations.

This situation was initially sustainable because it coincided with a period of
strong economic growth. However, the scenario has changed radically: the eco-
nomic crisis has drawn attention to Europe cient

environmental and energy policies, which affect the competitiveness of industry and
the welfare of society, in a context in which other economic blocs have either failed
to set those same targets or managed to attain them in a more cost-effective manner.
In this new scenario, if the EU wishes to uphold its commitment to environ-
mentally sustainable energy development it needs to

' s dif culty in maintaining inef

nd ways to reach targets more

ef ciently, without jeopardising the competitiveness of its economy.

One of the fundamental issues is whether one or more targets is required. In the
European debate on the framework of targets and policies for the long term, we
would support the setting of a single target for reducing emissions, so as to send
the necessary signals for investments to be made in energy ef ciency and renewable

energies. This target could be supplemented by indicative targets in other

elds and

supportive policies, such as R&D&I schemes.
Another key issue is energy taxation: our conclusion is that this is one of the
crucial elements in achieving sustainability in the energy sector. Taxation analysis
should be broad in scope, taking into account the burdens that are borne by all
sectors for the cost items imposed by environmental and social policies.
The bene ts that renewable energies provide to society as a whole mean that

their supporting frameworks should be funded from public budgets or by the energy
sector as a whole. The supporting frameworks should also take into account the
characteristics of each technology (particularly its competitiveness).
We believe that energy ef

ciency is the key vector and that it should continue to
be the main commitment in the eld of energy in the EU, an economic block that is

highly dependent on energy and lacking in new resources. From the regulatory
perspective it is a complex issue, but it is crucial to attain goals effectively and
avoid the mistakes that have sometimes been made in some contexts when rolling
out renewable energies.

Appendix

See Table A.1 .