PRESS RELEASE
[Brussels, 30th May, 2011] European countries will have the opportunity to save enormous amounts of energy on 31st May with member states voting on a regulation for air conditioners under the Europe-wide Ecodesign Directive, which aims to improve the environmental performance of energy-using products.
“Following one of the hottest and driest Aprils on record for many European countries, this is really a critical time to ensure energy guzzling air conditioners are as environmentally friendly as possible,” said the European Environmental Bureau’s Stéphane Arditi, who coordinates the coolproducts campaign.
“Their use is rapidly [1] on the rise so Europe needs to get in there early and say only those coolers with the least impact on global warming should be used,” he continued.
The coolproducts campaigners say that if the draft proposal is not supported this could lead to an additional electricity consumption of 45 TWh per year by 2020, the equivalent of the yearly residential electricity consumption of Sweden. They are asking for a ban on the most inefficient models.
The proposed draft regulation sets minimum requirements on the seasonal cooling and heating energy performance of domestic air-conditioners sold on the EU market, as well as on their sound level.
For the first time ever in a measure under the Ecodesign Directive, a bonus scheme could also be introduced to reward manufacturers using refrigerant fluids which have a low impact on global warming.
“We welcome the efforts from the European Commission to propose a measure covering a broad range of environmental aspects, based on a tight timeline,” said Edouard Toulouse, from ECOS, advisor to the coolproducts campaign.
Updated energy labels were adopted earlier this month but coolproducts campaigners say the new A-G energy labels jeopardises fair comparison between products as small portable coolers have a different labelling system.
“In the future there should be a unique scale to avoid the risk of misleading consumers,” said Arditi.
The preparation of these measures has taken more than two years. The coolproducts campaign partners say a quick decision is needed now to stop further delays on energy savings
Contacts:
Stephane Arditi, EEB Products policy officer & Coolproducts coordinator, +32 (0) 2289 10 97,Stephane.arditi@eeb.org
Simon Nazer, EEB Press Officer, +32 (0)496 43 84 69, press@eeb.org
Notes:
Ecodesign Directive is the main instrument to regulate on environmental requirements of products entering the EU market. It is the legislation which has so far delivered the most on energy efficiency. It has been identified as a major contributor to reaching our energy and climate targets by 2020 in the new Energy Efficiency Plan by European Commission.
[1] European Commission comments on expanded energy use of air conditioners: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:293:0021:0030:EN:PDF