News
Ecodesign and energy labelling are essential in the ‘green’ transition – but the EU must fund them
While EU politicians make bold speeches about climate action, behind the scenes the European Commission is actively defunding two of the most successful environmental policies to date: Ecodesign and Energy Labelling. Together, both policies have been improving the energy efficiency of our home appliances and IT devices for over 20 years by creating incentives for […]
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The EU could be about to greenlight polluting gas boilers well into the 2050s
Despite ambitious EU targets for carbon neutrality by 2050, and a 55% reduction target by 2030, the European Commission’s draft revision to ecodesign regulation [1] would allow the continued sale and installation of new gas boilers in the EU for at least the next decade. Emissions from space and water heating represent a significant portion […]
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Delays in ecodesign threaten EU climate targets and cost citizens billions – New analysis
Environmental organisations call on the European Commission to allocate the appropriate resources to ecodesign and energy labelling policies. Delays in ecodesign and energy labelling policies are estimated to cost consumers 40 billion euro by 2030. The European Commission is dragging its feet in the development of ecodesign and energy labelling rules for products, mainly due […]
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New, revised energy labels for lamps and light bulbs as of 1 September
Lamps and other light sources will display new energy labels as of Wednesday. The revised labels will mean clearer information on energy consumption and efficiency of lamps. Energy labels for light bulbs and lamps are changing. Light products will be labelled using an A-G scale, replacing the previous A+++ to E. Revamped labels are expected to […]
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EU Commission leaves 5G base stations out of ecodesign – a missed chance to reduce energy consumption of telecommunications
The European Commission has ruled out applying ecodesign to base stations for mobile telecommunication networks as part of its new Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2020-2024. In the wake of the expansion of 5G, the EU decided not to limit the energy consumption of base stations for communication networks, even when millions of them […]
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EU Governments keep fueling dirty heating – New analysis
Ahead of ‘Fit for 55’, a new analysis shows that 16 out of 27 member states are still financing fossil fuel heating, despite calls to phase out gas boilers by 2025 to achieve EU climate neutrality goals. These dirty subsidies cripple the deployment of clean heating technologies such as heat pumps and solar thermal devices. […]
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EU Commission paralysis delays phase-out of fossil fuel boilers
The European Commission’s lack of ambition in phasing out fossil fuel heating systems is jeopardising frontrunners and rewarding laggards, endangering everyone’s climate ambition. Read our full analysis in our background briefing Time is running out for the European Union to decarbonise the heating sector, which accounts for 12% of total CO2 emissions in Europe. So […]
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The domestic heating industry has no plans for climate neutrality – new Brand Audit
A new brand audit reveals that most of Europe’s leading manufacturers of heating systems are delaying the phase-out of fossil gas and oil boilers, putting the EU on path to miss its 2030 and 2050 climate targets. The heating and cooling sector is responsible for half of the EU’s annual energy consumption and a third […]
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New energy labels on appliances and TVs as of 1 March: NGOs praise updates but call on the EU to move faster on labels for more products
Coolproducts – a group of over 20 European NGOs, co-led by ECOS and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) – welcomes the rescaled energy labels on home appliances and TVs but asks the EU to ramp up ambition to unlock game-changing savings. As of 1 March, four different types of electrical appliances will see their energy […]
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Clean heat grants are failing to green our homes – New analysis
Most households in low-income countries cannot afford to buy clean heating solutions despite green subsidy schemes becoming increasingly popular, a new analysis shows. This leaves people with no choice but to install overly subsidised gas boilers, which are threatening Europe’s decarbonisation goals. A household in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Portugal or Romania may take […]
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