Energy efficiency policy in European Union

Tadeusz Skoczkowski

The history of energy is the history of technology. From the very beginning of the humankind there have always been research in energy technologies. Anyway the very recent changes ongoing in the globalizing world’s economy revealed with full strength the importance of having access to energy for all, both nations and individuals. Only very few countries in the world have energy resources in abundant. The majority have to struggle for energy in getting more and more competitive markets. To make things worst one can nowadays observe an unprecedented strong political influence on energy markets. The global battle for energy resources in long time perspective, at least till the end of the 21st century, is on. One of the conclusions drawn from the energy story is now that finally the times of energy lavish and irrational use must go out. The future both in energy production and energy use lies in innovative, environment friendly and efficient energy technologies. Energy efficiency is a proven, cost-effective resource for the European Union (EU). It is one of the cheapest ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainability and security of supply. It supports economic development and creates jobs, and it also reduces energy costs providing lower energy bills for households and businesses alike. Exploiting the widely supported climate change policy European Commission (EC) has launched several programs enabling sustainable energy policy. Realizing the energy efficiency potential is one of the main objectives of this policy.

The EC warns that. "If we fall behind in the intensifying global race to win low carbon technology markets, we may need to rely on imported technologies to meet our targets, missing out on huge commercial opportunities for EU businesses".