Activities of Damiano ZOFFOLI related to 2016/2058(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on an EU Strategy on Heating and Cooling
Amendments (16)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on an EU Strategy on Heating and Cooling (COM(2016)0051) as an integral part of the Energy Union strategy; notes the major importance of the heating and cooling sector in achieving the EU energy and climate objectives by 2020, 2030 and 2050 and achieving the security of energy supply objectives;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that heating and cooling constitute the largest share of the EU’s energy demand; emphasises the importance of technology-neutral and market-based incentives in the transition to a low-carbon and secure energy supply to the heating and cooling sector and of focusing not only on a component level, such as buildings and that private and public buildings account for 40 % of final energy use in the EU and 36 % of CO2 emissions; considers therefore that improving buildings energy efficiency is of prime importance in reducing CO2 emissions and improving energy security, as well as for ending energy poverty and improving health;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Underlines that 85% of the energy consumption within a building is required for space heating and domestic hot water and that it is therefore necessary to enable consumers to accelerate the modernisation of their old and inefficient heating systems in Europe in order to deliver at least 20% energy efficiency gains by 2020 with available technologies, including renewable heating systems;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Emphasises the active role that consumers can play in the path to a sustainable European heating and cooling system; underlines that an efficient outcome of the new regulation on "energy labelling", where scales of the new labels are forward-looking and allow to highlight the differences in terms of energy efficiency of the different products, can improve consumers´ possibility to address their choices in terms of energy savings and to reduce their bills; highlights that specific instruments - such as smart meters and domotic controls - can improve consumers´ consumption patterns.
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to fully utilise the heating and cooling sector in achieving cost-efficient gains in energy efficiency at system level by linking heat and power production, industrial processes, waste management and demand-side management; underlines that cogeneration and tri-generation in the abovementioned sectors should be therefore deeper exploited in line with the circular economy principles;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Stresses the need to invest more in research and development in order to develop innovative and technological solutions; stresses at the same time that through a wider use of currently available technologies it will be possible to increase by 20% the efficiency of heating and cooling systems;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Underlines that if on one hand a large part of the European buildings today suffer from waste of energy because of their poor insulation quality and their old and inefficient heating systems, on the other hand energy poverty affects nearly 11% of the EU population;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that biogas represents an important sustainable source for heating and cooling systems; for this reason it is necessary to set up a clear target for organic recycling in order to incentivise investments in the collection and treatment of bio-waste.
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Emphasises the importance of a more widespread, synergic and integrated use of all available European structural and regional funds and of the EFSI, which should be accessible to all actors, in particular to the SMEs and micro enterprises;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. In this regard stresses the importance of ensuring consumers with comprehensive information on the technical and economic benefits of the new heating and cooling systems currently available on the market and of the advantages, in terms of energy savings, that building restructuring measures could have in reducing energy bills; notes that householders living in remote and isolated locations may require particular attention and unique solutions;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Asks the European Commission to promote the exchange of good practices between Member States in order to speed the dissemination of innovative products and services and asks for a deeper involvement of local authorities;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the Union’s varying conditions, and calls on the Commission to promote technology-neutral instruments enabling each community to develop cost- efficient solutions to reduce the carbon intensity of the heating and cooling sector but at the same time calls for plans to be drawn up with a view to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and channelling financial resources into energy efficiency projects serving to achieve the EU's goals for decarbonisation of the energy sector by 2050;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Considers that appropriate architectural solutions and urban design principles in the planning of whole residential areas should be the basis for energy-efficient and low-emission construction, taking into account the different climatic conditions within Europe.
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Stresses the key role that a high level of electrification of the heating and cooling sector can have in the decarbonisation both in terms of GHG reductions and as well as in improved urban air quality;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the widespread availability of solid biomass and the potential for district heating as a cost- efficient means of decarbonising the energy sector while also contributing to security of supply objectives; emphasises that a European gas crisis would be a heat crisis; notes that, despite the fact that biomass represents today a widely used renewable energy source in the heating sector, the use of certain types of biomass still show several problems including that of generating an increase in GHG, fine particulate matter pollution and that of land use and food production; calls therefore for an environmentally sustainable use of biomass;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Stresses the need to develop specific energy policy for those areas not connected to the natural gas grid, considering restrictions to the use of biomass or solid fuels for heating and the transaction to low carbon and low polluting fuels such as LPG;