Energy efficiency label: EU Parliament earns A grade for its vote for A-G energy labels
PRESS RELEASE – Strasbourg, 5 May 2009
Today the European Parliament plenary voted in favour of the Podimata report – and certain key amendments – relating to the Directive on energy efficiency labelling on household appliances. Tomorrow the plenary will vote on “implementing measures” relating to new energy efficiency labels for fridges and TVs. (1)
Finnish Green MEP Satu Hassi commented:
“Today’s vote is a victory for consumers and a strong signal to industry to continue to improve the energy efficiency of their products.
The current A-G scale is an EU success story – instantly recognisable and understandable to consumers in Europe and in the many countries where the system has been copied. It was long overdue for an update however, since for years industry has successfully resisted meaningful revision of the A-G grade thresholds. This has led to a ridiculous situation where 95% of fridges on the market today get some form of A rating for energy efficiency.
While consumer and environmental groups were united in supporting a closed A-G scale with regular updates and validity periods indicated, industry cynically played the consumer champion in their attempts to resist it.”
Luxembourg MEP Claude Turmes added:
“The white goods industry may have qualified themselves for next year’s ‘Worst EU lobbying awards’ for their misleading campaign. Today, however, they fortunately failed to secure a system that would continue to grant an A grade efficiency label to virtually all of their products.
Tomorrow I urge my colleagues to hold firm and be consistent in supporting the closed A-G scale on new labels for fridges and TVs and opposing proposed changes that will only confuse consumers and weaken the value of the label.”
Notes to editors:
(1) The Directive (subject of the vote today) relates to a co-decision process, which once concluded should replace the current Energy Labelling directive. Tomorrow’s vote on new energy efficiency labels for fridges and TVs relates to a ‘comitology’ process on “implementing measures” to be adopted under the current Directive.
It should be noted that the Podimata report was voted today with a provision that “the implementing measures currently in force, which have been adopted before the entry into force of this Directive, shall be aligned with the provisions contained in this Directive … not later than six months after the entry into force of this Directive”.