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EurActiv (30 May 2018)​

EU negotiators will hope that this week is the breakthrough everyone has been waiting for in two crucial energy files on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments, as well as to catch up on what has happened so far.​

Costs, as usual, are crucial. The Commission has been criticised for using too high a discount rate (10%) to calculate what level of investment is needed to meet the overall energy efficiency target.

At the last trilogue, the EP asked the EC to recalculate costs according to the member state average (just under 6%). The Commission is meant to provide that study at today's trilogue (stay tuned).

But a similar study by Ecofys using similar data has already shown that the level of investment needed to reach 40% by 2030 is actually the same as what was needed to reach 27% under the Commission's old model.

Expect the Parliament and Commission to use to the new numbers to try and drag the Council as close to 35% as possible.

The range of options regarding the headline energy efficiency target for 2030 have narrowed down over the past days. Current expectations are that the final figure will range between 30% (binding) and 33% (non-binding).

This update to the efficiency directive will replace existing legislation that runs up until 2020. Negotiators in favour of more ambition in the revised rules have pointed out that EU countries are currently making good progress in making energy savings. Six nations are even exceeding their goals, according to this data.​

In order for the three parties to broker a deal today, there will have to be some serious movement on four crucial points (listed here in no particular order):

Whether the overall target is binding or not. MEPs are adamant it should be but some sources in the room have said that Parliament negotiators may be willing to support an indicative target if the rest of the deal is substantial enough;

The inclusion of transport in energy saving obligations. Member states continue to argue that vehicles are too difficult to get savings from and should be excluded. Parliament and the Commission say the sector must be a part of the calculations but a recent compromise by the Bulgarian presidency suggests some transport inclusion in exchange for leniency elsewhere;

The actual number of the overall target. A deal will have to be struck somewhere between 27% and 35%. If negotiators insist on it being binding, expect the figure to be lower;

Article 7's veracity. The part of the directive that governs annual energy saving increases is considered the real core of the file, so expect the Parliament to maybe sacrifice a percentage point or two from their overall ambition in order to safeguard the make-up of Article 7.

First up is energy efficiency. It's been a rough-ride to get to this point, after in-fighting among MEPs, the lead rapporteur on the file getting his marching ordersand the Commission being accused of some dodgy maths.​

Welcome to our live blog about the (potentially) final talks on the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive.

The two directives are key pieces of the EU's clean energy package of legislation for 2030. They are often considered jointly because, as the International Renewable Energy Agency likes to point out, they can help maximise energy-related carbon emissions.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), “energy efficiency and renewable energy will need to deliver more than three quarters of the emission reductions needed in the next decades to reach global climate targets.”

The point was illustrated recently when the European Parliament debated the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). A proposed amendment to the bill – which was finally rejected – would have allowed building owners to waste energy if it came from renewable sources, such as solar power coming from rooftop installations.

“This would be totally misleading, encouraging consumers to rent wasteful buildings under the illusion that they are energy efficient,” wrote the WWF in its energy efficiency blog. “Energy efficiency and renewables need to go hand in hand,” it stressed, calling on MEPs to delete the part of the text that would cause “the wasting of renewables”.