The European
Parliament adopted a resolution on welcoming the Commission Communication on
mobilising Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to facilitate
the transition to an energy-efficient, low-carbon economy and endorses its
broad lines.
Parliament
states that ICT is indispensable for decoupling economic growth from GHG
emissions using three basic strategies for mitigation of climate change: (i)
a reduction of energy consumption, (ii) an increase of energy efficiency, and
(iii) an integration of renewable energies. It recalls that the ICT sector
accounts for some 8% of electricity consumption and 2% of carbon emissions in
Europe, and notes that the roll-out of smart meters can cut energy
consumption by up to 10%, promote the wider use of distributed generation
(microgeneration) and reduce losses in low-capacity networks, thereby
promoting the spread of renewable energies. Accordingly, Parliament
calls for:
- the
Commission to submit by the end of 2010 a set of recommendations to
ensure that smart metering is implemented in accordance with the
timetable set out in the third energy market package and that a set of
minimum functionalities for smart meters is defined;
- the
introduction of new energy services and an innovative, harmonised and
interoperable European smart grid, taking into account all proven best
practices employed in some Member States, particularly as regards the
management of real-time, two-directional power and information flows.
- Members note
that the only means of ensuring the comparability of the data produced
in the various Member States is to adopt a common methodology for
measuring energy consumption and carbon emissions and a comparative methodology
framework for
calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements
in the building sector. They point, furthermore, to the need for rapid standardisation of
ICTs as a minimum
requirement for interoperability.
Parliament
states that in households and in the building, transport, logistics and
industrial sectors ICTs may be used in a variety of ways to improve energy efficiency and
management. These
applications have an impact on electricity distribution, lighting, heating,
refrigeration, ventilation and air conditioning and the opportunities ICTs
offer in terms of measurement, monitoring and automation. Furthermore, if
ICTs can help to save energy by enabling data to be continuously monitored in
order to improve energy efficiency in many sectors, the ICT sector – bearing
in mind the exponential growth of its own energy consumption – should set an
example by undertaking to cut its consumption by a very significant margin.
This should apply first and foremost to data centres.
Members go on
to discuss the importance of developing
broadband in Member States as
a means of securing economic growth, providing access to new systems and
applications for an ever larger number of EU citizens and businesses, and
meeting the energy efficiency targets the EU has set for 2020. Member States
are asked to facilitate the availability of broadband internet to all EU
citizens in order to ensure equal access to online services which can reduce
the need to travel. Members call for online services (eBanking, eCommerce,
eGovernment, eLearning, eHealth) and teleworking to be rolled out with a view
to improving the quality of service provided to the public and, at the same
time, reducing carbon emissions.
On the issue
of transport, Members urge the Commission to
increase its efforts in the use of ICTs, in particular the use of monitoring
and measuring instruments. They believe that the application of ICTs to
passenger transport and the availability of new technologies on roads and
their interaction with weather conditions, with on-board vehicle display,
will make it possible to travel and transport goods more efficiently, more
quickly and more safely. They stress the importance of ICT in the planning of
a new European transport policy. Any such plans from the Commission should
include ICT solutions, amongst others, in the regulation of traffic flows and
to increase intermodality in the transport sector and optimise the balance
between different modes of transport. The report stresses the need for a
common strategy on the development of electric cars. It also urges the
Commission to prioritise smart cars and smart roads projects, as well as
R&D pilot projects for V2V and V2R devices, which can open up new
business opportunities for European ICT companies.
Parliament
stresses the importance of the following:
- significant
investments both for R&D and the utilisation of existing
technologies, with Member States providing the incentives for both
public and private energy efficiency investments;
- investment
in energy efficiency education which should start from the schools;
- broad
information campaigns to explain the benefits of smart metering and ICT
to citizens, which is crucial to avoiding misinterpretation and lack of
public support;
- the
measurement, monitoring and automation of consumption will be part and
parcel of optimised electrical network architecture, the purpose of
which must be to ensure energy efficiency, on the one hand, and to
incorporate renewable energy sources, energy storage management and the
recharging of future electric vehicles, on the other;
- smart grids
on the Member State and European level in order to exploit the benefits
of smart metering, and the Commission is asked to consider European
scale investment programs.
The Commission
is asked to:
- establish a European web portal
containing the best practices on usage of ICTs to improve energy efficiency,
which could provide useful information to consumers and public
authorities;
- take into
account the less developed regions of the Union in ICT planning and to
secure assets for the purpose of co-financing
the implementation of smart meters and
other ICT projects in these regions to assure their participation and to
prevent their exclusion from common European ventures;
- consider
drafting, on the basis of the work carried out by the smart grids task
force, a communication
on smart metering which identifies
the obstacles to widespread use of smart metering, lays down a roadmap
that sets smart objectives and targets for the roll-out of such systems
in the Member States, and establishes a system for pooling best
practice in this area;
- lay down a
concise action plan for the reduction of energy consumption through the
use of ICT in the
buildings of EU institutions, in order to set the example;
- propose, by
the end of 2010, a timetable
with ambitious and binding ICT-driven energy-saving goals for all
ICT sectors and the
Member States, with a view to meeting the carbon emissions reduction
targets;
- come forward
with a financial instrument, as part of the EU funding, in order to
encourage SMEs to develop their sustainable low carbon energy
technologies;
- adjust the EU
budget in order to accelerate
the deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies, in
particular aiming at meeting the financial needs for the implementation
of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan);
- promote in
collaboration with appropriate international partners the development of
common international standards for carbon emission reporting of companies in order
to enable them to measure their own emissions in a comparable and
efficient way;
- support the
development of off-site
processing, given the vast potential of this technology to
contribute to energy efficiency and to reduce the waste normally
associated with regular upgrading of ICTs.
Lastly,
Parliament welcomes the establishment of the Covenant of Mayors as a forum
for the exchange of good practices and a trailblazer for cities that are
setting themselves ambitious goals with a view to improving their energy
efficiency.