The new EU Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791, which came into force in September, aims to make us save and use energy more efficiently.
A target has been set to reduce energy consumption across the EU by 11.7% by 2030, compared to 2020 levels. Each country will have to contribute to this overall target with its own energy-saving measures.
The Directive obliges national governments to achieve annual savings in energy use, which will gradually increase until 2030. To achieve this, they must adopt systems requiring greater energy efficiency in different sectors or take alternative measures for the same purpose.
The public sector, in particular, will have to renovate buildings to make them more efficient and reduce their overall energy consumption. In actions to promote energy savings, priority will be given to the most vulnerable consumers and social housing.
Data centers, which are major energy consumers, will be required to publish data on their energy efficiency. In addition, countries will be required to promote more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
- We explain this in more detail in the information note > NI-093.
