How energy efficiency can break Europe’s gas addiction

The document advocates for enhancing the REPowerEU plan through four key pillars: digitalization, electrification, decentralization, and optimized new construction. It argues that digital energy efficiency tools in buildings and industry could significantly reduce gas imports, noting that buildings alone could save nearly 30% of annual Russian imports. The author recommends legal mandates, such as reforming the Energy Performance in Building Directive, and financial incentives like tax breaks for smart meters and heat pumps to accelerate the transition. The text also emphasizes the potential for electrification to increase electricity use for heating from 7% to 90% in buildings and 30% to 78% in industry, while citing Japan's post-Fukushima energy transition as a precedent for rapid structural change.

• Digital energy efficiency tools in buildings and industry could lead to annual gas import savings of approximately 46 billion cubic metres (bcm) and 17 bcm respectively; for buildings, this represents 29.7% of annual imports from Russia.
• Electrification of heating could substantially increase the share of electricity used for heating processes, rising from roughly 7% to 90% for buildings and from 30% to 78% for industry.
• Adopting efficiency tools during the initial design of new buildings could increase energy savings by 20-30% in new commercial buildings and by 50% in new residential buildings by 2030.
• The author recommends that EU regulators strengthen REPowerEU by reforming the Energy Performance in Building Directive (EPBD) and introducing cost incentives such as tax breaks on smart meters and lower costs for smart heat pump installation.

APA

Delorme, P. (2022). How energy efficiency can break Europe’s gas addiction. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/how-energy-efficiency-can-break-europe-s-gas-addiction/

Chicago

Delorme, Philippe. How energy efficiency can break Europe’s gas addiction. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/how-energy-efficiency-can-break-europe-s-gas-addiction/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Delorme |first1=Philippe |title=How energy efficiency can break Europe’s gas addiction |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=8 July 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/how-energy-efficiency-can-break-europe-s-gas-addiction/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{delorme2022how, author = {Delorme, Philippe}, title = {{How energy efficiency can break Europe’s gas addiction}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/how-energy-efficiency-can-break-europe-s-gas-addiction/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }