Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2008)399 - Framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy related products - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2008)399 - Framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy related products. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2008)399  |
| date | 25-06-2008 |
1.1. Objective
The aim of the recast of the framework Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005, establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products (EuP) and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council i, hereafter referred to as the 'Ecodesign Directive', is to incorporate the amending Directive 2008/28/EC i and to extend its scope to allow for the setting of Community ecodesign requirements also for all energy related products. In doing so, it follows the overall objective to ensure the free movement of products and improve their environmental performance, thereby protecting the environment.
Establishing a single framework for the ecodesign of energy related products will ensure efficiency and consistency by using a common methodology for setting requirements for such products at EU level. It will thus avoid the risk of overlapping national and Community initiatives.
The resulting comprehensive Ecodesign framework Directive will also be the essential building block for an integrated sustainable environmental product policy, as complemented by initiatives on labelling and incentives relating to public procurement and taxation. In addition to setting minimum requirements for the placing on the market of products, it will enable the setting of environmental performance benchmarks referring to the best performing products on the market. This is already possible under the present Ecodesign Directive for energy-using products and will hence be extended to be possible for all energy related products, providing thus for a link to incentives relating to public procurement and taxation.
1.2. General context
A wide range of European policies have been launched at European and national level in the last 30 years in the areas of environmental protection and use of natural resources, including energy saving. Well developed legislation has ensured that air quality has been improving, that waste is increasingly controlled, and that emissions from industrial sources are being reduced. The Action Plan for Energy Efficiency i will deliver at least 20% saving potential in the EU annual primary energy consumption by 2020.
In addition, a range of policies and instruments have been put in place to foster more efficient products and improve information to consumers. The Ecodesign Directive establishes minimum requirements for the placing on the market of the products. The labelling schemes set by the Directive 92/75/EEC i, hereafter referred to as the 'Energy Labelling Directive', the Energy Star Regulation i, the Eco-label i Regulation and other schemes developed by Member States, retailers and other economic operators provide consumers with information on the energy and environmental performance of products. Incentives and public procurement are being implemented by Member States to stimulate innovation towards better performing products. The Energy Star Regulation for office equipment obliges EU institutions and Member States to purchase office equipment to specific levels of energy efficiency.
These policies have delivered substantial progress and shown their potential. For example, the Energy Labelling Directive is estimated to have delivered one third of the 29% improvements of the energy efficiency of refrigerators between 1992 and 1999. Overall, the clear and strong evolution of the market towards higher-efficiency of the products covered by the Directive contrasts significantly with the scarce progress made beforehand.
However, a number of important obstacles are hampering these policies to reach their full impact. Overall, existing voluntary and regulatory instruments are not sufficiently connected with each other or elaborated from a single policy perspective and potential synergies between the different policy instruments are not exploited. Moreover, the fragmentation of national and regional approaches sends conflicting signals to producers and creates distortions on the Internal Market.
There is thus a need for a new policy approach, combining in an integrated action plan the potential of the different policies instruments and implementing them in a dynamic way. This will include setting ambitious standards throughout the Internal Market, ensuring that products are improved and that demand is enhanced by a systemic approach to incentives and innovation. This will be achieved by integrating existing tools and strengthening them, where necessary. This would complement existing environmental policy, such as, with regard to energy use, the energy and climate package adopted by the Commission in January 2008 i.
The extension of the product scope of the Ecodesign Directive is a cornerstone of the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Communication and Action Plans (SCP/SIP), which is a joint initiative of Directorate General Enterprise and Industry, Directorate General Environment and Directorate General Energy and Transport. Another related proposal included in SCP/SIP is the revision of Energy Labelling Directive, which will look into different options regarding the labelling of an extended range of products. As such, it will discuss the “labelling side” of the product policy announced in the sustainability package. Furthermore, the Eco-label Regulation is also being revised to coherently feed into this integrated product policy by identifying the very top performing products on the market, acting as a 'label of excellence'.
1.3. Existing Community provisions
The Community regulatory framework concerning ecodesign of energy-using products is set in the Ecodesign Directive, which introduces the requirements such products placed on the Community market must meet if they are to benefit from free movement within the Community. The Ecodesign Directive is complementary to existing Community instruments, such as REACH i, RoHS i, Energy Labelling Directive and the Directive on the restriction of use of certain hazardous substances i. An extended Ecodesign Directive will enable the setting of ecodesign requirements for, all energy related, environmentally significant products, where appropriate, to complement existing Community provisions.
1.4. Consistency with other policies and rules
The proposal is fully consistent with the objectives and aims of the Commission's Sustainable Consumption and Production / Sustainable Industrial Policy Communication and Action Plan, the European Union Sustainable Development Strategy, the Lisbon Strategy, the Community Sixth Environmental Action Programme i, the Integrated Product Policy i and Natural Resource Strategy. The proposal also contributes to other policies such as informing and empowering consumers. The proposal is also in line with the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making.
Contents
Consultations
The consultation of stakeholders of the SCP/SIP Communication and Action Plan comprising the extension of the scope of the Ecodesign Directive was made in a public internet consultation in the autumn of 2007.
The results of the consultations were fed into the Impact assessments on the SCP/SIP Communication and Action Plan and the extension of the Ecodesign Directive.
2.2. Collection and use of expertise
External expertise ZEW was used for the impact assessment.
2.3. Impact assessment
The extension of the scope of the Ecodesign Directive is part of the SCP/SIP Communication and Action Plan. Another related proposal included in that package is the revision of the Energy Labelling Directive, which will look into different options regarding the labelling of an extended range of products. As such, it will discuss the “labelling side” of the product policy announced in the Action plan on the Sustainability Package.
The current Ecodesign Directive covers only energy-using products (excluding means of transport). For these, it can introduce mandatory minimum requirements corresponding to the performance of the product that has least life cycle cost. This guarantees that improvements in environmental performance are cost-effective. While the purchase prices of these products might rise (at least in the short term), their superior performance more than offsets this over the life span of the product by lower usage costs.
However, the impact assessment of the Action Plans mentioned above has shown that the limitation of the scope of the Ecodesign Directive represents an important restriction on the potential impact that the EU's Integrated Product Policy can have. The impact assessment report therefore analyses whether and how the scope of the Ecodesign Directive can be extended and what impacts that could have. The objective of the report is therefore to determine the optimal scope of such an extension.
Three options are considered:
1. No extension of the scope, thus only energy-using products can be covered,
2. Extend the scope beyond energy using products but keep the current exclusion of means of transport, and
3. Extend the scope to all products.
The analysis of the impacts is twofold. In a first step, it is determined whether the extension of the scope would be possible and whether there would be substantial overlap with existing legislation, such that the existing regulatory framework is deemed sufficient to address environmental impacts. The second step – in case an extension is feasible – is to analyse the potential environmental and economic impacts that an extension to that product category would have. Two studies are relied on to demonstrate the savings potential – particularly with respect to energy consumption – that could be realized by extending the scope of the ecodesign policy. The available data does not allow a precise quantification of the savings potential for all product categories but it shows for selected product types for which data exists that significant reductions of environmental impacts are possible that at the same time also lead to economic savings for businesses and final consumers.
An extended scope will allow introducing implementing measures for those non energy-using product categories that have the highest potential for improvement of environmental performance while also leading to the highest savings during the use phase. This would not be possible under the current Directive which is restricted to energy-using products. More detailed analyses will be conducted for the impact assessments that need to be prepared for each implementing measure.
The result of the analysis is that an extension to beyond energy using products, except means of transport, would be the preferred option. Means of transport are already subject to complex regulation that in addition to safety and other aspects also addresses environmental performance (such as CO2 and other pollutants emissions from cars). Means of transport should therefore remain outside the scope of the Ecodesign Directive.
3.1. Summary of the proposed action
This proposal extends the scope of the framework Ecodesign Directive to cover other energy related products than energy-using products, making it possible to set harmonised ecodesign requirements for such products in implementing measures. Such ecodesign requirements are mandatory provisions set out to ensure that the products do not endanger the environment.
3.2. Legal basis
The legal basis of this proposal for a recast of the Ecodesign Directive 2005/32/EC is provided by Article 95 of the EC Treaty, which sets out the principles for the establishment of the internal market. The Ecodesign Directive ensures the free movement of products falling within its scope that satisfies the environmental and energy related requirements laid down in the implementing measures adopted under the Directive.
While the proposal extends the scope beyond energy-using products, requirements on products will only be set when implementing measures are adopted.
3.3. Subsidiarity principle
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reason.
To leave the setting of ecodesign requirements for products to the Member States would lead to divergent national provisions and procedures having similar objectives that would generate undue costs for industry and constitute obstacles to the free movement of goods within the Community.
Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reasons.
Acting at the Community level is the only way to achieve the objective of the proposal while ensuring that the requirements for products placed on the market are equal in all Member States, thereby ensuring the free movement of goods in the Community.
The scope of the proposal is limited to new products placed for the first time on the Community market.
3.4. Proportionality principle
The proposal complies with the proportionality pri nciple for the following reasons.
This proposal does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective, and is therefore in accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.
Administrative and financial burden falling upon the Community and national authorities is minimized by including the ecodesign requirements for all energy related products in the Directive as proposed. This inclusion minimizes, for example, the costs of establishing procedures related to market surveillance for non energy-using products because such procedures already exist for enforcement of the Ecodesign Directive.
The possible increase in average production costs which may be incurred by some manufacturers and which may be transferred to users via increased prices of products is proportionate to the advantage to be gained from reduction of adverse effects on the environment and savings by users due to increased efficiency of products during the full life cycle.
3.5. Choice of instruments
Proposed instruments: directive.
The proposed instrument is in line with the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making and consistent with the option of including the new provisions in the framework of existing Community legislation.
It appears that there are two areas in which the actions might generate administrative costs for Members States and the Commission. These are:
(a) Work for defining implementing measures of the Ecodesign Directive. The extension of the product scope of the Ecodesign Directive will broaden the choice of product groups for which implementing measures can be adopted. Among those, significant priority products, which have a significant environmental impact and potential for improvement, will be identified and listed in the Working Plan referred to in Article 16 of the Ecodesign Directive. The eventual additional budgetary needs, resulting from the extension of the product scope will be determined by the Working Plan. The potential allocation of additional resources must be compatible with existing financial programming and will be subject to the current financial and budgetary rules and procedures. The integration of the decision structures of the Ecodesign Directive and the Energy Labelling Directive and the informative role of the eco-label will provide synergies which guarantee that resources are used such that implementing measures have the biggest environmental impacts at the lowest cost for the economy.
(b) We cannot be precise about the time and costs involved but as a guideline we have assumed that amending the Ecodesign Directive would require six full time equivalent work from Commission officials and equivalent amounts of time from officials in at least 10 Member States (it is unlikely that all Member States would be involved in the detailed discussions). Given the average annual cost of a Commission official (€ 117.000), this would cost the Commission around € 702,000. This does not include any add on for overhead costs. The assignment of staff for these particular tasks from existing or additional resources remains subject to resources availability and will be decided in the framework of the annual resources allocation procedure.
5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
5.1. National provisions
Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
5.2. European Economic Area
The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.
Detailed explanation
As stated, Directive 2005/32/EC has been substantially amended by Directive 2008/28/EC. Since further amendments, relating to the extension of the product scope to include all energy related products are to be made, it should be recast i in the interests of clarity. The Commission stresses the importance of not disrupting the ongoing implementation of the present Ecodesign Directive and safeguards it by strictly limiting the proposal and scope for discussion to the extension of the product scope.
Amendments are introduced into the recitals and provisions of the Ecodesign Directive to reflect the extension of the scope to cover all energy related products.
In Article 2 , in particular, the definition of energy related product is introduced.
In Article 21 , relating to the review of the Directive by the Commission, it is added that, in the context of the extension of the product scope, the Commission shall also review the appropriateness of extending the scope of the Directive to non energy related products.
Article 23 sets the provisions for implementation of the recasted Directive by Member States and defines its date of application.
The provisions of Articles 10, 12, 13, 16 to 19, 23 and 24 and Annex VI of Directive 2005/32/EC remain unchanged.
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