Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-30-Speech-3-261"
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"en.20080130.22.3-261"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, I should firstly like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Hall, on her bold, holistic approach to the issue of energy efficiency, which goes beyond the European Commission’s proposals.
Given today’s energy situation, energy efficiency is the most effective tool in combating climate change, as the system of trading greenhouse gas emissions has not yet produced the desired results.
As for energy efficiency, emphasis must be placed on the construction sector, which is responsible for consuming more than 40% of our energy. In Greece the construction sector consumes about one third of the total energy resources and contributes 40% of carbon dioxide emissions. Nonetheless, Greece has yet to incorporate into national law the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings; it was recently censured by the European Court of Justice for this, and was also listed among the 10 countries which have not yet produced a national action plan for energy efficiency. However, although the harmonisation of national legislation with that of the Community is essential, it is not enough if we are to reach our desired objectives. I am pleased that the Commissioner emphasised that the EU must insist as far as possible on a more coherent implementation of the energy objectives by all Member States.
The measures and incentives suggested in the report, such as access to energy efficiency funding by the Structural Funds, an increase in the minimum percentage allocated under the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, tax incentives and, most of all, VAT reduction on energy-efficient homes and SMEs, can be extremely helpful to this end.
The climate change target cannot be attained in isolation but by all the Member States together. If we want the EU to continue to be in the vanguard of this effort and to negotiate strongly with other states, we must make it a priority to close the gap between those countries playing a leading part and those lagging behind."@en1
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